Palestine in the Olympics
Al-Ahram, Egypt, June 13
The presence of a Palestinian sports delegation at the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics in Paris on July 26 will serve as a profound symbol of resistance and resilience. The Palestine Olympic Committee has faced significant challenges in preparing its athletes, who have endured tremendously harsh conditions. Unfortunately, the number of athletes who have qualified for the games is expected to be small due to the severe and ongoing aggression against Gaza and continued attacks in the West Bank. Yet, their qualification stands as a major accomplishment amid an aggression that has obliterated the Gaza Strip, including its entire sports infrastructure and the headquarters of the Olympic Committee at Yarmouk Stadium. At least 170 Palestinian athletes have lost their lives in Gaza. The Palestinian delegation will participate proudly, carrying the flag of their homeland as a testament to their well-earned qualification, not merely by invitation from the International Olympic Committee, which often claims a neutrality that appears absent. This committee swiftly banned Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing under their national flags following the outbreak of war in Ukraine, but conspicuously ignored the aggression in Gaza. Russian athletes were forced to compete as independents, despite the fact that no Ukrainian athletes have been killed in the war. Moreover, the leadership of the International Olympic Committee disregarded numerous global voices calling for Israel to be treated similarly to Russia and Belarus. The committee’s Executive Board chose to turn a deaf ear to liberal advocates who organized a week to resist Israeli colonialism and apartheid in conjunction with their meeting in Switzerland this past March. These advocates urged the board to uphold Olympic principles and take a stand against the crime of genocide by barring its perpetrators from officially representing their country in the Paris Games. Following this meeting, Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee, seemed to attempt a veneer of impartiality when he announced he would extend an invitation to the Palestine Olympic Committee even if none of its athletes qualified. However, the qualification of Palestinian athletes exposes this gesture as a failed attempt to conceal a clear bias toward a brutal conflict within a realm intended to symbolize peace. —Wahid Abdel-Meguid (translated by Asaf Zilberfarb)
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