San Haddad and reconciliation through sport

I have been working closely and advising a wonderful alumnus, San Haddad, a former adjunct student of the 2000 EPIIC Global Games year, on a multi-part exploration of the role of the Olympic Movement in nation-building and historical memory though the Israeli-Palestinian case, and the potential for reconciliation through international sports.

San is the founder of the Palestinian Rowing Federation and a former Treasurer of the International Society of Olympic Historians. Starting in 2003, San has been independently researching the history of the Israeli and Palestinian Olympic files, beginning in Mandatory Palestine.

San’s ideas are conceptualized around his remarkable, scrupulously researched investigatory book, The File: Origins of the Munich Massacre, published in 2020. One distinguished scholar, Professor John Hoberman, has written:

“In my opinion, the political and historical sophistication of The File place it among the best works of academic sports history such as John MacAloon's This Great Symbol: Pierre de Coubertin and the Origins of the Modern Olympic Games (Chicago, 1981) and Allen Guttmann's The Games Must Go On: Avery Brundage and the Olympic Movement (Columbia, 1984).”

San dedicated his work to the eleven Israeli Olympians and one German policeman murdered during the Munich Massacre of 1972, and the three Palestinian sport leaders and reformers with whom San worked closely. His dedication is especially poignant for me, given San’s humanistic, uncompromising, yet compassionate approach. I lost two friends in Munich - the Israeli national fencing coach Andre Spitzer and the light heavyweight weightlifter, David Berger.

San’s first of three articles in the Journal of Olympic History.

San’s exploration of the historical dimensions of the Israeli-Palestinian involvement in the Olympic Movement is framed in the context of the current sports sanction movement against Israel. Given the absence of any reconciliatory conversation in Israel-Palestine, and worldwide anti-normalization approaches in the context of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement, San’s thinking critically reaches beyond the pessimistic gloom. He is a visionary, grounded in realism, with great experience in and a unique knowledge of the Olympic Movement.

San proposes bold ideas for potential Israeli-Palestinian cooperation in the realm of international sport.

Commemorating the History of the “File” through public memorials in the locations of the book’s events, particularly at the Jerusalem YMCA.
Advancing and Presenting Historical Research of the “File” through a joint research effort between new generations of Israelis and Palestinians, exploring and reflecting together on their shared sports history, and through a museum exhibition with an accompanying curriculum, to help establish a shared historical narrative and prevent abuse of history to perpetuate conflict.
Reviving Sport Challenge Cups from the History of the “File,” by introducing regular exhibition matches between the Israeli and Palestinian national associations, beginning with football.
Introducing Mixed Relay Swimming and Sprinting Teams composed of Israelis and Palestinians, that could compete in international events with similar mixed teams drawn from other conflicting societies, such as North and South Korea, India and Pakistan, or Serbia and Kosovo.
Integrating Israel and Palestine into the Mediterranean Games, ending the boycott and exclusion of Israel (since 1951) in these regional games, thereby promoting reconciliation through co-governance opportunities for Israeli and Palestinian sport leaders in a major regional organization and event, while also recognizing the historical role of Jewish sport organizations in the eastern Mediterranean.
Establishing a Prototype High School in Jerusalem emphasizing a sport-focused pedagogy of reconciliation and conflict reduction.
A Regional Center for Peace and Sports Studies, with a student body governance structure shared between Palestinians, Israelis, Arab neighbors, and international representatives.
A Joint Regional Bid to Host a 2036 “Peace” Games, on the centennial of Berlin’s “Nazi” Olympics, presenting a global, integrative approach to mega sport events through transnational cooperation, and heralding a new era for non-state actors to stimulate dialogue, development, and peace.