TV host Mataz Matar demanded that El Shehaby withdraw: “My son watch out, don’t be fooled, or fool yourself thinking you will play with the Israeli athlete to defeat him and make Egypt happy. Egypt will cry; Egypt will be sad and you will be seen as a traitor and a normalizer in the eyes of your people.”
A normalizer. Islamic supremacists are determined never to treat Israel normally. They want it destroyed. That is all. No negotiated settlement will ever mollify them. But Western leaders persist in their fantasies nonetheless.
“Egyptian fighter refuses to shake Israeli’s hand at Olympics,” by Natalie O’Neill, New York Post, August 12, 2016:
An Egyptian judo star refused to shake hands with his Israeli opponent after a controversial match at the Olympics, according to reports.
Islam El Shehaby left Or Sasson hanging — by backing away and shaking his head — when Sasson put out his hand Friday, CBS reported.
El Shehaby had lost in the final two minutes of the first round — and the handshake snub sparked loud booing, CBS reported.
His rebuff was a breach of judo etiquette, in which competitors typically bow or shake hands at the beginning and end of a match as a sign of respect.
The disrespectful gesture came after weeks of pressure on El Shehaby from Islamic extremists to pull out of the match with his Jewish opponent, according to reports.
On Thursday, Mataz Matar, an Islamist network TV host, demanded that El Shehaby withdraw.
“My son watch out, don’t be fooled, or fool yourself thinking you will play with the Israeli athlete to defeat him and make Egypt happy. Egypt will cry; Egypt will be sad and you will be seen as a traitor and a normalizer in the eyes of your people,” he said, according to CBS.
But international judo experts called the match a sign of progress.
“This is already a big improvement that Arabic countries accept to [fight] Israel,” International Judo Federation spokesman Nicolas Messner told CBS….