AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): With the start of the normalization between some Arab countries and the Israeli regime ushered in by a 2020 agreement, not only political and economic issues but also sports and cultural events related to the process began more seriously grabbing the attention of the Muslim world public opinion.
Since its establishment, the Israeli regime has always been isolated and under sanctions as a fake and occupying political entity of the imperialism in the geography of the Muslim world. In support of the rights of oppressed Palestinian people and the identity of the first qibla of Islam, against the Israeli violations and aggression and plots to change the Islamic identity of Palestine, a majority of Muslims and their states reject to recognize the Israeli regime as a legitimate state. One epitome of this boycott is rejection of Israeli athletes in the sports events.
Every year, Muslim athletes in various international competitions in various disciplines refuse to face their Israeli rivals, thereby condemning the Tel Aviv's decades-long oppression of the Palestinian people.
However, after the normalization efforts started to advance by such Arab states as the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco and also show of willingness toward a thaw with the Israeli regime by some other countries like Saudi Arabia, the isolation of Israeli athletes, as expected, began to end.
On February 11, Saudi tennis player Yara al-Haqbani faced her Israeli rival Reni Nikishov in Nairobi International Tennis Championship in a show of Riyadh's support to normalization efforts.
The interesting thing about this action of the Saudi athlete has been the argument that she made to justify her action in such a way so that it is not considered a betrayal of the Palestinian people while encouraging the normalization of relations with the Israelis.
"Withdrawal is not a word in sports because it carries a sense of fear from confrontation," she told Saudi-funded Al-Arabiya news channel, adding: "So, I decided not to withdraw from any match with any player."
Promoting state agenda using sports and cinema events
Behind this false argument by the Saudi athlete stands the main policy of the Saudi government about the way of dealing with Emirati-Bahraini thaw with Israel. The Saudis, though claiming themselves to be the advocates of Palestinian rights and supporters of establishment of an independent Palestinian state and cite their support as a reason for not joining the normalization deal, at the same time not only gradually publicize behind-the-scenes relations with the Israelis but also practically encourage normalization through measures like issuing licenses to Israeli flights in their airspace. Therefore, the action of the Saudi athlete and her argument are both accordant with Saudi official policies in sports events.
Another example of pro-normalization agenda of Saudi Arabia is cultural events. In recent days, while countries like Lebanon and Kuwait banned a movie, Death on the Nile, featuring an Israeli actress, Gal Gadot, Riyadh showed it in newly opened cinemas.
Kuwait and Lebanon governments made the decision following calls for boycott of the movie by social media users. In 2014, Gadot had praised the Israeli army for its aggression against the besieged Gaza Strip and lashed out at Hamas, a Gaza-based resistance group.
In the name of Palestine, in the interests of Israel
Another point about the Saudi athlete's argument is the justification of the explicit betrayal of the Palestinian people and their liberation ideals under the ruse of not fearing a confrontation of the Israeli athletes. Such reasoning is, in fact, aimed at painting the honorable act of ignoring the medals and prominence in sports events to condemn the Israeli apartheid against Palestinians as a fear of defeat. But boycott of cultural and sports events in condemnation of oppression and discrimination against a group or a nation has a long history on international stage, and that such remarks are only for hiding behind a baseless justification to escape the criticism about succumbing to state policies and taking shameful and treasonous moves.
There is no doubt that countering the Israeli athletes, regardless of the result, plays into the hands of the Israeli regime, as the opposite action of withdrawing from contests with Israeli athletes brings joy and contentment to the Palestinian people and Muslim public opinion.
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