Israeli jiu-jitsu fighter wins bronze in Abu Dhabi as Kuwaiti gold medalist refuses handshake

Israeli jiu-jitsu fighter Yoav Manor won a bronze medal on Sunday in the under-77-kilogram category at the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam after winning three out of four bouts. However, controversy erupted after the competition when Kuwaiti gold medalist Jassim Alhatem refused to shake hands with his Israeli opponent.

“You Israelis kill children,” Alhatem told Manor. “If you had reached the final, I would not have competed against you."

Alhatem also refused to participate in the traditional winner’s photo with his Israeli opponent.

Kuwait has not officially recognized Israel and there are currently no diplomatic relations between the two countries. The incident also reflects a broader history of boycotts and refusals involving Israeli athletes in international competition.

In response to the incident, the Israeli jiu-jitsu delegation announced that “despite the tension, the organizers and Emirati hosts tried to calm the situation and persuade the Kuwaiti competitor to take part in the medal ceremony, but he chose to leave the podium area."

"Manor, for his part, 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,” the delegation concluded.

The Israeli team’s coach, Amir Boaran, praised Manor’s professionalism following the competition and described the event as part of the Israeli athlete’s preparations for upcoming international tournaments.

“The Abu Dhabi Grand Slam is a very prominent AJP competition, run by the United Arab Emirates. Yoav, a member of Israel’s under-21 national team, came to the competition as part of his preparations for the European Championship, which will be held in June in Romania," Boaran said.

Boaran said Manor performed strongly throughout the tournament despite the post-match confrontation with the Kuwaiti athlete.

“Yoav had an excellent competition. Unfortunately, his opponent refused to shake his hand and take a photo with him, and even called him a ‘child murderer.’ Yoav continued trying to shake his hand and behave like an athlete,” the Israeli coach said.

Boaran also emphasized that the Emirati hosts handled the situation professionally and attempted to de-escalate tensions.

“It is important for me to stress that the Emirati hosts welcomed us wonderfully and even apologized for the incident,” he added.

Arik Kaplan, president and CEO of Ayelet, the federation for non-Olympic sports in Israel, also praised Manor’s conduct during the competition:

“Yoav Manor brought great honor to Israeli sports today. This was not only a sporting achievement on a prestigious international stage, but also a display of respectful and proper conduct in the face of hostile and unsportsmanlike behavior by another athlete. Yoav showed character, restraint and values. This is the Israeli spirit and what we want to see from our athletes — excellence on the mat and respect off it.”

The incident reflects a broader history of sports boycotts involving Israeli athletes, including among countries that maintain diplomatic relations with Israel.

In June 2025, Jordan’s under-19 basketball team forfeited its game against Israel at the World Cup in Switzerland due to political pressure to boycott the Jewish state. Jordan signed a peace agreement with Israel in 1994.

At the time, Ahmad Al-Hanandeh, the head of the Jordanian Basketball Federation, defended the decision and said the federation acted to protect its players.

“We made the appropriate decision not to play against Israel in order to protect the interests of our players. We hope FIBA will view our decision from the right perspective and that there won’t be significant consequences for the federation or the players,” Al-Hanandeh said.

Al-Hanandeh also argued that participating in the game could have subjected the players to public pressure and affected their well-being.

“We wanted to avoid exposing the players to any situation that could open the door to bullying, harassment, or psychological pressure that might affect their performance or safety,” he added.