A French hard-left MP sparked a political row Sunday by saying Israeli athletes were not welcome at the Paris Olympics because of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, which one senior minister said had "hints of anti-Semitism".In a post on X, Arfi branded Portes's comments "irresponsible" and accused him of "legitimising Hamas", the Palestinian militant group whose October 7 attacks on Israel sparked the Gaza war.
Doesn’t really make a difference in what I say.
To me, a war can be genocidal, and this one is. And peace times can have apartheid, which has also taken place.
It does make a bit of difference. There’s only one side you can be on in a genocide.
Any country committing a genocide should have all of its privileges taken away. One example of this is having its athletes compete in the Olympics.
Any country committing genocide should be stopped from being able to commit it. That means putting meaningful sanctions that impact military complex and, when possible, directly confronting the force on the battlefield.
Not restricting athletes who have nothing to do with this from competing.
People seemingly forget that a country is not a singular entity or a hive mind. Actual people live there, and those who do not endorse violence shouldn’t face struggles and consequences because of those who do - at least to a practical degree. Punishing athletes for the actions of Israeli command is picking a wrong target.
Not in the slightest. I’m aware that a country isn’t a monolith. Unfortunately, the country as a whole celebrates its victories in sporting events. These athletes shouldn’t be punished, true. But the politicians who are committing genocide should. Their ability to celebrate their nation and to receive international acclaim is unfortunately tied up in their athlete’s careers.
Allowing Israel to participate is validating a genocidal apartheid ethnostate. The athletes wear that flag.