It is unconscionable for Israel to participate in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Israel should be suspended from international sports organizations and events until it ends its grave violations of international law.

Palestinian citizens of Israel are 20 percent of the population. But not a single one was on Israel’s 90-member Olympic team. “Sports Apartheid” is the correct term for preventing 20 percent of your fellow citizens from competing internationally. What’s also amazing is that until now, no one in the U.S. mainstream press has even bothered to report on this injustice.

The politics of the Olympics is unlike daily politics. Indeed, it is about something profoundly deeper, related to identity, culture, national struggles for liberation, equality, race and, yes, freedom. 

Palestinian swimmer Mary al Atrash, 22, is one of six Palestinians competing this year in Rio as part of the largest delegation Palestine has ever sent to the Olympics Games. Al Atrash will compete in the 50 meters freestyle, but her training has been difficult due to the fact that she does not have an Olympic-size pool to train in. Nearby Jerusalem has better facilities, including several Olympic-sized pools, but because of the Israeli occupation al Atrash is unable to travel to Jerusalem to train.