Kuwaiti jiu-jitsu gold medalist Jassim Alhatem refused to shake Israeli bronze medalist Yoav Manor’s hand during a medal ceremony in Abu Dhabi on Friday. Alhatem later defended the snub in an Arabic-language video circulating on social media with English translations in which he said "Zionist entity" when referring to Israel and added that Muslim men "must have a principle."
Manor won bronze in the men’s blue belt amateur under-77kg division at the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Jiu-Jitsu World Tour, an Abu Dhabi Jiu Jitsu Pro (AJP) event, after winning three of his four bouts, according to the AJP's official results. Alhatem won all four of his matches to claim gold in the division.
But the podium ceremony quickly turned tense.
Alhatem refused to shake Manor’s hand and declined to participate in the traditional winners’ photo with him. Members of the Israeli delegation who were nearby told Ynet News that Alhatem said, "You Israelis kill children," and added that he would not have competed against Manor if the Israeli athlete had reached the final.
Alhatem defended the moment, claiming Manor had tried to make himself look like the victim by offering a handshake on camera.
"Even though I had spoken to him before the podium and told him, ‘I don’t want to know you, and I don’t want to greet you. Stay on your side, and I’ll stay on my side, so [there would be] no problem,’" Alhatem said.
Alhatem made it clear he did not view the exchange as a normal sportsmanship moment.
"We do not play with these types. We do not respect these types," Alhatem said.
Then he took it a step further.
"As Kuwaitis, we do not respect them at all," he said.
So much for keeping politics out of sports.
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Alhatem said he does not buy the argument that athletes should separate international competition from world affairs. In fact, he suggested Muslim athletes have a responsibility to do the opposite.
"The last thing, guys, advice from a brother: have a principle," he said. "You, as a Muslim man, must have a principle."
He added, "Even if you tell me sports is separate from politics — no, no. There is no separation. If that were true, Russia wouldn’t be banned right now from participating in the Olympics."
The IOC allows some Russian athletes to compete as neutrals under specific conditions, while Russia is not represented as Russia.
Manor, meanwhile, kept his composure.
The Israeli delegation said in a statement to Ynet that "despite the tension, the organizers and Emirati hosts tried to calm the situation and persuade the Kuwaiti competitor to take part in the medal ceremony, but he chose to leave the podium area. Manor, for his part, remained focused on the sporting achievement: a bronze medal at a prestigious international competition, after an impressive day of bouts against opponents from around the world."
Amir Boaron, coach of Israel’s national jiu-jitsu team, also told the outlet that Manor continued trying to shake Alhatem’s hand and "behave like an athlete." Arik Kaplan, president and CEO of Ayelet (Israel’s federation for non-Olympic sports), praised Manor for showing "character, restraint and values."
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OutKick reached out to the UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation, the AJP Tour and Alhatem for comment but did not receive a response by publication.
International sports revolve around the idea that healthy competition brings people of all backgrounds together. In this case, though, that couldn't be further from reality.
