Hypocrisy of Olympian proportions at Paris Olympics
When it comes to the Olympics, a major sporting event, there is an understanding that sports should not be intertwined with politics. But over the years there have been instances where this was just not the case.
The controversy of the 2024 Paris Olympics, currently taking place in France, lies in Israel being allowed to participate while it is committing genocide in the Gaza Strip.
Before clarifying why Israel should have been banned from the Paris Olympics, let us consider previous examples of politics intertwined with the Olympics.
1924, Paris; the ban of Germany following World War I continued, though Austria, Bulgaria, Turkey and Hungary were allowed to compete.
1948, London; Germany and Japan were barred from participation because of the Second World War.
1964, Tokyo; South Africa was banned by the IOC from taking part due to its oppressive apartheid regime.
The Olympics committee can decide who to bar from the games.
Given the IOC stance that violators of international peace should not partake in global events like the Olympics, it beggars belief that Israel has not been banned, especially, since Russia has been banned for its military operations in Ukraine.
Shouldn't the IOC consider whether it is appropriate for any nation condemned by the International Court of Justice for grave violations to compete without addressing its international obligations first?
Currently Russian and Belarusian athletes are banned from the 2024 Paris Games due to Moscow's military operation in Ukraine.
The ban only allows the athletes to compete under a neutral banner, not their countries. A neutral banner means competing without their country's flags, emblems, or colors.
The Russian national anthem has also been barred and replaced with music commissioned by the IOC.
Russia was even banned from participating in the opening ceremony where each athlete represents their country through the national flag.
In essence, the Olympics Committee wants to send a message that it recognizes neither Russia nor Belarus as countries, yet it allows a child killing regime, which has murdered about 39,500 Palestinians, to participate.
Well, this smacks of double standards and hypocrisy.
As if all of that isn't bad enough there's also a ban on the types of sports the Russian and Belarusian athletes can compete in.
There is a complete ban on all team sports, like soccer, and basketball.
Other sports with a complete ban include track and field events and taekwondo. So far 12 athletes with a Russian passport and seven with a Belarusian passport have qualified for the Paris games.
Another shameful fact is that during these nine months of Israeli genocidal onslaught on Gaza, the Israeli regime has not been sanctioned even once by the UN over the genocide due to the power of the permanent members of the UN Security Council to veto any and all resolutions.
Extreme settlers were sanctioned by the EU and US but not the regime, or its military commanders, for documenting cases of mass killings.
Although the call to ban Israel from the Olympics is coming from all corners, it is also directed at other sports.
The EU has demanded the immediate expulsion of the Israeli national team and teams from all European and international competitions until the genocide in Gaza ends.
This included an Israeli ban from the UEFA and from FIFA, as well.
From music and film to visual arts, theatre and education, there isn't a single call for Israel to be banned due to its genocide in Gaza.
Although many of the bans have occurred, many are still resisting calls for a ban.
How Israel is losing its legitimacy is very similar to that of the apartheid system in South Africa before being toppled by the will of the people.
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