A-Infos (en) Italy, Sicilia Libertaria #463 - Protests. Boycott of the Spanish Vuelta (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

Something is changing in the dark shroud of obscurantism and censorship 
surrounding the Palestinian issue and the horrific ongoing genocide. We 
must not underestimate what is happening in seemingly unrelated contexts 
to politics. A prominent example is the protests by pro-Palestine 
activists during the Vuelta a España, the Spanish cycling tour. During 
the event, there were numerous protests, primarily directed at the 
presence of the Israel-Premier Tech team. As had already occurred during 
the Giro d'Italia (discussed in these pages), the issue has resurfaced 
forcefully.

The Israeli-Canadian team's attempt to temporarily remove the name 
"Israel" from their jerseys, retaining only "Premier Tech," was 
unsuccessful. This was clearly a mockery, given that the team continues 
to use the same name; The team's boss, Sylvan Adams, has stated that he 
has absolutely no intention of changing it for next year. The Israeli 
government has also repeatedly applauded the team for bringing Israel's 
name to the forefront of the world.

Pro-Palestine activists have therefore lashed out against the Vuelta 
primarily for this reason: the presence of a team partially directly 
funded by the State of Israel. But that's not all. The Vuelta is a huge 
sporting event, with extensive television coverage, allowing activists 
to make their voices heard. The fact is that we're reaching such a point 
of anesthetization that they want to make the very act of demonstrating 
seem serious, even deplorable. Trying to demonstrate one's dissent, even 
by intervening to lead the protest during prominent public events, is 
made to seem like a crime. And that's essentially what happened during 
the Vuelta.

Five stages were affected by protests, and on all of them, activists 
attempted to disrupt the race, in some cases by moving barriers and 
creating actual barriers.

Race organizers were repeatedly forced to reroute the route or shorten 
stages, maintaining an ambiguous stance, ranging from stigmatizing the 
act of endangering the safety of the riders, to timid attempts to urge 
Adams' team to withdraw from the race ("Never!" thundered the Israeli 
businessman), and to a superficial defense of the "right to demonstrate."

The cyclists legitimately feared for their safety, and this cannot be 
disputed; it's a fact, despite the prevalence of peaceful demonstrations 
of dissent. The problem here, however, is the complete lack of empathy 
and the ability to weigh a sporting event against an ongoing genocide, 
all in the midst of empty declarations of dissent, if not the approval 
of international and national institutions. Fortunately, the people 
remain, the flesh-and-blood ones.

It's truly shocking to think that the Vuelta winner, Jonas Vingegaard of 
Denmark, initially told reporters: "We don't realize what's happening 
around us, but regarding the protests, we know that people do it for a 
reason. What's happening right now is horrible, and I think those who 
are protesting need to be heard." Only to retract his words at the end 
of the race, perhaps prompted by someone, or perhaps because he was told 
to tone it down: "It's a shame that a moment of joy and images that 
could have lasted forever were stolen from us. I'm truly disappointed. I 
couldn't wait to celebrate this final victory with my team and the fans. 
Everyone has the right to protest, but not in a way that affects or 
compromises our race."

Dear Jonas, what have they taken from you, after all? Compared to the 
abominations suffered daily by a helpless, tortured population; and we, 
silent accomplices (at best) of their tormentors... Perhaps this time 
the Vuelta won't end with a stage and champagne for the winners, but at 
least we'll reflect on the fact that there is worse, and that we can't 
turn a blind eye to a massacre (and even President Sanchez has been there).

Alessandro Usai

https://www.sicilialibertaria.it/
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S  N E W S  S E R V I C E
By, For, and About Anarchists
Send news reports to A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
Subscribe/Unsubscribe https://ainfos.ca/mailman/listinfo/a-infos-en
Archive: http://ainfos.ca/en