Although there are those who try to believe, boycots or protests against Israel’s participation in sporting events, not only cyclist to Spain but also, for example, in a chess tournament in Sestao, it is not so. Speeches collide too many times against reality. Although all the attention was put in the cycling race, in Canada, as in the rest of the world, things also happened. Among others, the Canadian Tennis team faced this weekend against Israel’s team in the Davis Cup, but without a audience. Because? Yes, for the same thing that happened in the Vuelta, by Israel.
Already in August, more than 400 Canadian personalities from the world of sport asked the tennis federation of their country to cancel the tie against Israel that it had to be held in Halifax. “While Israel continues its genocide in the Gaza Strip and encourages the violence of the settlers in the West Bank, sports sanctions against that nation constitute a fundamental tool to show the constant disapproval of Canada in front of Israeli actions“They said on their request, signed among others by the Mohammed Ahmed Olympic corridor, who won a silver medal in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
This pressure, added to “the information received from local authorities and national security agencies”, in addition to “the interruptions observed in other recent events, both in Canada and internationally,” forced the Canadian Tennis Federation. They did not cancel the event, but they did consult the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and chose to play the game behind closed doors, “without a present audience”. “We have been forced to conclude that playing behind closed doors is the only way to protect the participants and preserve the event,” said Gavin Ziv, executive director of Tennis Canada last week.
During the celebration of the Davis matches, the surroundings of the stadium, the Scotiabak Center, They were filled with proper protesters. The protests achieved not only that the party was played without a audience, but the Halifax City Council withdrew the 50,000 dollar prize that it planned to deliver to the winner.
But not only that happened. As in Spain, two cycling events were held in Canada, two major awards in Montreal and Quebec that also had the presence of the Israel-Premier Tech team, whose owner, Sylvan Adams, is a Canadian-Israeli entrepreneur. Well, then In two events there were hundreds of people who protested against the presence of Israel. Exactly like during the return to Spain.
In the newspaper Montreal Gazette They echoed the statements of Safa Chebbi, spokesman for divestment in Palestine, one of the organizations that convened the protests in both Montreal and Quebec. “Israel Premier-Tech is not just a sports team: it is a propaganda machine. Allowing him to participate is that Montreal remains an accomplice of the genocide in Gaza. We refuse to allow our streets and events, financed in part with public funds in Canada and the city of Montreal, are used to cover up the crimes of a colonial and genocidal entity. “
Not, Not only happens in Spain.
