Antisemitism in the Olympic Games

Updated on Dec 21, 2024

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The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (French: Jeux olympiques), are leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games are considered the world's foremost sports competition with more than 200 nations participating. The Olympic Games are held every four years, with the Summer and Winter Games alternating by occurring every four years but two years apart. In the Olympic games during the years, although its approach of "peace through sport", there have been many anti-Semitic occasions which brought the politics into the sports field, and at least in 1972 – ended in the death of eleven Israeli athletes. This article covers the anti-Semitic incidents which occurred at the Olympic games from its very beginning, mostly as expected, against Israeli athletes.

Berlin - 1936

Perhaps the most controversial Olympic Games associated with World Wars, the 1936 Summer Olympics, was riddled with boycotts by nations, racial discrimination and unhealthy politics. The Olympic was held in Berlin, Germany, and coincided with Adolf Hitler’s rise to power. Critics claimed that Hitler used the Olympic stage to propagate his own political ideologies. Hitler was also heavily criticized for his racist attitude towards the Jewish participants in the games. Recognizing the exploitation of the Olympic Games for political purposes by Hitler, a number of organizations and leading politicians called for the boycott of the games.

Munich - 1972

The "Munich massacre" was an attack during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany, at which eleven Israeli Olympic team members were taken hostage and eventually killed, along with a German police officer, by the Palestinian terrorist group Black September. Shortly after the crisis began, they demanded 234 prisoners jailed in Israel and the German-held founders of the Red Army Faction (Andreas Baader and Ulrike Meinhof) be released. Black September called the operation "Iqrit and Biram", after two Palestinian Christian villages whose inhabitants were expelled by the IDF in 1948. The attack was motivated by secular nationalism, with the commander of the terrorist group, Luttif Afif, having been born to Jewish and Christian parents. German neo-Nazis gave the attackers logistical assistance. Police officers killed five of the eight Black September members during a failed rescue attempt. They captured the three survivors, whom West Germany later released following hijacked Lufthansa Flight 615 in October. Mossad responded to the release with the 1973 Israeli raid on Lebanon and Operation Wrath of God, tracking down and killing Palestinians suspected of involvement in the massacre. On 3 August 2016, two days prior to the start of the 2016 Summer Olympics, the International Olympic Committee officially honored the eleven Israelis killed for the first time.

Atlanta - 1996

The French synchronized swimming team agreed to change its performance slated for the Atlanta Olympic Games after protests from French Jews.

Athens - 2004

Iranian judoka Arash Miresmaeili disqualified himself to fight the Israeli Ehud Vaks, which earned him public praise from the Tehran regime.

Beijing - 2008

Iranian swimmer Mohammad Alirezaei's refused to get in the water to race in the same heat as Israeli Tom Beeri, who finished 4th, leaving his lane empty during the heat. That way of act occurred yet again At the 2009 FINA World Aquatics Championships in Rome, in which Alirezaei refused to get in the water to race in the same heat as Israeli competitor Mickey Malul.

London - 2012

At a ceremony for memory of the 11 Israeli athletes and coaches that were killed at the 1972 Summer Olympics, top Olympics' official Jacques Rogge came under sustained attack over the refusal to honor the dead with a minute’s silence at the opening ceremony of London 2012. Instead, a week before the official opening of the Games, the Belgian aristocrat held a minute of silence during a minor ceremony in the Olympic village.

Brazil - 2016

Just before the start of the games, media outlets pushed a sob story about Palestinian swimmer Mary Al-Atrash, claiming she was unable to use an Olympic-sized pool for training. “There is no Olympic-sized swimming pool in the Palestinian territories that Palestinians are allowed to use, so Atrash practices at the YMCA in Beit Sahour, near Bethlehem", Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported. “The pool is 25 meters long, half the length of the facility she’ll compete in at Rio". In a Facebook post, Israeli officials called out Atrash, saying she refused to apply for a permit to travel to Jerusalem to use their facilities. Liel Leibovitz of Tablet Magazine pointed out that there are several full-sized pools within the Palestinian territories she could have used as well.

Lebanese Olympians refused to ride on a bus with Israeli athletes to get to the opening ceremony of the 2016 Summer Olympics. When the Israeli delegation of athletes and coaches tried to board the bus to Maracana stadium, the head of the Lebanese delegation blocked the entrance.

A Saudi female judo competitor forfeited her first round match at the Olympic Games to avoid going up against a rival from Israel, it has been claimed. Joud Fahmy was supposed to have taken on Christianne Legentil from Mauritius for the right to take on Israel’s Gili Cohen in the next round. But before the clash, Saudi officials tweeted that she had injured her arm and leg during training and that medics had told her to pull out. Afterwards, media outlets in Israel reportedly suggested that 22-year-old Fahmy was not injured. According to the Times of Israel, Channel 2 broadcaster said she had dropped out to avoid a fixture against an Israeli.

After losing a judo match on Friday, Islam El Shehaby, a fighter from Egypt, refused to shake his Israeli opponent’s hand — a major breach of judo etiquette. After beating him handily, Israeli fighter Ori Sasson extended his hand to El Shehaby. In response, the Egyptian fighter backed away, refusing to reciprocate the gesture.

In an Olympic qualifying match, Ala Ghasoun, a boxer from Syria, refused to fight an Israeli athlete. Ghasoun said competing with an athlete from Israel “would mean that I, as an athlete, and Syria, as a state, recognize the state of Israel".

Facebook places Israel in last on its list of competing countries - and without its flag too. The following occurred on a Facebook feature called Profile Frames, which allows users to add a flag and the Rio 2016 in their profile photo. The Israel option can be found right at the bottom of the list after Zimbabwe, which is the last country alphabetically on the list. Also absent is the Israeli flag in the option. Instead is the flag of the Israeli Olympic Committee.

References

Antisemitism in the Olympic Games Wikipedia

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