For Palestine: Algerian judoka isn't the first to snub Israeli opponent in Olympics

Algerian judoka Messaoud Dris pulled out of the Paris 2024 Olympics on Sunday to avoid facing his Israeli opponent Tohar Butbul in the 73-kilogram division bout.

In official records, Dris missed weight on the day before he was scheduled to take on his Israeli opponent, after which the International Judo Federation declared Butbul the winner by walkover.

Dris became the second Algerian judoka to withdraw from the Olympic Games after Fethi Nourine dropped out of the Tokyo Olympics to avoid a second-round encounter with Butbul.

Nourine had publicly cited his support for Palestine, which resulted in a 10-year suspension for him and his coach Amar Benikhlef by the International Judo Federation (IJF) in September 2021.

Before the Tokyo 2021 Olympics, Nourine also walked out of the 2019 world championships in Tokyo after he was scheduled to face Butbul, becoming an overnight hero.

Notably, the Paris Olympics comes amid the Israeli genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza, which has already claimed close to 40,000 lives, most of them children and women.

At least 340 athletes have also been killed in the Israeli bombardments in the besieged territory.

There have been massive protests in Paris and other French cities against the presence of Israeli athletes, including 12 judokas, who are participating in the marquee sports competition.

“Following the Olympic Games, a full review and investigation of the situation will be conducted and further action will be taken if needed,” the IJF said in a statement on Monday.

The governing body for judo further said the failure to pass weight test is not unusual at judo competitions, referring to four judokas who missed weight at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

Dris, currently ranked 32nd in the lightweight division in the world, has been hailed as one of the most promising and young judokas with a bright career ahead.

The 23-year-old Algerian judoka won his third straight African Championship earlier this year.

The Algerian Olympic delegation hasn't yet commented on it. However, Algerian media has hailed the judoka for "smartly avoiding meeting [the] Israeli opponent by failing to make the weight."

"Dris won everyone’s respect. Honor and the [Palestinian] cause come first before anything else," the telecom giant Mobilis, one of the sponsors of the Algerian Olympic team, posted on Facebook:

The case of athletes forfeiting matches or refusing to shake the hand of their Israeli opponents has been a common occurrence at the Olympic Games over the years.

Abderrahmane Boushita of Morocco and Nurali Emomali of Tajikistan both walked away without shaking the hand of Baruch Shmailov following their matches on Sunday.

At the Rio 2016 Olympics, Egyptian judoka Islam El Shehaby refused to shake the hand of his Israeli opponent after their first-round match in the 100-kilogram weight category.

At the Beijing 2008 Olympics, Syrian swimmer Bayan Jumah pulled out of the 50-meter freestyle segment of the Beijing 2008 Olympics in order to avoid facing Israeli swimmer Anya Gostomelsky.

In the same event, Shehaby’s teammate Joud Fahmy deliberately lost her second-round match to avoid facing her Israeli opponent Gili Cohen.

At the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Algerian judoka Nourine grabbed headlines globally after withdrawing from the competition to avoid facing Butbul.

She is now serving 10-ban, which has virtually ended her career.

Mohamed Abdalrasool, a Sudanese martial artist, also refused to turn up for his match against Israeli judoka Butbul as an expression of support for Palestine.

Dris’ heroic act has won the praise and adulation of all and sundry. Here are some of the tweets:

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