Ultimate Resistance
World Ultimate Frisbee players are mounting an unprecedented protest, warning that Israel’s participation—bolstered by IDF soldiers on the roster—could fracture the sport’s global community.
Welcome to Sports Politika, a media venture founded by investigative journalist and researcher Karim Zidan that strives to help you understand how sports and politics shape the world around us. My mission is to offer an independent platform for accessible journalism that raises awareness and empowers understanding.
If you share this vision, please consider supporting my work by becoming a paid subscriber. I am currently running a special offer whereby you can secure a subscription at a 40% discounted price…forever.
Flying disc has long been known for its emphasis on sportsmanship and its commitment to racial and class inclusion. Also known as Ultimate, the sport is growing rapidly in popularity, blending intense competition with a culture that prioritizes community, mutual respect, and conflict resolution. Many Ultimate communities that I have known have been aware and committed to justice and progress in society. Although it will not be included in the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, it may be an event in Brisbane in 2032.
The World Beach Ultimate Championships (WBUC) tournament is happening in Portimão, Portugal until November 22nd. It’s a huge calendar event for the World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF), the global governing body of Ultimate and Beach Ultimate. The Algarve region is a gorgeous seaside venue for the tournament bringing together skilled Beach Ultimate players from all over the world.
According to the WFDF website, the federation seeks to “promote and protect the Spirit of the Game of flying disc play”. This is an informal code that embeds self-regulation of rules (there is no official) joy into play, and reminds players that no one ought to intentionally break rules. Many clubs and communities across the world accept and incorporate this sense of integrity and respect of the sport and opponents. Ultimate is a global game that comprises over 126 member nations. It is a global movement and appreciated all over the world.
These guiding principles of humanity, equality, and accountability are generally understood—so imagine the shock of discovering that active Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers are participating in this WBUC tournament.
Just months after the world’s leading academics and genocide scholars declared that Israel is, in fact, committing genocide in Gaza, the World Flying Disc Federation decided to permit Team Israel to participate. Palestinian have yet to tally the bodies still buried beneath rubble or account for missing persons.
A tournament is meant to celebrate athleticism and spirited competition. But having Israeli soldiers participate sends a troubling message that while fairness and sportsmanship may be upheld on the field, the realities of occupation, ethnic cleansing, and a range of other human rights abuses and war crimes are disregarded in the context of their actions back home.
Palestine established an Ultimate club in 2016 in Beit Sahour, a Palestinian town east of Bethlehem. By 2019, there were five main coaches, four junior coaches and over 100 registered players. They competed in the region and held clinics for children in schools. In 2020, Ultimate Palestine was approved for membership in WFDF and recognized as an official athletic association by the Palestinian Olympic Committee.
As Israel’s onslaught against Gaza devastated the enclave’s sporting infrastructure and extinguished the hopes of its local athletes, Ultimate Palestine requested that the WFDF call for a ceasefire. Sports communities consisting of supporters and athletes also called for sanctions against Israel.
I reached out to the WFDF for comment but they had not yet responded at the time of publication.
Israel is committing genocide. Why is it still welcome in global sports?
The sports world claims to stand for peace and unity yet turns a blind eye as Israel kills athletes, journalists and civilians in Gaza.
In November 2023, Muhammad Shakir, a youth Ultimate coach, was killed by an Israeli airstrike. A second coach, Yousef al-Heela, was killed in another strike on April 16, 2024. According to reports, over 800 athletes have been killed since October 7, 2023.
Despite the federation’s lacklustre response—offering only a broad statement condemning “violence, attacks and the loss of life in all its forms”—the wider Ultimate community has responded with intention and clarity.
During the WBUC tournament, the France Open, Qatar Open, Colombia Open, and Turkey Open teams have forfeited their games against Israel. The fact that teams are willingly forfeiting rather than competing with Israel is a striking and significant statement.
I spoke with Daniel Bannoura, the founder of Ultimate Palestine. He told me that nations such as France and Columbia forfeiting are important — and the Ultimate world should take note.
“The decision to forfeit by the French team represents a significant act of moral courage precisely because the WFDF, unlike its response against Russia, has refrained from taking a principled position against the Gaza genocide and the slaughter of Palestinian athletes,” Bannoura told me via text. “ In an environment where the prevailing institutional stance is that competition with Israel should continue—often under the justification that “sports should not mix with politics”—the French team’s refusal to play is a deliberate challenge to that double standard.”
This action from France was falsely deemed an act of discrimination by the WFDF. But Bannoura says it highlights “an ethical will and courageous spirit of the French team that takes seriously the values of Spirit of the Game” when other teams have opted to play against a team that represents a country guilty of genocide and responsible for unimaginable suffering against the Palestinian people; the same people who are their brothers and sisters in sport.
On November 9, just ahead of the tournament in the Algarve, an open letter was sent to the WFDF leadership and WBUC organizers in protest of Israel’s participation. Its signatories are from Open teams from over ten countries and supported by Ultimate individuals from the United States, Turkey, Canada and Germany.
The letter included national team statements of protest from Poland, Ireland and Lebanon, links of research, news stories. In addition it called for requests including substituting handshakes for neutral acknowledgment, and making “reasoned, respectful statements to media”.
The presence of active Israeli soldiers is not only upsetting to those affected by incessant terror unleashed in the region, it is an affront to any who values and respects basic human rights. In a bizarre twist, Dror Yahalom, Israel’s Spirit Captain — the person who advises on ethics and fair play— is a confirmed IDF soldier.
Zane Wolfang is a member of the Global Ultimate for Ceasefire (GUC), an organization that is in solidarity with Palestine Ultimate. Wolfang has worked in the West Bank and helped Ultimate Palestine become an official member of the WFDF. I asked him why the genocide in Gaza was so important to Ultimate players.
“Many individuals in the ultimate community around the world empathize with the Palestinian people and the Palestinian ultimate community on a basic human level,” Wolfang explained via text. “The undeniable humanity of our Palestinian peers is the only motivation we need to tirelessly demand the world unify in protecting them from further harm.”
Wolfang says that GUC began campaigning for a bare minimum guarantee of safety, a bilateral ceasefire with no specific critique of the Israeli government mentioned. But when the WFDF was unwilling to take even that small symbolic step of issuing a statement in support of a ceasefire, the group recognized a level of hypocrisy, an abandonment of basic human rights principles. Beneath it all was a casual, persistent dehumanization of the Palestinian people—a dehumanization that, Wolfang notes, permeates from the world of international politics right down to sporting institutions like WFDF, The Israeli Flying Disc Association, and USA Ultimate.
Sport in Gaza has been devastated, robbing generations of the joy and opportunity to play.
Enas Saada, is an Ultimate coach in Gaza. She has seen her city pulverized and her community massacred but still finds hope through sport. I asked her over text how it felt to be disregarded by the WFDF in this manner.
“The lack of support from the WFDF for Palestinian players and coaches is painful,” she replied. “Considering the immense talent and potential in Gaza and the West Bank that goes unseen due to political restrictions, the blockade, or neglect from international bodies.”
Saada is able to follow the results of the WBUC and is aware of the Open teams rising in solidarity. But the contrast between enjoying beach tournaments and the harsh reality of Palestinians in Gaza living through bombardment or displacement, is heartbreaking. “It feels like the world is celebrating while we struggle for the most basic rights: the right to life, the right to play, and the right to dream,” she said.
Part of the frustration from the Ultimate community towards the WFDF is that in 2022 the federation was quick to ban Russia and Belarus. In fact, they issued a strong statement in support of the Ukrainian Flying Disc Federation and condemned Russia for the invasion in what they called a “clear act of war, which has rarely been seen since the mid 20th century.” They also banned athletes and officials from participating in WFDF sanctioned events.
In the open letter of November 9th, the Ultimate community noted the sheer hypocrisy of not showing support to Palestinians when they had issued statements about Ukraine and banned countries for invasion. This, says Wolfang, is exactly the standard they should be held to. “We must remember the strong actions and public statements made by WFDF against Russia in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine.”
“It is inappropriate for Israeli military personnel to be protected by WFDF at every turn, particularly while WFDF leadership remains silent about the slaughter of Palestinian ultimate players and coaches, the recent bombing of Doha, Qatar, and the hundreds of airstrikes against Lebanon,” Wolfang said. “I believe the Palestinian people are entitled to the same base level of respect, protection, and solidarity as white European players who have also been harmed by state violence.”
Wolfang believes that considering WFDF’s sanctions against the Russian federation, to reprimand Israel and demand accountability from the Israeli Flying Disc Association would actually be a step towards regulatory consistency, rather than an instance of special or unfair treatment against Israelis.
While the WFDF promptly suspended the Russian and Belarusian federations following the invasion of Ukraine, citing a breach of Olympic values, yet they have not applied similar sanctions to Israel. This can be called moral cowardice or is a repugnant indifference to humanity. Either way it is not uncommon for sport institutions to ignore the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
“The problem isn’t with sports, but with double standards,” Saada said. “Palestinians are no less passionate or talented, but unfortunately, the world sometimes only listens to the loudest voice, not the most just one.”
Bannoura said there were certainly ways for WFDF to navigate this situation in a manner that addresses the concerns of other nations (like Qatar or Lebanon), like branding the Israeli as a “neutral team” without displaying their flag, anthem or national emblems.
“The ethical and responsible thing to do would have been the suspension of the participation of the Israeli team or, at least, making sure that no active Israeli soldiers, some of whom might be guilty of the genocide and the murder of innocents in Gaza, would have participated at the event,” he said. “If WFDF has any moral consistency or respect of international law and the dignity of the Palestinians, it would have already sanctioned the Israeli national federation until Israel ends its occupation of the Palestinians and faces the political and legal consequences of its war crimes and crimes against humanity it has been incurring on the Palestinians over the last 77 years.”
There are not often spaces where athletes choose conscience over complicity, humanity over harm, and resistance over receptivity. The Palestinian national federation is a smaller body and does not have the influence of the British or American team. Although individual athletes have signed the open letter, the silence from their national federations speaks volumes.
For Palestinian athletes, and global athletes of conscience, WFDF’s stance is seen as implicitly sportswashing the actions of the Israeli government and failing to uphold the promised values of equity and non-discrimination. It can be argued that WFDF’s posture reflects a long-standing colonial and orientalist posture that disregards the humanity and dignity of peoples and groups from the Global South; when in sharp contrast, they rushed to protect athletes in Europe.
But despite everything, Saada believes in the Ultimate community, and she believes in the strength of Palestine in sport. “Our very existence, our resilience, and our continued playing, training, and representing Palestine are acts of resistance and hope,” she said. “And even if they don’t support us, we support each other and continue in our own way.”
Sports Politika is a media platform focusing on intersection of sports, power and politics. Support independent journalism by upgrading to a paid subscription ( or gift a subscription if you already have your own). We would appreciate if you could also like the post and let us know what you think in the comment section below.
 | A guest post by
|
Small sports and small countries have a long history of protest voices from below. I even sometimes think that a lot start there!