Kuwaiti Muslim jiu-jitsu champion refuses Israeli athlete’s handshake: ‘We do not respect them at all’

Kuwaiti jiu-jitsu gold medalist Jassim Alhatem refused to shake the hand of Israeli bronze medalist Yoav Manor at the medal ceremony in Abu Dhabi on Friday. Alhatem later defended the snub in an Arabic video circulating on social media with an English translation, calling Israel a “Zionist entity” and adding that Muslim men “must have a principle.”

Manor won the bronze medal in the men’s blue belt amateur under 77 kilo category after winning three of four matches at the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Jiu-Jitsu World Tour, an Abu Dhabi Jiu Jitsu Pro (AJP) event. Official results of AJP. Alhatem won all four of his matches to win the league gold medal.

But the podium ceremony quickly turned tense.

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Alhatem refused to shake Manor’s hand and refused to participate in the traditional winners’ photo with him. Members of the Israeli delegation who were nearby said: Ynet News “You Israelis are killing children,” Alhatem said, adding that the Israeli athlete would not compete against Manor if he reached the final.

Alhatem defended the moment, claiming Manor was trying to make himself look like the victim by shaking hands on camera.

“Even though I had talked 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 mine.’ [there would be] no problem,” Alhatem said.

Alhatem made it clear that he did not view the exchange as a normal moment of sportsmanship.

Alhatem said, “We do not play with these types. We do not respect these types.”

Then he took it one step further.

“As Kuwaitis, we have no respect for them,” he said.

So much for keeping politics out of sports.

Kuwaiti champion Jassim Alhatem refused to shake Israeli medalist Yoav Manor’s hand at the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Jiu-Jitsu World Tour medal ceremony. (Getty Images)

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Alhatem said he did not accept the argument that athletes should separate international competition from world events. In fact, he argued, Muslim athletes have a responsibility to do the opposite.

“Friends, last advice from a brother: have a principle,” he said. “As a Muslim, you must have a principle.”

“Even if you tell me that sports are separate from politics, no, no. There is no separation. If that were true, Russia would not be banned from participating in the Olympics right now.”

While the IOC allows some Russian athletes to compete as neutrals under certain conditions, Russia is not represented as Russia.

Kuwaiti jiu-jitsu champion Jassim Alhatem refused to shake the hand of Israeli bronze medalist Yoav Manor at the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam medal ceremony on Sunday, then skipped the winners’ photo. (Getty Images)

Meanwhile, Manor kept his cool.

The Israeli delegation told Ynet in a statement that “despite the tension, the organizers and Emirati hosts attempted to calm the situation and persuaded the Kuwaiti competitor to attend the medal ceremony, but he chose to leave the podium area. Manor, for its part, remained focused on sporting success: a bronze medal in a prestigious international competition after an impressive day of matches against competitors from around the world.”

Amir Boaron, the coach of the Israeli national jiu-jitsu team, also said Manor tried to shake Alhatem’s hand and “act like an athlete.” Arik Kaplan, president and CEO of Ayelet (Israel’s non-Olympic sports federation), praised Manor for showing “character, restraint and values.”

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OutKick reached out to the UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation, AJP Tour and Alhatem for comment but did not receive a response via publication.

International sports revolve around the idea that healthy competition brings people of all backgrounds together. But in this case, this couldn’t be further from the truth.