Sports is the great unifier, creating opportunities for people from a wide variety of backgrounds to bond. However, though it’s relatively underreported, antisemitism in the wide world of sports is being experienced by Jewish athletes and in some cases is ‘rampant.’
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From Munich to the Muslim World
While antisemitism is a hot topic of discussion, especially as it connects to the heated debate about the nature and policies of the State of Israel, it’s also a phenomenon in sports. Perhaps the most well-known example is the Palestinian-led terror attack during the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, which killed 11 Israeli athletes. Since then, antisemitism in sports has become pervasive, as wealthy Muslim-majority countries in the Middle East and Asia have started hosting international events.
Examples of Israeli athletes being harassed include:
- 2019: The government of Malaysia refused to issue visas to the Israeli para-swimming team, thus preventing it from competing at the world championships in Japan this summer.
- 2019: The Iranian judo world champion, Seed Mollai, deliberately lost a fight against the lower-seeded Rusland Mussaev from Kazakhstan to avoid a match with Israeli judoka, Sagi Muki.
- 2018: The presence of Israeli teams at a youth handball tournament in Doha sparked calls for Qataris to withdraw their children from the competition. More generally, large swaths of the population use social media to distance themselves from Israeli participation in Qatar’s many international competitions.
According to Bruria Bigman, spokesperson for Israel’s Olympic Committee: “Israeli athletes have suffered from several cases of discrimination and exclusion. The Israeli Olympic Committee condemns this tendency, which contradicts the International Olympic Charter.”
Unfortunately, this attempt to boycott Israeli athletes isn’t restricted to the Middle East.
Recommended Reading – The History and Failure of the Arab Boycott of Israel
Not only in the Muslim world, not only at Israelis
Antisemitism in sports is a global phenomenon. Recent examples include:
- A well-known sports commentator in Greece accused American-Israeli coach David Blatt of lying about his Athens team’s controversial forfeiting of a match because of the “Jewish blood in him.”
- Former pro baseball player Cody Decker said that antisemitism is “rampant throughout the sport.” In a recent interview, Decker described several instances over the course of his career in which he was singled out for being Jewish and called Jewish slurs by fans and teammates.
- In 2011, Jason Bailey, a professional American ice hockey player, sued the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks, claiming that the coaches of one of its affiliate teams subjected him to anti-Jewish harassment.
More widely known are examples including European football fans. A report by the British parliament titled, “Antisemitism in European Football: A Scar on the Beautiful Game,” concluded that hooligans in a number of countries have repeatedly employed antisemitic gestures, including the Nazi salute, and directed hateful slogans against Jews.
Can hatred be ejected from sports?
At a 2019 conference on antisemitism in sports, several experts agreed that hate speech is mainstreamed primarily through the Internet. The advent of social media, in particular, has been a game-changer. Recently, several reports have shed light on how conspiracy theories, racism, bigotry and antisemitism have manifested on online platforms. In some instances, tens of millions of people can be reached by one tweet, for example.
According to the Anti-Defamation League, there has been a significant increase in antisemitic social media posts over the last few months. That is why there is a growing chorus demanding that tech giants adopt a clear definition of what constitutes antisemitism and prevent such content from being disseminated.
Recommended Reading – Twitter’s Colossal Fail: Star of David is Hate Speech
Tibi Galis, executive director at the Auschwitz Institute for Peace and Reconciliation, has warned that mass atrocities begin with very simple things, like hate speech at sporting matches.
“Sports is often one of the very first spaces we hear the manifestation of dangerous speech,” he said. “The question is, ‘How we can make the sports environment the better one?’” Fortunately, star athletes have spoken out against prejudice. However, the lack of massive indignation in response to recent incidents of antisemitic tweets and posts from sports and entertainment celebrities is very troubling.
The first step in tackling antisemitism – in sports and elsewhere – is to clearly label it. Only then can it be combated effectively. For this reason, social media giants should consider adopting a more robust definition of antisemitism and vigorously uphold their hate speech policies.
Until then, the antisemites will continue to run up the score.
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