Young Jordanian player slams sports normalization with ‘Israel’ by refusing to face Israeli opponent

Occupied Palestine (QNN) – The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement in Jordan has celebrated the stance of the Jordanian fencing player Iyas al-Zumur to refuse to face an Israeli opponent in the World Junior Fencing Championship held in Dubai.

“A thousand salutes to the Jordanian fencing player, Iyas al-Zumur, for his refusal to meet a Zionist player in the World Junior Fencing Championship,” the BDS movement in Jordan posted on Twitter.

ألف تحية للاعب المبارزة الأردني إياس الزمر لرفضه ملاقاة لاعب صهيوني في البطولة العالمية للمبارزة للناشئين.
إن تضحية الرياضيين من أجل رفض كسر عزلة الكيان وتذكير العالم عبر الساحات الرياضية العالمية بأهمية رفض جرائمه واحتلاله تستحق الاحتفال والترحيب . #لا_للتطبيع_الرياضي pic.twitter.com/ewbdahameL

— Jordan BDS (@BDSJordan) April 9, 2022

The BDS movement added that an Arab fencing player and a new Jordanian hero slams sports normalization with ‘Israel’ by withdrawing from World Fencing Championship so as to not face an Israeli opponent.

In the same context, social media activists praised al-Zumur’s “heroic stance and principles.”

“This is how we, young and old, know our enemy well. We refuse to contribute to polishing its image and crimes, because sport is a path to values and morals in the first place,” the activists said.

About one week ago, the Kuwaiti fencing player Mohammad Al-Fadil also refused to face an Israeli opponent in the group stage of the World Fencing Championships that took place in Dubai.