Which is better: Compete against Israeli athletes and beat them, or withdraw?

When submitting paperwork to join military service, recruits undergo what's known as “security initiation.” During this process, the group's leader gives instructions on maintaining the unit's safety and the lives of the recruits. They also discuss certain actions that could "exempt the applicant from service for security reasons." One of these reasons was if you or a family member had traveled to prohibited countries, which included "Israel." Israel prohibited?! What about the peace treaty? Did its pages suddenly scatter into the wind?

The leader as an Olympic player

Here is a blurry image where memories mix with dreams, illusions with facts: Anwar El-Sadat and Golda Meir exchanging laughs, between them a picture of the martyr Ibrahim al-Rifai, and the blood of prisoners in the Atlit detention center. Bodies of soldiers crushed by Zionist tanks in the Ras Sedr massacre, interrupted by an image of Hosni Mubarak shaking hands with Ariel Sharon, the commander of the battalion that buried 80 of our soldiers alive in Wadi Latrun. The papers and credentials of the State of Israel were baptized with the blood of little Yusuf, his torn limbs, and the remnants of his curly hair. The smoke rising from the buildings of Gaza, Beirut, Syria, Iraq, Sudan, Libya, and soon Egypt, was something we could all smell in the pages of Camp David, Wadi Araba, and Oslo.

“Yusuf, seven years old, he’s curly-haired, he’s white, and he’s beautiful.”
A desperate Palestinian mother gives her missing son’s description to the doctors at the hospital, only to find that he was killed in the lsraeli bombing. pic.twitter.com/9c95AQbgvp

— TIMES OF GAZA (@Timesofgaza) October 20, 2023

This isn't political stubbornness but a truth proven by time: This enemy will remain the enemy, and peace only holds with the agreement of all parties. Normalization doesn't exempt the criminal from accountability. As for that group leader who dictated our security initiation, he hates Israel just as much as I do, perhaps even more. I imagine he now sleeps with tears on his face from the feeling of betrayal at how things turned out.

There are Israeli athletes in some international competitions—do we face them or withdraw? Does simply playing against an opponent mean recognizing the entity they represent? Are Arab athletes' stances part of the battle, requiring acknowledgment, or is sports something separate from political stances?

If he were to encounter a Zionist on the street, he might curse him, or even avoid him as if he didn't exist—this is the very least one could do. Let all the worn-out peace treaties fall. If this is the general sentiment within official departments, why then are we surprised when Arab athletes in the Olympics act similarly towards the enemy's players?

For reasons unknown to me, I remembered that tough Egyptian group leader immediately after the Algerian athlete, Redouane Messaoud Dris, announced his withdrawal from the judo competition at the Paris Olympics, refusing to compete against the Israeli athlete Tohar Butbul. Then the image of every Arab athlete who took a similar stand came to mind: I saw it in Nader El-Sayed, the goalkeeper of the Egyptian national team, when he refused to play with his Belgian club, Club Brugge, in a match in "occupied Palestine," which led to his permanent dismissal. I saw it in Ahmed Hassan, the former captain of the Egyptian national team, when he refused to play with Club Anderlecht against Club Hapoel Tel Aviv in the Champions League, and also when he refused to wear the jersey of the Turkish team Galatasaray after the club announced it was signing with Israeli player Haim Ben Rafif.

For the occupation, recognition—like rejection—is a single, clear, and straightforward word that everyone understands and repeats. Just a word. But… do you know what that word means?

I heard it in the voice of Moroccan striker Marouane Chamakh when he refused to play against the Maccabi Haifa team while he was with Bordeaux in France. I saw it in an Algerian named Meziane Dahmani, who refused to participate in the 1991 World Judo Championship in Barcelona after he was drawn to face an Israeli opponent in the first round. I saw it in the withdrawal of the Algerian wrestler Mariem Ben Moussa from the 2011 World Wrestling Championship in Rome after she was drawn against the Israeli Shahar Levy. And I saw it in the decision of the top contender for the 2011 World Taekwondo Championship, the Algerian wrestler Zakaria Chenouf, who gave up his dreams after refusing to fight the Israeli Adam Sagir, and exited in the first round of the championship.

Who do we shoot at?

There are Israeli athletes in some international competitions—do we face them or withdraw? We play and crush them, of course. But what if we lose? Then, we withdraw, naturally. But what about the dreams of the weaker player? And the official stance of their country? Are they honorable positions or acts of betrayal and normalization? Does simply playing against an opponent mean recognizing the entity they represent, based on the same logic that makes Mahmoud Abbas, the President of the Palestinian Authority, more beloved by the Israeli government than Yahya Sinwar? Are Arab athletes' stances part of the struggle, part of the battle, and therefore require acknowledgment, or is sports something separate from political stances?

After Algerian athlete Fethi Nourine chose to withdraw from the Tokyo Olympics instead of face an Israeli opponent out of “support for the Palestinian cause,” Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth wrote, "The Arabs mock us. There are all kinds of peace agreements, but on the ground, Arab athletes prove that Israel does not exist in their eyes," and that the "Abraham Accords" carry no weight among the general public. Why? Because Palestine will always be the moral compass of the Arab world.

Here’s another blurry image, but one that is very important, even by Israel’s own standards of extremism and its meticulousness in trying to prevent Arabs from winning in any way, no matter how small. Perhaps we all remember what happened with the Algerian athlete Fethi Nourine, who chose to withdraw from the Tokyo Olympics after he was drawn to face an Israeli opponent. In statements to Algerian television, he said that his “support for the Palestinian cause” made him unable to compete. What followed was an extremely violent reaction, as the Olympic committee suspended him and his coach for ten years, which led him to retire from the sport altogether. This was followed by warnings from the International Olympic Committee about the consequences of boycotting Israeli competitors.

"I don't want to dirty my hands"

Fethi Nourine was born in the city of Oran, Algeria, in 1991, and grew up in a modest, conservative family. He started practicing judo at the age of seven and was crowned the champion of Algeria for the first time in 2007. Since then, he has won many international championships and titles, including the African Championship three times and the Mediterranean Games. He was injured in 2015 but made a strong comeback for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. There, he immediately refused to compete against an Israeli athlete, and his career came to an abrupt end. He returned home as a national hero, carried on shoulders, after causing embarrassment to the leaders of the Zionist entity and its allies.

The Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth later wrote, "The Arabs mock us. There are all kinds of peace agreements, but on the ground, Arab athletes prove that Israel does not exist in their eyes," and that the "Abraham Accords" carry no weight among the general public. Why? Because Palestine will always be the moral compass of the Arab world.

The Israeli athlete in most cases was, or still is, a soldier in the occupation army, which shatters the absurd idea of separating sports from politics and undermines the entire peace process.

Nourine was very frank and straightforward—he did not compromise or flatter anyone. He gambled his entire future for a single moment, a single stance. So, what did he gain from this resistance? Nothing, perhaps, except his dignity and self-worth. And perhaps he also gained a superpower that now allows him to sleep peacefully and live his life with a sense of pride—a pride that has kept his hands completely clean of any blood, as he puts it. This stands in contrast to some other Arab athletes who played and, in doing so, gave legitimacy to the occupying entity, all for nothing.

Among them is Saudi judo player Tahani al-Qahtani, who refused to withdraw from the Tokyo Olympics and lost to her Israeli opponent with a score of 11-0. A video circulating on social media showed al-Qahtani and the Israeli player shaking hands three times after the match in Tokyo.

This is in addition to the fact that the Israeli player in most cases was, or still is, a soldier in the occupation army, which shatters the absurd idea of separating sports from politics and undermines the entire peace process.

Some might say, "We’ll play and defeat them thoroughly." But I say this also serves the Zionist agenda. Why? Because it’s like the difference between what Moroccan player Anwar El Ghazi wrote on his personal page after Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, and what Mohamed Salah said in his famous video of condemnation.

For instance, Avishag Semberg, who won the bronze medal in taekwondo, did so while serving in the Israeli military, specifically in the unit responsible for the illegal Alon settlement in the occupied West Bank. Despite this, none of the officials disqualified her, even though she and her comrades, theoretically, contributed to the killing of karate champion Nagham Abu Samra and at least 350 Palestinian athletes in Gaza since October 7, 2023, as least half of whom dreamed of playing in the Paris Olympics.

I swear not by the soldiers' locations

"Athlete, IDF soldier, and now, Olympic medalist—is there anything she can’t do?" This was what the chief of staff of the occupation army wrote in a tweet to congratulate Semberg.

Of course not; whoever kills children and women and commits these horrors in cold blood can do anything. Nothing is impossible for such people. So, tell us: why should Arab athletes be in the same room with someone whose hands are stained with Palestinian blood? Is there any gain, any medal, that could wipe the blood from their hands after they officially recognized Israel and its representatives, and in turn, recognized its terrorist soldiers as Olympic athletes who have the right to compete, and win, or lose?

Most Israeli athletes were, or still are, serving in the IDF, which kills children and women and commits horrors in cold blood. So, tell us: why should Arab athletes be in the same room with someone whose hands are stained with Palestinian blood? Is there any gain, any medal, that could wipe the blood from their hands after they officially recognized Israel and its representatives, and in turn, recognized its terrorist soldiers as Olympic athletes who have the right to compete, and win, or lose?

Some might say, "We’ll play and defeat them thoroughly." But I say this also serves the Zionist agenda. Why? Because it’s like the difference between what Moroccan player Anwar El Ghazi wrote on his personal page after Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, and what Mohamed Salah said in his famous video of condemnation.

Anwar refused to acknowledge the borders imposed by the occupation by force of arms, stating, "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free," asserting that there is only one state called Palestine, stretching from the river to the sea. That’s why Mainz, the German club, terminated his contract.

As for Salah, even if he was referring to Israel, his statements serve the narrative that’s been crafted and instilled in minds from the start: mixing good and evil into a single circle, like in Chinese mythology where Yin and Yang merge together—where there is a black dot in every white circle and a white dot in every black circle. Both circles exist within one large circle that carries both the black and the white, and so the circles continue until the pure truth is lost.

Fighting a twisted, psychopathic apartheid regime requires first refusing to acknowledge its existence. There can be no sitting with it at the same table, and no peace with it, because doing so contributes to spreading its narrative and lies—that there is a real battle between "two states" equal in strength and identity. It also implies an indirect recognition of its existence as a state with known and agreed-upon historical borders. It might be a rogue or criminal state, but it would still be seen as a state defending its right to exist, which is sufficient for the time being to continue its crimes under the pretext of self-defense.

Therefore, fighting a twisted, psychopathic apartheid regime requires first refusing to acknowledge its existence. There can be no sitting with it at the same table, and no peace with it, because doing so contributes to spreading its narrative and lies—that there is a real battle between "two states" equal in strength and identity. It also implies an indirect recognition of its existence as a state with known and agreed-upon historical borders. It might be a rogue or criminal state, but it would still be seen as a state defending its right to exist, which is sufficient for the time being to continue its crimes under the pretext of self-defense. Yes, for the occupation, recognition—like rejection—is a single, clear, and straightforward word that everyone understands and repeats. Just a word. But… do you know what that word means?

* The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Raseef22