The Olympics are not about politics - except when an athlete doesn't like Israel
Imagine being so consumed with hate that you would give up on your dream of Olympic glory just to keep your hatred intact?
That actually happened this week when an Algerian Judoka withdrew from the Olympics so that he would not have to compete against his Israeli counterpart.
This kind of thing has happened before in various international athletic competitions, with athletes from countries like Iran and Egypt forfeiting matches to avoid competing with Israelis.
But this time was different. While in the past, very little was done about this breach of sports ethics, this time the International Judo Federation suspended the Algerian Judoka and his coach.
Meanwhile, pro-Israel sentiment at the Olympics was also very much on display. Saeid Mollaei, a former Iranian judoka, took the silver medal, and then publicly dedicated it to Israel.
Mollaei was competing for his newly adopted country of Mongolia, after having fled Iran two years ago when he refused an Iranian order to purposely lose an international match so he wouldn't have to fight against an Israeli.
The haters will hate. But they will never win.
Harold Berman - The Teacher