Protesting Sports, Ignoring Slaughter: Europe's Moral Gymnastics
Pro-Palestine activists in Udine, Italy, rallied against an Israel-Italy football match, urging a boycott. The New Arab reports on the protest, highlighting the sentiment against Israel's actions in Gaza. Meanwhile, major European governments, including Italy's, continue to facilitate arms sales and diplomatic cover for Netanyahu's government, whose campaign in Gaza has resulted in over 37,000
recorded Palestinian deaths, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health. It appears some find a sports match a more palatable target for protest than actual policy. One might wonder if the outrage over an athletic contest eclipses concern for humanitarian law. European leaders, quick to condemn protests against sporting events, are noticeably slow to halt the flow of weapons to the conflict zone, or
to genuinely sanction the architects of the ongoing violence. Consistency, it seems, is a luxury reserved for those not beholden to U.S. foreign policy directives.