A Kuwaiti jiu-jitsu gold medalist refused to shake hands with an Israeli bronze medalist during a medal ceremony Friday at the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Jiu-Jitsu World Tour, prompting organizers to intervene and urge the Kuwaiti athlete to remain for the ceremony.
Jassim Alhatem, competing in the men’s blue belt amateur under-77kg division, won gold by going undefeated through all four of his bouts. Israeli fighter Yoav Manor earned bronze after winning three of his four matches at the event, which is part of the Abu Dhabi Jiu-Jitsu Pro circuit. The Daily Caller
Alhatem refused to shake Manor’s hand on the podium and declined to appear in the traditional winners’ photograph. Members of the Israeli delegation said the Kuwaiti athlete told Manor, “You Israelis kill children,” and added that he would not have competed against him had the two met in the final.
The Israeli delegation said in a statement that “despite the tension, the organizers and Emirati hosts tried to calm the situation and persuade the Kuwaiti competitor to take part in the medal ceremony, but he chose to leave the podium area.”
Alhatem subsequently posted a video in Arabic — with English translations circulating on social media — defending his conduct. He alleged that Manor had attempted to manufacture a victim narrative by offering the handshake on camera, saying he had already made his position clear before the podium.
“Even though I had spoken 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 my side, so [there would be] no problem,’” Alhatem said, according to a translation.
He dismissed any notion that sport should be separated from geopolitics. “Even if you tell me sports is separate from politics — no, no. There is no separation,” Alhatem said. “If that were true, Russia wouldn’t be banned right now from participating in the Olympics.” He also described Israel as a “Zionist entity” and urged fellow Muslim athletes to “have a principle.”
Alhatem was unsparing in his contempt. “We do not play with these types. We do not respect these types,” he said. “As Kuwaitis, we do not respect them at all.”
Israel’s national jiu-jitsu team coach, Amir Boaron, praised Manor’s composure throughout the episode.
“Yoav had an excellent tournament: three victories, one loss, and a bronze medal,” Boaron said. “Unfortunately, the opponent refused to shake his hand and take a picture with him, and even called him a ’child killer.’ Yoav continued trying to shake his hand and behave like a sportsman.” Boaron also noted that the Emirati hosts “welcomed us wonderfully and even apologized for the behavior.”
Arik Kaplan, president and CEO of the Ayelet Association for Non-Olympic Sports in Israel, called Manor’s conduct exemplary.
“Yoav Manor brought great honor to Israeli sports today — not only because of the athletic achievement on a prestigious international stage, but especially because of his respectful and appropriate behavior in the face of hostile and unsportsmanlike conduct from another athlete,” Kaplan said.
Full details of the incident were reported by Ynet News, which spoke with members of the Israeli delegation at the event. The Jerusalem Post also reported on Manor’s bronze medal finish and the podium confrontation.
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