After being present on July 7 at the sixth stage of the Tour de France in Cerfontaine, members of Plate-forme Charleroi-Palestine (a member organization of the Samidoun Network) were present once more on Wednesday, 27 July for the fifth stage of the Tour de Wallonie in Courcelles, Belgium, in order to protest against the presence of the Israeli propaganda cycling team, “Israel Premier Tech.”
This team was founded and is funded by Canadian billionaire Sylvan Adams. The objectives of this Israeli team are above all political, as he said himself in an interview in the newspaper Le Monde: “The members of the team are ambassadors of the country of Israel, which is the base of the crew. We use sport to create ties and promote the country’s image.”
Demonstrators explained exactly this to passers-by and residents of the neighborhood, distributing flyers in support of a boycott of the team and “Israeli” sports. We cannot allow sport to be used to whitewash Israeli colonialism and its war crimes!
Activists set up flags and banners not far from the main square of Courcelles, where they were met with great support from spectators and local residents. One woman even came to help the demonstrators hang up the banners and flags. On several occasions, car drivers, seeing the Palestinian flags, honked their horns as they passed.
The various sections of PJPO (Paix juste au Proche Orient) Coordination also demonstrated against “Israel Premier Tech” in the Tour de Wallonie, in Roeulx, Ecaussines, Ittre and Céroux-Mousty.
Below is the video of their action in Ittre:
The PJPO near Écaussinnes also mobilized with flags and banners:
We will be there again in the spring!
The “Israel Premier Tech” team is also planned to be present in other cycling races in Belgium. Let’s organize ourselves everywhere in Belgium to be present in March and April at the Flèche wallonne, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the Flèche brabançonne, Ghent-Wevelgem, the Grand Prix de l’Escaut, the Tour de Flandre and Bruges -De Panne.
Source : Charleroi-Palestine
