The question of whether Mr Al-Shehaby would even compete against an Israeli remained unclear right up until he appeared in the arena on Friday.
Athletes from other Arab nations, including last week’s example of a female judoka from Saudi Arabia who withdrew before she could face a competitor from the Jewish state, routinely duck out of scheduled matches with Israelis, even if it means losing out on their opportunity for Olympic glory.
When Mr Al-Shehaby spurned Mr Sasson’s outstretched hand, delight on social media erupted across the Arab world. Many, particularly Palestinians and their supporters, lauded him. Surprisingly though, a large proportion of Egyptians felt Mr Al-Shehaby had disgraced his country. Of course, Twitter and Facebook are very unreliable gauges of public opinion, but perhaps there was a sign that attitudes towards Israel are changing, not just at the government level.
Mr Al-Shehabi was sent packing to Cairo. He may have to face now an investigation over suspected links to the proscribed Muslim Brotherhood, but he is no longer the story. Neither is Mr Sasson, the first Olympic medallist from Jerusalem.
The political message from this episode in Rio is that after nearly four decades of “cold peace”, it is still up to the Egyptian leadership to show Israelis that they are willing to accept them in the Middle East. That’s too much of a burden to place on the shoulders of one athlete.
