Conflicts between pro-Palestinian and Israeli athletes occur again and again in sport. After the major Hamas attack, many experts are concerned about the 2024 Olympics.
Fethi Nourine still has to serve his ban for eight years before the Algerian judoka can take part in competitions again. In order to avoid a possible duel with an Israeli and thus demonstrate his support for Palestine, Nourine boycotted the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
The International Judo Federation then banned the athlete for ten years. Nourine and his coach “used the Olympic Games as a platform for protests and to promote political and religious propaganda,” the Judo Association said in its statement.
Nourine’s withdrawal was one of the exceptions in Tokyo. But what is happening in Paris? From this Thursday there are less than nine months until the opening ceremony of the games in France. The escalation of the situation in the Middle East following the major attack on Israel by the Islamist Hamas is also affecting professional sports. Athletes, Muslim or Jewish, Israel supporters or Palestine supporters, could increasingly use the Olympic stage for their political messages this time – and thus violate the Olympic Charter.
“Sport has to build bridges”
“The basic idea of the Olympic Games is to unite the whole world in peaceful competition. The Olympic Games can be an example of a world where everyone has the same rules and respects each other. Sport must build bridges instead of erecting walls or to deepen divisions,” the IOC said in response to a dpa request. “Athletes cannot be held responsible for the actions of their governments.”
The Palestinian wrestler Rabbia Khalil also wants to qualify for the most prestigious sporting event in the world, even if the season highlight is currently meaningless for him. “How am I supposed to think about sport and talk to the Palestinian wrestling association in Ramallah about future plans when my compatriots are being killed in Gaza and fighting for their lives?” asked the Cologne-based martial artist and added: “I assume that “More and more Arab or pro-Palestinian athletes will boycott competitions when they have to compete against Israeli athletes. Athletes will also be increasingly willing to accept the consequences for this.”
If Khalil had to compete against an Israeli tomorrow, he wouldn’t do it. “But that’s not for religious reasons, because he’s a Jew. It’s because there has always been war between the two peoples,” explained Khalil, whose grandparents once fled Palestine.
Makkabi captain also fears repercussions
The captain of the Jewish football club Makkabi Germany, Doron Bruck, also fears the impact of the Gaza war on sport. “For Muslim clubs or athletes, it will probably lead to them developing a stronger anti-Israeli attitude,” said the 28-year-old, adding quietly: “I hope not.”
In the past, it was mainly Arab athletes who boycotted competitions against Israelis or attracted attention through controversial behavior. The Egyptian judoka Islam El Shehaby refused to shake hands with the Israeli Or Sasson at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. In 2008 in Beijing, the Iranian Mohammad Alirezaei did not take part in the swimming heats for the 100 meter breaststroke because the Israeli Tom Beeri was also in the pool.
There were similar incidents outside of the games too. The Israeli tennis player Shahar Peer was banned from entering the Arab Emirate of Dubai in 2009. At a 2017 judo competition in Abu Dhabi, Israeli judokas were only allowed to compete without national symbols and the national anthem was not played.
Political line is transferred to sport
“Ultimately, there is always an anti-Semitic background behind such boycotts,” Middle East expert Alex Feuerherdt explained on Deutschlandfunk after the scandal surrounding the Algerian judoka Nourine. When the athletes spoke out about their boycott, they usually argued that they were supporting the Palestinian struggle and were therefore boycotting Israeli athletes. The political line of the respective states will be transferred to sport, said Feuerherdt.
In order to be able to better record anti-Semitic incidents in Germany in the future, a reporting button was developed that makes it easier for clubs, associations and fan organizations to report such incidents. The Federal Association of Anti-Semitism Research and Information Centers (RIAS) launched the project with Makkabi Germany. Rias CEO Benjamin Steinitz pointed to a “noticeable increase in anti-Semitic incidents in response to the Hamas attacks” on October 7th. Terrorists from Hamas, which rules in the Gaza Strip, carried out a massacre in Israel.
According to the sports philosopher Gunter Gebauer, religion and politics should not play a role in sports competitions and games. “Athletes who are deeply religious should leave their religion in the locker room. And politically active athletes should leave their politics,” demanded the emeritus professor of philosophy and sports sociology at the Free University of Berlin. After all, competition rules regulated the behavior of athletes – “nothing else.”
Source: Stern
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