You, as a Muslim man, must have a principle.
On a competition podium in Abu Dhabi, a handshake refused became a mirror held up to one of sport's oldest and most contested ideals — that athletic competition can exist apart from the world's wounds. Kuwaiti jiu-jitsu champion Jassim Alhatem declined to shake the hand of Israeli bronze medalist Yoav Manor at the Grand Slam World Tour, declaring that Muslim athletes bear a duty to reject the fiction of apolitical sport. Manor responded not with confrontation but with continued outstretched hands, leaving the two men as quiet emblems of a question humanity has never fully resolved: whether shared competition can outlast divided allegiance.
- A gold medal moment fractured when Alhatem walked away from the podium rather than complete the ritual handshake with an Israeli competitor, turning a ceremony into a confrontation.
- Alhatem told Manor directly before the ceremony that he wanted no acknowledgment between them, then accused Manor of staging the handshake offer as a performance for cameras.
- Organizers and Emirati hosts attempted to coax Alhatem back to the podium for the winners' photograph, but he left the area entirely, leaving the ceremony incomplete.
- Manor held his composure throughout — continuing to offer his hand, staying focused on his bronze medal achievement, and drawing praise from the Israeli delegation for his restraint.
- Alhatem later argued publicly that the separation of sports and politics is a myth, pointing to Russia's Olympic ban as proof, and called on Muslim athletes to hold firm political principles.
- The incident lands as an unresolved fault line: two athletes, two answers to the same question about what sport is for — and no ceremony capable of containing both.
At the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Jiu-Jitsu World Tour, Jassim Alhatem of Kuwait stood atop the podium having won gold in the men's blue belt amateur under-77kg division. Beside him, Israel's Yoav Manor had earned bronze. The moment called for a handshake — the small ritual that international sport has long relied upon to signal that competition, at least briefly, rises above conflict. Alhatem refused it.
He would not shake Manor's hand, would not stand for the winners' photograph. Members of the Israeli delegation reported that Alhatem told Manor directly that Israelis kill children, and that he would not have competed against him had Manor reached the final. Organizers and Emirati hosts tried to mediate, but Alhatem left the podium area rather than return.
Manor's response was to keep offering his hand. He remained composed through the confrontation, focused on what he had accomplished over a full day of international competition. His federation president later praised his character and restraint, framing his conduct as its own kind of victory.
Alhatem did not stay silent. In a video circulated on social media, he defended his refusal, dismissed Manor's handshake as a staged bid for sympathy, and said he had told Manor beforehand to stay on his side of the podium. He went further, rejecting the premise that sport and politics can or should be separated — pointing to Russia's Olympic restrictions as evidence that politics already shapes athletic competition. He called on Muslim athletes to hold firm to their principles and refuse the separation.
What remained when the ceremony failed to complete itself was the tension international sport has always tried to manage: whether athletes can compete as individuals apart from their nations' conflicts, or whether the podium inevitably becomes a stage for something larger. Alhatem and Manor each gave a different answer, and the organizers could only watch.
At the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Jiu-Jitsu World Tour on Friday, two athletes stood on the medal podium in the men's blue belt amateur under-77kg division. Jassim Alhatem of Kuwait had won gold, taking all four of his matches. Yoav Manor of Israel had earned bronze, winning three of his four bouts. The moment called for the ritual handshake—the small gesture that has long anchored international sport as a space where competition transcends politics. Alhatem refused.
He would not shake Manor's hand. He would not stand for the traditional winners' photograph. According to members of the Israeli delegation present at the ceremony, Alhatem told Manor, "You Israelis kill children," and stated he would not have competed against him had Manor advanced to the final. The organizers and Emirati hosts attempted to mediate, to coax Alhatem back to the podium, but he left the area instead.
Manor, for his part, kept his composure. He continued offering his hand. He remained focused on what he had accomplished—a bronze medal at a prestigious international tournament after a full day of bouts against opponents from around the world. The Israeli delegation later praised his restraint and character in the face of the confrontation.
Alhatem did not let the moment pass without explanation. In an Arabic-language video that circulated on social media with English translations, he defended his refusal. He claimed Manor had orchestrated the handshake offer for the camera, that Manor was trying to position himself as the victim. Alhatem said he had spoken to Manor before the podium ceremony, telling him directly: "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." He made clear this was not about sportsmanship or the norms of athletic competition. "We do not play with these types. We do not respect these types," he said. "As Kuwaitis, we do not respect them at all."
But Alhatem went further still. He rejected the entire premise that sports and politics should be kept separate. He argued that Muslim athletes, in particular, have a responsibility to refuse that separation. "Have a principle," he told other Muslim competitors. "You, as a Muslim man, must have a principle." When pressed on the idea that sports transcend politics, he invoked the case of Russia, which remains banned from competing under its own flag at the Olympics, with only certain Russian athletes permitted to compete as neutrals under specific conditions. If politics did not touch sports, he reasoned, Russia would not face such restrictions. The separation, in his view, was a fiction.
Amir Boaron, coach of Israel's national jiu-jitsu team, told media outlets that Manor had continued trying to shake Alhatem's hand and "behave like an athlete." Arik Kaplan, president and CEO of Ayelet, Israel's federation for non-Olympic sports, praised Manor for demonstrating "character, restraint and values." The moment had become a test not of athletic skill but of how an athlete responds when the handshake is refused, when the ritual breaks down, when the podium becomes a stage for something other than sport.
The incident laid bare a tension that international competition has long tried to contain: whether athletes can truly compete as neutral actors, or whether they inevitably carry the weight of the conflicts their nations face. For Alhatem, the answer was clear. For Manor, the answer was to accept the refusal and move forward. The organizers and hosts could only watch as the moment unfolded, unable to restore the ceremony to what it was meant to be.
Citações Notáveis
We do not play with these types. We do not respect these types. As Kuwaitis, we do not respect them at all.— Jassim Alhatem, in video statement
Manor remained focused on the sporting achievement: a bronze medal at a prestigious international competition, after an impressive day of bouts against opponents from around the world.— Israeli delegation statement to Ynet News
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why did Alhatem feel compelled to refuse the handshake rather than simply shake it and move on?
Because for him, shaking Manor's hand would have been a form of acceptance—a signal that sport exists in some separate realm from politics. He saw the handshake as a statement, not just a gesture.
But Manor won his medal fairly. He competed and earned it. Doesn't that count for something?
It does count. Manor clearly understands that. He kept his composure, stayed focused on his achievement. But Alhatem was making a different argument—that being a Muslim athlete means you can't compartmentalize that way.
Do you think Alhatem's argument about Russia holds up? That politics and sports are inseparable?
He has a point about the inconsistency. Russia is banned; other nations face sanctions. Sports organizations make political decisions all the time. But using that to justify refusing a handshake with an individual athlete is a different thing.
What did Manor's response accomplish?
It showed restraint, yes. But it also put the burden back on Alhatem—made the refusal look worse by contrast. Manor didn't fight back. He just kept offering his hand.
Will this change anything about how jiu-jitsu tournaments are run?
Probably not immediately. But it raises a question organizers will have to think about: what do you do when an athlete refuses the basic rituals of sportsmanship? Do you force it? Do you accept it? There's no easy answer.
Is this about jiu-jitsu, or is jiu-jitsu just the stage?
It's the stage. The real conflict is much larger. Jiu-jitsu just happened to be where it surfaced.