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Rio Olympics : Egyptian Judoka Refuses to Shake Hands With Israeli

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I find it funny the other controversy is much worse, Hope Solo calling the Swedish team cowards

Silent protest is much better then being a verbal toxic nonsense
 

LAM09

Member
I find it funny the other controversy is much worse, Hope Solo calling the Swedish team cowards

Silent protest is much better then being a verbal toxic nonsense

I'm honestly shocked more hasn't been made of it here. Talk about being a sore loser and a disgrace at the same time.
 
If you want to get technical, European converts, such as the Ashkenazi and Sephardi, don't really have a strong claim to any legacy in the Levant. Their immigration, and establishment of a new state, can be seen as more European colonialism of foreign lands.

The Ashkenazi and Sephardi were primarily immigrants into Europe as a result of the repeated destruction of the Jewish state and thus the spread of the Jewish diaspora. Most were not converts but were people forced out of their lands. And once IN Europe they were so heavily discriminated against (with the Holocaust being the most extreme example, but this occured in nearly every single country in Europe) that they were forced to immigrate again. So this is nonsense. The only reason the Ashkenazi and Sephardi even EXIST as distinct communities is because of European colonization of Palestine in the first place.
 

Grizzlyjin

Supersonic, idiotic, disconnecting, not respecting, who would really ever wanna go and top that
I find it funny the other controversy is much worse, Hope Solo calling the Swedish team cowards

Silent protest is much better then being a verbal toxic nonsense

I wish I could act surprised but Hope Solo has a tendency to do stuff like that. Her comments are the definition of unsportsmanlike. You lost. It sucks. But saying they played like cowards?! Must have been a sale on sour grapes in the Olympic village. She'll say something to justify it before she apologizes.
 
Bad look.

I don't fully find the thing happening with the Palestinians fair either, and feel that Israel seems to be one of the major powers behind the right-wing politics in the U.S, but it's the Olympics - The entire point is to come together and display friendly competition with one-another.

Not only did he pull a heel move, but he still lost. Does he think the people who urged him not to lose are going to be like "Man, you psyched him out with that handshake refusal doe!".

Poor form indeed.

If it was purely because he was worried about the backlash and possible harm he might receive, I feel like maybe he should've just backed out of the competition entirely, or go on the record and say someone threatened your life.
 

Azzanadra

Member
Wow, completely shameful and disappointing. Don't hold individuals accountable for their government, its not like he just refused to shake Netanyahu's hand or something. I think the first step for progress in this situation is to acknowledge the other side and realize its not as simple as black or white.
 

Casimir

Unconfirmed Member
The Ashkenazi and Sephardi were primarily immigrants into Europe as a result of the repeated destruction of the Jewish state and thus the spread of the Jewish diaspora. Most were not converts but were people forced out of their lands. And once IN Europe they were so heavily discriminated against (with the Holocaust being the most extreme example, but this occured in nearly every single country in Europe) that they were forced to immigrate again. So this is nonsense. The only reason the Ashkenazi and Sephardi even EXIST as distinct communities is because of European colonization of Palestine in the first place.

This was already settled?

Wait what is this about?

Hope Solo was disrespectful toward the victorious Swedish team after they beat America:

After praising her teammates for tying the game in the 75th minute, saying it ”showed a lot of heart,’’ she ripped into the Swedes, saying they had played like “a bunch of cowards.’’


The Swedish coach then rekt Solo when asked about the comments:

“I don't give a crap,” she told reporters. “I'm going to Rio, she's going home.”
 

Morrigan Stark

Arrogant Smirk
Hope Solo was disrespectful toward the victorious Swedish team after they beat America:
I know nothing of soccer so I had to google her. I seriously wondered why people were talking about some sort of Star Wars EU character... >_> And yeah, butthurt sore loser comment haha.

The Swedish coach rekt Solo when asked about the comments:
HAHAHAHAHA rekt indeed
 

JordanN

Banned
Do the people who say "he doesn't need to shake hands because of Israel policy" realize he still went up against an Israeli? You can't cry "but I hate Israel!!!" when you lose, otherwise why would they give him medals if he won?
 

shintoki

sparkle this bitch
This was already settled?



Hope Solo was disrespectful toward the victorious Swedish team after they beat America:

After praising her teammates for tying the game in the 75th minute, saying it ”showed a lot of heart,’’ she ripped into the Swedes, saying they had played like “a bunch of cowards.’’


The Swedish coach then rekt Solo when asked about the comments:

“I don't give a crap,” she told reporters. “I'm going to Rio, she's going home.”

I love the coach's comment. Straight fucking ether
 

Tuck

Member
Even two athletes from North and South Korea were able to put the politics aside and take a selfie together.

I do understand where he was coming from, but it was a dick move, and incredibly unsportsman like.
 
Saw this on reddit. If the guy is going out of his way to shake your hand, then suck up your pride and be a good sportsman. He could have used the opportunity to be a role model to the idiots on twitter and his country.

Being a good sportsman comes second to looking out for your life. There is no telling what could be going on there. All it takes is one loon.
 
You haven't been paying much attention to right-wing politics lately.

Maybe not all that lately, but remember the protests to the Iran deal? Remember when Netanyahu showed up at congress with giant slides with "IRAN DEAL = NUKE" or whatever it said in almost child-like drawings.
 

ActWan

Member
It's not that surprising for me. The hate from Arab countries to anything Israel is immense...not just because of the Palestinian Arabs situation (coming from Egypt that would even be kind of hypocrite, just look at Gaza), but because Israeli-Arab conflicts are just rooted so hard into some people...it's a conflict that's spread through so many years.
But again, it could very well be because of security reasons. Too bad it has to be like this, even when Egypt is a country that Israel is at peace with and got land back from it.
 

Wag

Member
Lots of (muslim) Arabs feel very very involved in the matter.

Yes because their gov't plays it up to distract them from things going on at home.

That said, the Olympics is no place for politics. It's to bring all nations together in the spirit of sportsmanship.
 
You haven't been paying much attention to right-wing politics lately.

landscape-1450461032-putin-index.jpg
 

Madness

Member
Being a good sportsman comes second to looking out for your life. There is no telling what could be going on there. All it takes is one loon.

I want to know where you people that are all so concerned for this persons life are hearing that he was in mortal danger if he shook the Israeli's hand. Egypt isn't Iran and Egypt probably has the best relationship with Israel out of any country in the middle east.

All you guys are doing is coming up with your own hypothetical situations to handwave awag what an idiot he was. If shaking the guys hand puts him in so much danger, he lost the match, what does that say. Why did he even enter the Olympics then?
 

yarden24

Member
They are both there as representatives of their countries. It's understandable that any Arab would refuse acts of normalization with Israel while they oppress the Palestinians - although in that context, he should have refused to compete against him in the first place.

how does that work exactly with Egypt being an active oppressor of the Palestinians in the Gaza strip, shouldn't he refuse to represent Egypt if the Palestinians plight is his issue?

shouldn't every Arab country that refuses to compete against Israeli athlete do the same to Egypt?

People never get educated on the grievances against Jews of Arab descent in Israel and don't see it as a race thing. It definitely is and Israel/Zionism is a white-washing of the region.

what grievances specifically are you talking about?
 

nilbog21

Banned
I want to know where you people that are all so concerned for this persons life are hearing that he was in mortal danger if he shook the Israeli's hand. Egypt isn't Iran and Egypt probably has the best relationship with Israel out of any country in the middle east.

All you guys are doing is coming up with your own hypothetical situations to handwave awag what an idiot he was. If shaking the guys hand puts him in so much danger, he lost the match, what does that say. Why did he even enter the Olympics then?

I think what they're trying to say is the situation is more complicated than it appears. More than just "bad sportsmanship" (See: Hope Solo)

Hopefully the Egyptian fighter payed his respect to him in private.
 

Renekton

Member
At first glance, I think he made a safe choice for personal security.

I live in a Muslim country and even people here are sensitive AF about this stuff.
 

neorej

ERMYGERD!
How disrespectful. You're competing in the Olympics, if you can't handle getting beaten, don't enter the competition.
 

RoyalFool

Banned
The guys irrational disrespect towards a fellow competitor is weird, but so long as he lost and now has to accept he got his ass handed to him by an Israeli; I feel that's enough Karma to balance the situation out.

The Olympian who pissed me off the most so far this year, was the Kuwaiti shooter (Fehaid Aldeehani?) who started running around celebrating before the contest was even other, all the other contenders had to delay their final (and 2nd place contending) shots for like 5 minutes while he pranced around like a smug twat.
 

Kintaro

Worships the porcelain goddess
That said, the Olympics is no place for politics. It's to bring all nations together in the spirit of sportsmanship.

The Olympics has been political for a very long time now. And will continue to be until we stop hating each other around the world. Which will take a very long time. People have competed in the Olympics and have used it to make political statements. Boycotts exist. Terrible events based on politics have taken place at them. Hell, the selection of countries to hold the games can be based on politics.

As for this situation? Man, that's some complex stuff over a handshake. I honestly feel for both parties here. =/ It's one thing to say that he should have bowed to his opponent (which he should have without trying to back out of it) just due to both being Judokas. But anything after, if there was any thought in that competitor's mind that harm could come to him or his family over a handshake, I can't fault him for backing away (especially if there was a language barrier? I don't know). If he is a jerk though? That sucks. Tough situation. =/
 
In my opinion, if you can't respect your competitors then you shouldn't be competing against them.

There have been plenty of political protests related to the Olympics, and hey, that's cool -- don't participate if you want to protest.

This guy should've forfeit before the match if he can't respect the fundamentals of the sport (bow) and even basic human decency.
 

SwolBro

Banned
It's hard for me to say on this matter....

on one hand it's disgraceful, but on the other what do we really know about the guy? he could have family and children and where he lives that could probably cause some serious problems.

if shaking the guys hand could put your life, your families life at risk wtf you gonna do? but then again if no one stands up to radical islam from within it's never going to change.
 
Do you what would've happened of he shook his hands?
AL Jazerah Arabic (it became a Muslim Brotherhood official channel based on its agenda) will have a field triplease.

The guy will be labeled as he shook his hand with the a Zionist aka Palestinian killers in all Arabic countries. At least between Governments they can say we were forced for diplomacy.

Palestinians having a country will help Israel to be recognized by most Arabic countries and I think Israelis as citizens wants piece and good relationship with neighboring countries. It'll also be easy to label Hamas as terrorists instead of their current fake image of Palestinian saviour.
PS : Hamas killed more Egyptian soldiers than that of Israel.
 

nacimento

Member
That's not what you said. You said people lose land in war. You are basically justifying taking of land by war. I am saying that is actually false per international law and is also a dangerous form of thinking.

Does that mean I shouldn't shake a french hand because they took Alsace-Lorraine from us after WW 1?
 

Crema

Member
It's hard for me to say on this matter....

on one hand it's disgraceful, but on the other what do we really know about the guy? he could have family and children and where he lives that could probably cause some serious problems.

if shaking the guys hand could put your life, your families life at risk wtf you gonna do? but then again if no one stands up to radical islam from within it's never going to change.

I love how we all just accept Egypt is a country where its citizens get murdered for shaking someone's hand.
 
While I think that at a place like this politics should have no place, reality is different. Yes, it is some kind of asshole behaviour, but after losing to an Israeli I can see why he is not shaking his hand. He wouldn't be safe at home, because of how many nutjobs there are in Egypt who would lynch him for that.

The Olympics have always been extremely political since like forever. Be it the one during Nazi Germany, or USA and USSR & Co. boycotting each other during the Cold War period etc. - there are just too many examples.
 

Pusherman

Member
I keep seeing people compare this to the conduct between North and South Koreans and I don't think that's a fair comparison at all. North Korea isn't a racist colony on Korean land, Israel is. Israel is about white Europeans believing themselves to be entitled to land in the Middle East just by virtue of being European. Again, the best comparison would be an African athlete, from Ghana or Kenya or something, refusing to shake hands with a white athlete from Apartheid South Africa. Because in conflicts like the one in Israel and South Africa the mere presence of the individual is seen as part of the problem. No South Korean is going to think a North Korean has 'taken his land' or is somewhere he isn't supposed to be but that's entirely what some people feel about Jewish Europeans in Israel or, back during the days of Apartheid, about Europeans in South Africa.
 

sprsk

force push the doodoo rock
I keep seeing people compare this to the conduct between North and South Koreans and I don't think that's a fair comparison at all. North Korea isn't a racist colony on Korean land, Israel is. Israel is about white Europeans believing themselves to be entitled to land in the Middle East just by virtue of being European. Again, the best comparison would be an African athlete, from Ghana or Kenya or something, refusing to shake hands with a white athlete from Apartheid South Africa. Because in conflicts like the one in Israel and South Africa the mere presence of the individual is seen as part of the problem. No South Korean is going to think a North Korean has 'taken his land' or is somewhere he isn't supposed to be but that's entirely what some people feel about Jewish Europeans in Israel or, back during the days of Apartheid, about Europeans in South Africa.

I get what you're saying about how north and south koreans but if you think it's not a big deal to take a selfie together compared to an arab muslim shaking hands with an Israeli, you clearly have no idea about the relationship between N and S Korea. I mean, they are still technically at war, for crying out loud.

This guy was just being an immature baby. Disgracing his sport and frankly his religion and state. Respecting your opponent is like rule number one. If you can't do that then get the f out.
 

Baybars

Banned
As a muslim arab he should have shaken the israeli's hands. At first i thought he did so coz he didnt want to end his career. But the egyptian quit recently.
 
As a muslim arab he should have shaken the israeli's hands. At first i thought he did so coz he didnt want to end his career. But the egyptian quit recently.
Between all Arabs, Egyptians are the most vocal about fighting for Palestinian rights given that they were the first that recognized Israel back in the 70s which resulted in an uproar among not just Arab but Muslim nations.

It's very sensitive and as damaging as some of being labeled as an Anti-Semitic in the West.
 
I keep seeing people compare this to the conduct between North and South Koreans and I don't think that's a fair comparison at all. North Korea isn't a racist colony on Korean land, Israel is. Israel is about white Europeans believing themselves to be entitled to land in the Middle East just by virtue of being European. Again, the best comparison would be an African athlete, from Ghana or Kenya or something, refusing to shake hands with a white athlete from Apartheid South Africa. Because in conflicts like the one in Israel and South Africa the mere presence of the individual is seen as part of the problem. No South Korean is going to think a North Korean has 'taken his land' or is somewhere he isn't supposed to be but that's entirely what some people feel about Jewish Europeans in Israel or, back during the days of Apartheid, about Europeans in South Africa.

Not defending Israel, but a very substantial number of Jewish Israelis are not of European origin. A lot of them "can't go back to Europe", which I'm assuming is your solution.

Also, rolling this in with European colonialism doesn't make any sense in the first place. Completely different causes. Potentially even insulting to those Jewish victims of this "White European" superiority you mention.
 
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