Giro d’Italia’s Israel start under fire from human rights groups

Although the 2018 Giro d’Italia’s full route, or corsa rosa, won’t be revealed until November 29, race organizers declared back in early September that the first three stages will be set in Israel. But in the past week the voices of human rights and Palestinian groups have grown louder in their condemnation of the big start in Israel.

Soon after the announcement, Sharaf Qutaifan of the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel protested, “Starting the Giro in Israel to all intents rewards Israel for its decades-long human rights abuses against the Palestinian people, including athletes.”

On November 22 around 120 personalities (Noam Chomsky among them), civil rights and Palestinian rights groups signed a petition asking RCS Sport to move the start from Israel. This was included along with an open letter to RCS from the European Coordination of Committees and Associations for Palestine (ECCP) accusing the Giro organizers in being complicit in “whitewashing Israel’s military occupation and grave human rights violations.”

The letter and petition urge RCS Sport “to move the start of the race to another country to ensure no involvement in Israeli violations of international law and Palestinian human rights.” The ECCP also sent open letters to various leading figures who planned on attending the May 4 launch in Jerusalem, including Pope Francis.

RCS told Cyclingnews,“The first reason why the Giro d’Italia is starting in Israel is to continue the process of internationalisation of the race, remembering that this is the 14th time the race will start abroad. Israel represents a good opportunity because it will be the first time a Grand Tour will start outside the borders of Europe. Linked to that, the second reason is that the Giro d’Italia is a vehicle to export everything that is Italian to the world, and of course being in Israel gives us great international exposure to talk about Italy.”

Pro-Continental squad Israel Cycling Academy, for whom Canadians Guillaume Boivin and Ben Perry ride, are hoping for a wild card berth to the first Grand Tour of the season. The squad is co-owned by Canadian real estate developer Sylvan Adams, who help bring the Giro to Israel.

.@lyonsinisrael & @chemiperes bestow Canadian riders @Guillaumeboivin @benjefperry from @yallaACADEMY initiated by #Canadian Sylvan Adams and @PeresCenter with the Ambassador for Peace title. Mazel tov to you all! pic.twitter.com/26vd4w0ESR

— Canada in Israel (@CanEmbIsrael) November 16, 2017

Team principles for UAE-Team Emirates and Bahrain-Merida, whose co-title sponsors are states known for frosty relations with Israel, have made no protests over the start since it was announced in September.