THE SPINE OCTOBER 5, 2010
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I assume--and Israeli security officials confirm--that the problem is not systematic. That there are a few individuals who live in other countries and for reasons some fair, some presumably not have trouble getting in and out of the territories.
The Palestinian Olympic Committee has been functioning as any other Olympic organization that depends on a small population, thin sports traditions and a poor domestic economy.
SportsFeatures.com reports that Jacques Rogge, the president of the International Olympic Committee, promised "to raise Palestinian 'freedom' issues with the Israelis." Soon this will become a human rights issue, and maybe the U.N. Human Rights Council will take it under consideration--on par with the Flotilla incident.
By the way, the head of the Palestinian Olympics is Jibril Rajoub, a trusted henchman of the unlamented Yassir Arafat and former head of the Preventative Security Force in the West Bank. As almost everyone knows, in certain societies terrorism mixes with everything, including athletics.
Alas, no one on the I.O.C. had the foresight to protect the lives of the Israel Olympic teams at the Munich games in 1972.
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4 comments
I'm not exactly sure what the beef is but I'm guessing that some athletes, being Palestinians, as they go from one place to another in the West Bank, find they are sometimes delayed by Israeli roadblocks. So what they IOC are asking is a special laissez-passer for athletes, special considerations that are not extended to the rest of the population. A couple of years ago there was a similar petition made on behalf of Palestinian academics: http://blog.z-word.com/2008/07/israeli-policy-and-academic-freedom/
- noga1
October 5, 2010 at 4:42pm
In a related story the IOC has asked American Airlines and United Airlines to provide the frequent flyer miles to the family of Mohamed Atta. The statement from the IOC said 'We respect the right of families to recoup the value of their lost loved ones. There were 19 tickets and that has to be good for 2 or 3 free flights.'
- CRS9TNR
October 5, 2010 at 6:31pm
CRS9TNR "The statement from the IOC said 'We respect the right of families to recoup the value of their lost loved ones. There were 19 tickets and that has to be good for 2 or 3 free flights.'" I don't doubt that this is true, but the comment is so bizarre that a link would help figuring out what the IOC had in mind and why they said it.
- jdyer
October 5, 2010 at 8:56pm
Why don't the Palestinian athletes train in Algeria? Many athletes routinely move to train in countries with more developed facilities and better coaches. As Biden would say, "Stop the whining" One would think the IOC is far more concerned about what the Circassians are going to do to highlight the brutal theft of their homeland by the Russians when the Sochi Olympics start.
- K2K
October 6, 2010 at 12:04am