The Hamas terror group praised an 11-year-old table tennis player from Lebanon for pulling out of tournament in Portugal on Saturday rather than play against an Israeli contestant.
Bissan Chiri was set to play against 15-year-old Elinor Davidov in the semi-finals of the World Table Tennis (WTT) Youth Star Contender Vila Nova de Gaia 2022, but instead withdrew from the competition altogether.
While she did not cite an official reason, Chiri received accolades from all over the Arab world, including from Lebanese officials.
Hamas spokesperson Jihad Taha Saturday praised Chiri’s decision as an “honourable Arab position that reflects the Lebanese people’s genuine sense of belonging” for the Palestinian cause.
He emphasized Chiri’s move “confirms that Arab and Muslim generations refuse all forms of normalisation with the Israeli occupation.”
Chiri wasn’t the first Lebanese athlete to drop out of a competition this month rather than play against an Israeli.
Lebanese tennis player Mohamed Ataya withdrew from a Cyprus global tennis tournament ahead of a match with an Israeli contender, in a move the Gaza-based Anti-Normalisation Campaign said reflected “the rejection of the great Lebanese people, and all Arab peoples, to normalise with the Israeli occupation, and standing up against the crimes committed by the Israeli occupation against the defenseless Palestinian people.”
Iranian athletes in a range of sports routinely boycott Israeli opponents.
In late 2020, Iranian grandmaster Ehsan Ghaem Maghami was expelled from an international chess tournament after his refusal to play Israeli Ehud Sachar in the fourth round of the Corsica Masters championship.
In 2018, Iranian wrestler Alireza Karimi Mashiani was winning a match against his Russian opponent under-23 world championships in Poland in November when his coach told him to lose to avoid fighting Israel’s Uri Kalashnikov in the next round. Footage from the match shows his coach Hamidreza Jamshidi standing in the sidelines and shouting, “Alireza, lose!”
The Iranian government hailed Karimachiani’s move as “noble and heroic.”
In 2021, Iran was slapped with a four-year ban against participation in judo tournaments for refusing to let its athletes face off against Israeli competitors.
That year also saw Iranian defector and judoka Saeid Mollaei dedicate his silver medal to Israel at the Tokyo Olympics, and thanking the Jewish state for the “good energy.” Two years earlier, Mollaei was forced to flee Iran after refusing to forfeit a match against Israeli judoka Sagi Muki. The two ended up becoming good friends.
Mollaei eventually received citizenship in Mongolia and flew to Tel Aviv for a competition in 2021.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.