A medal ceremony at the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam jiu-jitsu tournament descended into tension on Sunday after Kuwaiti fighter Jassim Alhatem allegedly refused to shake hands with Israeli bronze medallist Yoav Manor or stand beside him for the traditional podium photograph in the under-77 kg division.
Manor won three of his four matches during the event to secure third place in a competitive international field.
According to members of the Israeli delegation, Alhatem refused both the handshake and the customary winners’ photograph. Witnesses present at the ceremony said that the Kuwaiti athlete directed strong remarks toward Manor, reportedly telling him that he would not have faced him in the final had the two met there.
Event organizers and Emirati hosts reportedly tried to calm the situation down and encouraged both athletes to participate in the ceremony as normal, but Alhatem chose to leave the podium area.
The refusal fits into a broader pattern of athletes from Arab and Muslim-majority countries declining to face or acknowledge Israeli competitors in international sport, a trend that has intensified sharply since Israel began its genocide in Gaza in October 2023.
According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, more than 72,000 Palestinians have been killed since the assault began, with women, children, and the elderly making up the majority of the dead. Independent studies, including research published in The Lancet, suggest the true toll is significantly higher.
At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Tajikistan’s Nurali Emomali refused to shake hands with Israeli judoka Baruch Shmailov after their bout and walked off the mat. Morocco’s Abderrahmane Boushita also refused Shmailov’s handshake following his own loss to the Israeli athlete at the same tournament.
At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Egyptian judoka Islam El Shehaby lost to Israel’s Or Sasson, refused to bow or shake his extended hand, received loud boos from the crowd, and was expelled from the Olympic Village.
Algeria’s Fathi Nourine and Sudan’s Mohamed Abdalrasool both withdrew from Olympic judo events in previous Games to avoid facing Israeli opponents altogether.
Iraq’s national fencing team withdrew from the World Fencing Championship in Istanbul after learning they would face Israeli fencers. Jordan’s basketball team forfeited their fixture against Israel at the FIBA World Cup qualifiers in Lausanne in July 2025.
