Doha: Less than a week after Qatar-based activists successfully hosted a series of events to mark Israel Apartheid Week, one of the subsidiaries of the country’s leading sports body, in turn, hosted the Israeli beach volleyball team for an international tournament.
The arrival of Sean Faiga and Ariel Hilman in Doha last Sunday to participate in the FIVB Qatar Open 2016 was met with condemnation from Qatar residents as well as other supporters of the global Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel.
The host nation and sports body (Qatar Volleyball Association) was criticised for opening its doors to the duo.
However, their failure to qualify for the main round of the event meant that the Israeli flag was not flown at the tournament venue.
According to reports in Israeli media, visa arrangements for the touring party were confirmed just two days before their travel to Doha. It was also reported that the tour was kept under wraps until the day the team departed, in order to avoid any serious backlash that could have hindered the team’s participation.
The Israeli Volleyball Association has heaped praise on Qatar for welcoming the team.
However, the reaction on social media and among members of the local BDS initiative, Qayon, was quite different. Condemnation ranged from labelling the team’s participation a step towards normalisation with Israel to calling it unethical on Qatar’s part to let the visitors in.
Shabeb Al Rumaihi of Qayon, which was formed following Qatar’s World Cup bid showing an Israeli boy’s desire of playing in an Arab country, strongly disagreed Israeli claims that sports and politics should not mix, saying “Israel mixes sports with politics all the time”. He expressed disappointment over the incident and said that whenever the group tries to mobilise people and raise awareness, it is told to stop mixing the two.
The tournament, which was one of the several international qualifying events leading up to this summer’s Olympics in Brazil, concluded on Friday. However, the heated debate on the presence of Israeli sportspersons in an Arab country continues, especially as Israelis expressed hope that the event would open the door for others sportspersons in Israel to play in Qatar.
Qatari sports officials contacted by Gulf News said they were unable to comment on the incident.
