The Jordanian sports club Wihdat announced that it will not participate in an international handball competition that is scheduled to take place on July 18-28. The reason behind the decision is the club’s refusal to normalize with Israel.
The competition will bring many top Arab and Asia teams together.
In a post on its Facebook page last Monday, Wihdat wrote: “Officially, the Wihdat club announces that will not participate in Al-Ain handball championship,” finishing the statement with an Arabic hashtag: #no_normalization.
Wihdat Sport Team in Jordan chant for Palestine. A; Quds, Gaza#Palestine #PalestineSeeksAttention #Palestinewillbefree #PalestineIsHere #palestinelivesmatter #palestinemustlive #Palestinians pic.twitter.com/te1PNcrilq
— Mubashir Nabi (مبشر نبی) (@MubashirNabi06) May 12, 2021
The decision was quickly followed by a wave of support by Jordanian and Palestinian activists on social media.
A popular social media account with the name “I am an Arab against normalization,” was one of many who welcomed the decision, accusing the Emirate team Al-Ain of promoting normalization with the Israeli occupation through its partnership with the Israeli team Maccabi Haifa.
“Sports is a moral act that doesn’t tolerate the expulsion of people and the colonization of their land,” the account wrote.
(PC, Sanad, Aljazeera)
