Why Team Israel Should Not be Allowed in the Paris Olympics 2024
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Raven Ruma
- . July 29, 2024
- . Update: July 29, 2024 9:31 pm
Israeli President Isaac Herzog came in Paris to attend the Olympics while images of dead and mutilated Palestinian youngsters were predominating on TV. Herzog, who has been seen signing explosives meant for Gaza, showed his usual cynicism when arriving at Charles de Gaulle airport. Herzog is known for his confrontational posture. Ignoring the continuous mass massacre of Palestinians in their territory, he said, “at this time, it is especially important for the State of Israel to take our place resolutely and appear on every global stage, and particularly on such an important stage as the Olympics.”
Sportswashing in Face of War Crime Allegations
Many view Herzog’s Olympic participation as an attempt at sportswashing, exploiting the games’ reputation to deflect well-documented claims of crimes against humanity, including extermination, from view. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has urged Israel to stop building settlements and terminate its “unlawful” occupation of Palestinian territory; the International Criminal Court (ICC) is seeking arrest warrants for top Israeli lawmakers. Critics calling Herzog’s government “cockroaches” and “human animals” claim that it dehumanizes Palestinians. Herzog personally has accused all Gaza citizens for the October 7, Hamas attack on Israel that claimed around 1,200 lives, many of which were dead from Israeli fire.
Two Standards for Olympic Involvement
Israel’s handling of its athletes differs greatly from Russia’s, whose athletes have been banned from competing under their national name because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the consequent devastation. Team Israel is competing in Paris accompanied by police special forces and backed by a sophisticated public relations operation, despite comparable accusations of crimes. At the inauguration of the Olympics, Herzog was greeted VIP by President Emmanuel Macron.
Constant Violence Beats Out the Games
Israeli forces bombarded a school close to Deir Al-Balah in Gaza on the first official day of the Olympics, killing around thirty civilians—including children—and injuring more than one hundred others. Israeli strikes in Khan Yunis claimed 70 lives, two Palestinians were shot dead, and scores of people were injured in the Balata refugee camp in the West Bank. Notwithstanding this carnage, Macron welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Paris even though Netanyahu has an ICC arrest warrant for claimed war crimes. Herzog and Netanyahu exhibit a terrifying apathetic attitude to the almost 40,000 Palestinian deaths already recorded.
Human Cost of Conflict
Based on injuries, malnutrition, and sickness brought on by Israeli attacks, the British medical publication The Lancet projects the death toll in Gaza could be as high as 186,000, equal to 8% of the population. Critics contend that Israel’s actions qualify as genocide, a term used by international organizations more and more to describe Israel’s story emphasizes on self-defense against terrorist organizations despite these atrocities, therefore hiding the reality of collective punishment meted out on Palestinian people.
Western Support and Hypocrasmic Behavior
Aid from Western nations—including France, Britain, and the United States—nations supposedly dedicated to preventing genocide—boosts Israel’s military capability by billions. These same nations, meanwhile, back Israel’s actions against medics, relief workers, newborns, and reporters. Widely denounced as vulgar is the assertion of “destroying Hamas” as a pretext for indiscriminate strikes.
Denial and Historical Justifications by Netanyahu
Speaking before the US Congress, Netanyahu asserted—despite overwhelming data to the contrary—that “practically no civilian” had been killed in Gaza. Herzog and his allies keep using the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre as a cover for continuous violence, implying that past tragedies support modern aggression.
Rising Global Outrage
The continuous bloodshed has energized pro-Palestinian movements including many Jewish groups all around. “The Israeli flag, stained with the blood of the innocent people of Gaza, should not fly in Paris this summer,” French MP Aymeric Caron lately said. This attitude reflects a more general conviction that human life has to come first over athletics.
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Effects on Palestinian Athletes
With only eight competing in Paris 2024 due to Israel’s terrible assault in Gaza, which has killed 400 people over the previous ten months, including Olympians and champions, the conflict has badly harmed Palestinian athletes. These sportsmen had no part in the continuous bloodshed.
Conclusion: An Appeal for Moral Involvement
Having leaders like Herzog at the Olympics is quite important. Many rivals of Team Israel have been in the military and braggle about their deeds in Gaza on social media. This emphasizes the case that Israel should not be let to compete under the name of their nation, same as Russia. The continuous conflict and its effects on innocent life demand a review of how the world community handles such flagrant abuses of human rights while commemorating world sports events.
