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Lack of sportsmanship leaves Arab-Israeli relationships rocky

SPORTS OLY-CLOSING-CEREMONY 2 LA
Simone Biles carries in the U.S. flag on Sunday, Aug. 21, 2016 at the Rio 2016 Closing Ceremony at Maracan in Brazil. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times/TNS)

One Egyptian judoka missed a rare opportunity to use sports as a mean to better Israeli-Egyptian relations rather than further open old wounds. 

Just two weeks ago, Islam El Shehaby refused to shake the hand of his Israeli opponent at the end of an Olympic judo match. While it showed poor sportsmanship, it was the perfect portrayal of six decades of Arab-Israeli relations.

If taken seriously, sports can be useful tools in public diplomacy. Sometimes, just a simple handshake could be a great way to inquire the public opinion. 

In autocratic Middle Eastern countries where there are limited public opinion polls, and even fewer accurate ones, Egyptians could evaluate the public’s attitude towards relations with Israel by evaluating people’s reactions to Shehaby’s handshake had it actually happened.

Even more importantly, Shehaby could have taken the lead to show the world that Arab and Israeli peoples can coexist. As a public figure in his home country, Shehaby had the opportunity to swing a few opinions towards friendship of the two nations. However, his ideology and hatred for another nation trumped the necessity for sportsmanship. Not only did his behavior get him kicked out of Brazil, being recalled by his government for an early return, but it also wasted a rare opportunity.

Even though Shehaby’s stunt was an attempt to show grievance for the Palestinians in Gaza, one cannot help but wonder who has it better: the Arab-Israelis who have accepted and support the government of Israel, or the Palestinians under the rule of terrorists of Hamas in Gaza Strip and corrupt Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.

As I talked to former Pentagon official and Middle East expert Dr. Michael Rubin, currently a resident scholar at the D.C. based "think tank" the American Enterprise Institute, he pointed out that “nothing symbolized the real problem in the Middle East more than that one spurned handshake. Egypt is technically at peace with Israel, but the rejectionism, anti-Semitism and hatred which infect the region's Arab population is a cancer eating away at any hope of peace.” This points out the real problem: even though the governments are technically at peace, there is still a long road head of them.

Peace with Israel has far greater outcomes for Shehaby and Shehabies than rejectionism. First and foremost, it will be with the cooperation of Israel, not hostility towards it, that the condition of life in the Gaza Strip, which is only better than the condition of life in North Korea, will be improved. 

Back at home, Egypt and other Arab countries are suffering from a severe drought, which some suggest contributes to the rise of terrorism. While Arab countries share the same landscape with Israel, Israel has been immune to that crisis thanks to its more than impressive water desalination technology. Peace with Israel could result in Israel sharing its technology with these countries, most of which are not landlocked, saving their peoples from vain thirst.

In the past, sports politics have served the world well. Nixon's visit to China was a result of ping-pong diplomacy and created lasting relations between the United States and China. However, six decades of Middle Eastern athletes refusing to take advantage of political potential of sportsmanship by not competing against Israeli athletes or by refusing to shake their hands, has increased the tensions even further and has turned the public opinions of their countries even more against better relations with Israel. 

The damaged relationships have resulted in defeating wars for those countries, starvation of Palestinians in Gaza Strip, flows of Palestinian refugees and even they themselves being denied of Israeli advancements in technology.

As Rubin states, the Olympic committee should take action against Shehaby as it violates its bylaws, but it won’t because of the corrupt nature of the Olympic Committee. 

In Tokyo 2020, there will likely be another Islam El Shehaby and another similar incident because of that. As Israeli diplomat Abba Eban said, “Arabs never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity,” and they have the full support of Olympic committee. Meanwhile, Palestinians in Gaza Strip and the West Bank and thirsty Arabs in Egypt. If this cycle of disrespect continues, the prospect of true peace remains remote. 


Reach the columnist at shaykhatiri@asu.edu or follow @shaykhatiri on Twitter.

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Editor’s note: The opinions presented in this column are the author’s and do not imply any endorsement from The State Press or its editors.

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