Kuwaiti Muslim jiu-jitsu champion refuses to shake Israeli athlete's hand: 'We don't respect them at all'

Kuwaiti jiu-jitsu gold medalist Jassim Alhatem refused to shake hands with Israeli bronze medalist Yoav Manor during the 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 called the “Zionist organization” referring to Israel and added that Muslim men “must have a system.”

Manor won bronze in the men's under-77kg blue belt 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 official AJP results. Alhatem won all four of his matches to claim gold in the division.

But the podium ceremony quickly became tense.

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Alhatem refused to shake Manor's hand and refused to join him in the traditional winners' photo. Members of the Israeli team who were nearby told Ynet News that Alhatem said, “You Israelis are killing children,” adding that he would not have competed against Manor if an Israeli athlete had reached the finals.

Alhatem defended the moment, saying Manor tried to make himself look like a victim by shaking hands with the camera.

“Even though I talked to him before the stadium and I told him, 'I don't want to meet you, and I don't want to say hi to you. Sit on your side, and I'll sit on my side, so. [there would be] no problem,'” said Alhatem.

Alhatem made it clear that he did not view the exchange as an ordinary sporting moment.

“We don't play with these species. We don't respect these species,” said Alhatem.

Then he took another step.

“As Kuwaitis, we do not respect them at all,” he said.

So much for keeping politics out of sports.

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

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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 that Muslim athletes are responsible for doing the opposite.

“One last thing, guys, advice from my brother: have a goal,” he said. “You, as a Muslim man, must have a system.”

He added, “Even if you tell me that sport is separate from politics – no, no. There is no separation. If that were true, Russia would not be currently banned from participating in the Olympics.”

The IOC allows certain Russian athletes to compete as neutrals under certain conditions, while Russia is not represented as Russia.

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

Manor, on the other hand, kept to himself.

The Israeli team in a statement to Ynet said “despite the tension, the organizers and the Emirati hosts tried to calm the situation and persuaded the rival from Kuwait to take part in the medal ceremony, but he chose to leave the podium. Manor, on the other hand, remained focused on the success of the sport: a bronze medal in a prestigious international competition, after a prestigious international competition in the world.”

Amir Boaron, the coach of Israel's national jiu-jitsu team, also told the outlet that Manor continued to try 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, discipline 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, however, that couldn't be further from the truth.