抄録
The escalation of fighting between Israel and Hamas since October 2023 has increased the politicization of sports in Israel, and its effects have the potential to spill over into the Olympic and Paralympic movements.
The first is the issue of the Israeli teamʼs participation in the Paris 2024 Games.
The IOC and IPC have already announced a policy banning Russia from participating as a national team. The IOC argues that the basis for their decision is that the unilateral decision taken by the Russian Olympic Committee on 5 October 2023 to include, as its members, the regional sports organizations which are under the authority of the National Olympic Committee （NOC） of Ukraine （namely Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia）, constitutes a breach of the Olympic Charter. In light of this, some experts commented that Israelʼs participation could also be questionable. What would happen if Israel annexed the territories hosting Palestinian
sports organizations? The discussion reveals a lack of consensus on the “political neutrality” that the IOC and IPC have in their Charter.
Second, the conflict over the Palestinian question could be brought directly into the arena of international sporting events related to the Olympic and Paralympic Games, including the Paris 2024 Games. The Arab boycott of Israel following the 2014 Israeli attack on Gaza is likely to set a precedent. It should be noted that the attacks beginning in October 2023 were more prolonged and extremely damaging than those previous attacks. In addition to boycotts, some athletes may possibly express their opinions at the medal podium or elsewhere, which is restricted by the IOC Charter. In the worst-case scenario, there might be a threat to the safety of the Israeli national team.
Third is the possibility that the prolonged military conflict could increase the presence of wounded soldiers on the Israeli Paralympic national team, which was approximately 15% at the Tokyo 2020 Games. This is not surprising given that the Stoke Mandeville Games originated in the rehabilitation of wounded military personnel. On the other hand, Russiaʼs participation is currently being considered as Individual Neutral Athletes, but even in that case, it is highly likely that the athletesʼ relationship with the military will be strictly scrutinized and only athletes who are found to have no relationship will be allowed to participate. If the Israeli Paralympic team were to include a large number of wounded soldiers from their attack on the Gaza Strip, there could be objections that this would be unequal.
It is hoped that peace will come to the Gaza Strip soon and that the issues discussed in this article will no longer be a point of contention at the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
