Open anti-Semitism at the Olympics against Judoka from Israel: “Your retreat is stronger than their armies” – sport

07/27/2021, 5:22 pm

The judoka Butbul finds no opponents – because he is Israeli. The IOC responds immediately. But it is powerless against disguised anti-Semitism.

The Algerian Fethi Nourine should feel confirmed on his Facebook channel. “How many times has betrayal defeated us? Your retreat is stronger than their armies, ”writes one user. Another: “We are proud of you, Brother Fethi.” Proud that the judoka Nourine withdrew on his own initiative at the Olympics.

Before his first round fight a few days ago in the weight class up to 73 kilograms, he had not seen himself able to compete against Mohamed Abdalrasool. But the reason was not that Nourine was injured or suddenly over the weight limit. It had to do with the fact that he would have faced Tohar Butbul if he had defeated Abdalrasool.

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Butbul is Israeli – and Algeria rejects normalizing relations with Israel, said Nourine’s coach Amar Ben Yekhlef. Nourine himself later announced that he is fully behind this “Palestinian matter”. The International Judo Federation reacted and temporarily suspended the 30-year-old athlete and his trainer. But that didn’t stop the case. Because when Tohar Butbul was preparing for his second round fight against Abdalrasool on Monday, the news reached him that he was one more round without a fight.

The Sudanese Abdalrasool also did not take part. The reasons for the withdrawal were unknown at the time of going to press. Based on the previous history, it is likely that anti-Semitism may have played the decisive role in this case too.

Butbul took with composure the fact that no one wanted to face him in the first two rounds. “It’s not unusual for me,” he told a reporter. “These things happen to Israeli athletes. But I don’t want to discuss politics now. “

Michaela Engelmeier make such reports angry. The SPD politician was once a successful judoka herself, she was a member of the German national team. She now works on a voluntary basis for the capital office of Makkabi Germany, the Jewish gymnastics and sports association in Germany.

“I’ve also seen something like this before,” she told Tagesspiegel. “Something like that upsets me. Such actions run like a red thread through international competitions when Israeli athletes compete against athletes from Iran or other Arab countries, ”she says.

In fact, sport has not gotten a grip on the problem for many years. In Judo in particular, anti-Semitic incidents have increased in the recent past. For example, the Iranian judoka Saeid Mollaei was forced to withdraw at the Judo World Cup two years ago by high officials in his country because he “threatened” to meet the Israeli Sagu Muki.

The Tokyo silver medalist initially defied instructions and kept fighting until security forces suddenly appeared in front of his family’s home. A definite threat to him. He had to write off his dream of winning another World Cup. The International Judo Federation then banned Iran from all international competitions. There are also no Iranian judoka at the games in Tokyo.

“That was great from the association,” says Michaela Engelmeier. The 60-year-old is now hoping for similarly tough sanctions from the International Olympic Committee (IOC). This has so far acted relatively cautiously in these matters. Often they were satisfied with the alleged excuses of Arab judoka. Injuries or violations of the permissible weight were and are often listed as reasons for withdrawal. “That is often threadbare,” believes Engelmeier

“Such cases should better be investigated. And if, as with Fethi Nourine, anti-Semitic reasons are mentioned quite openly, then these athletes should be banned for life, ”she demands.

It is not yet known whether Fethi Nourine will be allowed to continue its international career. The associations will negotiate intensively on this case. It seems certain that the retreat has made the man a greater hero for many of his fellow believers than he could have become with an Olympic victory. “God bless you, brother,” was another Facebook entry.