By Dr Ahmed Haroon Jazbhay
The Media Review Network (MRN) strongly condemns the South African Carp Angling Federation’s (SA Carp) decision to host the Israeli national team in a fishing competition.
MRN views this move as a dangerous act of normalisation that undermines South Africa’s legacy of solidarity with oppressed peoples, particularly Palestinians, suffering under Israeli genocide.
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The inclusion of the Israeli team comes amid Israel’s ongoing genocide and ethnic cleansing of Gaza and the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, where civilians, including athletes and sports infrastructure, are being targeted.
MRN argues that allowing Israeli participation in South African sporting events sanitises the image of a regime accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity and other human rights violations.
This decision contradicts the principles of the global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which calls for the isolation of Israel until it complies with international law.
MRN highlights that over 300 Palestinian sports clubs have called for Israel’s exclusion from international sporting platforms, making SA Carp’s actions especially troubling.
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MRN calls on South African sporting bodies to refuse engagement with Israeli entities and urges the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture to establish clear guidelines preventing such participation.
It also encourages civil society and athletes to reject events that serve to legitimise Israeli apartheid and genocide.
“There can be no normal sport in an abnormal society.”
MRN insists that South Africa must not allow its sporting platforms to be used as tools of propaganda by a regime that continues to brutalise the Palestinian people.
Issued by:
Dr Ahmed Haroon Jazbhay
Executive Member
Media Review Network
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