“There were protests from Irish people at every game”

Yaron Katzir (from behind), team captain of the Israeli Ultimate Frisbee team New Age

There was a boycott campaign against your participation in the WUCC. The reasons given were that you would represent a "genocidal" state and would yourself be part of the Gaza conflict, as your players served in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). When did you realize that there was a boycott campaign against your team?

We learned through social media that teams and players had released statements against our participation in the World Club Championship. There were teams from all divisions, including mixed and women's teams, that we would never have played against. These teams tried to put pressure on the World Frisbee Federation (WFDF) to either not allow us to participate at all or only under a neutral flag - i.e. not as an Israeli team. A total of 26 teams supported these demands.

"In the first game, one of our players stood too close to the protesters, who then hit him in the head with a flagpole."

The World Frisbee Association did not bow to the pressure, but issued a declaration that the sport is the priority and no one should be excluded. It certainly wasn't an easy situation for the WFDF when so much pressure was building. But the association chose the professional path and kept politics out of the sport as much as possible.

So the boycott supporters were unsuccessful. What happened next at the WUCC?

What was surprising to us was that there were several teams in our pool that supported the boycott. But only one team from Ireland went through with it and refused to play against us. It would have been their and our last game of the tournament. Maybe they were just physically exhausted and had found their excuse.

All the other teams that were previously against the participation of an Israeli team ended up competing against us. But some players showed their protest in other ways, such as refusing to join us in the spirit circle. In Ultimate Frisbee, after each game, both teams stand together and evaluate the game together, how fair it was, what calls (loud announcement of a rule violation; editor's note) or fouls there were. It's not compulsory, but all teams around the world do it; it's an essential part of the sport. This reaction counteracts the spirit of the game.

The spirit of the game is the most important rule in Ultimate Frisbee. It means that you not only know the rules of the game, but also communicate with each other respectfully and also try to understand counter-arguments. We were not allowed to behave this way; opposing teams often reacted hostilely to us when we spoke to them.

Knowing how many people have resentment against you is psychologically stressful for everyone. We offered the teams in our pool the opportunity to talk about Israel, but over coffee and not during the game. But we always said: It's non-negotiable that we don't play. We are all players who have reached an extremely high level, who have worked towards it for years and who play in the WUCC for this reason. And we also explained this to the teams where individual players refused to play against us. We want to keep politics out of this sporting event.

During the tournament we received an email from a Limerick resident. He wished us good luck for our games and clearly distanced himself from the protesters.

I told each of our players that we would continue to behave in a sportsmanlike and fair manner in the game, even if the other team behaved hostilely towards us. Sometimes you react impulsively when you get tired and there's a call. But at the tournament everyone should first breathe in and out and then react. Anything else could be interpreted as aggression, even though it is otherwise normal. We have to present ourselves in the spirit of fair sport – even more than usual.

Who accepted the offer to talk about Israel or the Gaza war over coffee?

Unfortunately no one. None of the over 3,000 players came to us and wanted to talk to us. We would have listened, we could have exchanged arguments and knowledge. But I get the impression from those who support the boycott that they don't want to check whether their own positions are correct and would rather stay in their own world of thought.

Were there any teams or players who supported you?

I think there were, but they didn't show it publicly at the tournament. However, during the tournament we received an email from a Limerick resident. He wished us good luck for our games and clearly distanced himself from the protesters. It was just an email, but it was good to read it.

Were there any other protests against you that did not come from the teams involved?

Yes, there were protests from Irish people at every game. That was an extreme challenge. You're standing on the line and right next to the field, slogans and insults like "baby killer" or "genocide" are being shouted at us all the time. From their perspective, they certainly wanted to raise awareness, but who did they direct it at? None of us were in the Gaza war. Americans also played on our team and they felt quite threatened by these actions. They didn't know how to deal with it.

None of us were in the Gaza war. Americans also played on our team and they felt quite threatened by these actions. They didn't know how to deal with it.

We needed police protection to ensure our safety on the way to the changing rooms. In the first game, one of our players stood too close to the protesters, who then hit him in the head with a flagpole. In this game, Ultimate players also stood with the protesters and shouted against us.

We didn't respond to them. Their behavior says much more about them than it does about us. After the game, one of them could have come and started the discussion. But they had no interest in that; they preferred to lump us all together.

Was this the first time there was opposition to the participation of an Israeli team in an international Ultimate Frisbee competition?

No. Two years ago we traveled to Belgium with our U17 team for the European Championships; I coached the team at the time. We had spoken to the organizers in advance and secured everything: we hired a security service at our own expense, we planned to play on a separate course that was completely separate from the rest of the tournament. We rented our own bus to ensure the safety of the routes, including for the teams our team would have played against. We coordinated all of this in advance with the tournament organizers and then drove to Belgium.

Yaron Katzir (from behind), team captain of the Israeli Ultimate Frisbee team New Age

Then on the first day of the tournament around five in the morning we got a call from the police saying that graffiti “Israhell” had been sprayed on a wall near our field. Our security removed the graffiti, checked the fields and assessed that it was safe to play. But the Belgian tournament organizers decided not to let us play. We stayed in a hotel most of the time in Belgium and the young person paid the full price for participation, accommodation and flights - completely free. And that's because of a single piece of graffiti. That was the first time we noticed: Ultimate organizations were acting against us.

Many Ultimate Frisbee players are academics. Since October 7th, hatred of Jews has been evident at many universities around the world. Was it only a matter of time before anti-Semitism showed up in ultimate?

As the anti-Semitic mass grows, definitely. It was perhaps unavoidable, given the amount of misinformation on social media. On the other hand, it's so absurd. Ultimate Frisbee has a small following worldwide and communication is one of the central elements in our sport. There were so many comments and statements against us this summer, and no opponent wanted to talk to us. If it weren't so serious, you would have to say: This is pretty ridiculous.