4th Annual Muhammad Ali Center Athletes and Social Change Forum

April 8-9, 2016

Human rights and SDP organizations during Israeli-Palestinian conflict escalations

Yoav Dubinsky

Olympism“… Olympism is a philosophy of life, exalting and combining in a balanced whole the qualities of body, will and mind. Blending sport with culture and

education, Olympism seeks to create a way of life based on the joy of effort, the educational value of good example, social responsibility and

respect for universal fundamental ethical principles….”

(Olympic Charter)

Israel in the Olympics• Berlin 1936: Jewish leadership in Palestine refuse to participate• London 1948: Not invited • Helsinki 1952: First participation, athletes named changed to Hebrew ones• Melbourne 1956: Egypt, Iraq and Lebanon boycotted

• Munich 1972: Munich Massacre

• Moscow 1980: Israel join the USA boycott• Seoul 1988: Israeli athletes miss medals after not competing on Yom Kippur• Barcelona 1992: First Israeli medals• Atlanta 1996: First demand to commemorate the Munich Victims’ families• Athens 2004: Iranian Judoka boycotts fight against Israeli• Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games: Iranian athlete boycotts gold medal

match against Israeli Gili Haimovitz• London 2012: Controversy around a demand for a moment of silence

Promoting Sport and Peace in Israel• Peres Center for Peace

• Mifalot: Education and Society Enterprise

• Value Sport

• Runners Without Boarders

• National Olympic Committee of Israel

• Complexity of football in Israel

Sport at the Peres Center for Peace• Founded in 1996 in Jaffa by current Israeli President and ex Prime Minister Shimon Peres, Nobel Prize for Peace• Over 14,000 Israeli and Palestinian children and over 100 Israeli and Palestinian coaches took part in over 800 different sport activities• Twinned Peace Schools• Collaboration with different organizations such as UNSDP, Sport for Peace, Street Football, FIFA, etc.• Collaboration with top clubs and top athletes like Real Madrid, Inter Milan, FC Barcelona, etc.

Photos credit: Peres Center for Peace

FC Barcelona visit to Israel• FC Barcelona is the most popular football team in Israel• FC Barcelona came to Israel and Palestine as part of the 2013 Peace Tour• After not reaching an agreement to have a friendly match against Israeli and Palestinian players it was decided that FC Barcelona will hold training practices in Israel and in the Palestinian authority with Israeli and Palestinian children• Much criticism about the visit being more PR and photography with politicians than sports• 14,000 children were invited to see FC Barcelona train in Bloomfield Stadium

The National Olympic Committee of Israel• Olympic Education

• Activities with children

Football in Israel• Beitar Jerusalem and La Familia

• Racism and Violence

• Anti-Racism activities

• Co-Existence activities

• Social orientation by fan-owned clubs

Declaration by Israeli Government“Israel is proud to be one of the co-sponsors of today’s

resolution, which focuses on sport as a rallying point. We encourage all people in the Middle East and

throughout the world to use sport to promote coexistence, to learn from one another, and foster peace

and harmony...”

Ambassador David Roet address the UN General Assembly, November 2013

• In the address to the United Nations, mentioned the Peres Center for Peace, Mifalot and Israel Sport Center for Disabled.

• Also mentioned the Munich Massacre, boycotts against Israeli athletes and fundamentalist ideologies

During Recent Conflicts• Pillar of Defense (2012)• Operation Protective Edge (2014)• Latest escalations (2015-2016)

• Impact on sport in Israel

• SDP organizations using social media to call for ending the violence

Conclusion• Professional and competitive sport are directly affected by the

conflict

• Various SDP organization operate in Israel, trying to bridge Israeli and Palestinian children

• Various Israeli organizations and NGO organizations in Israel officially understand the importance of solidarity declarations about sport and development for peace

• This message is received in a skeptical way as long as the Israeli-Palestinian dispute continues to impact sport.

Selected ReferencesAvraham E. (2009). Marketing and managing nation branding during prolong crisis: The Case

of Israel. Journal of Place Branding and Public Diplomacy. Vol 5, 3, 202-212De-San-Eugino J., Ginesta X. & Xifra J. (2015): Peace, Sports diplomacy and corporate social

responsibility: a case study of football Club Barcelona Peace Tour 2013, Soccer & SocietyDubinsky Y (2014). The Complex Relations between Israeli and the Olympic

Movement. In Cahtziefsatathiou D & Muller N (eds.). Olympism, Olympic Education and Learning Legacies. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Chapter 7, 58-67Galily Y., Leitner M. & Shimion P. (2013),"The effects of three Israeli sports programs on

attitudes of Arabs and Jews toward one another", Journal of Aggression, Conflict and Peace Research, Vol. 5 (4), pp. 243 – 258

International Olympic Committee (2015). Olympic Charter. International Olympic Committee. Retrieved: http://www.olympic.org/Documents/olympic_charter_en.pdf

Johan Cruyff Foundation official web-site: http://www.cruyff-foundation.org/Litvak-Hirsch T., Galily Y. & Leitner M. (2016) Evaluating conflict mitigation and health

improvement through soccer: a two-year study of Mifalot’s ‘United Soccer for Peace’ programme, Soccer & Society, 17:2, 209-224

Mifalot official web site: http://www.mifalot.com/Peres Centre for Peace official web-site: http://www.peres-center.org/Roet, D. (November 6, 2013). Israeli statement on Sport for Peace and Development. Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Retrieved:http://mfa.gov.il/United Nations Sport and Development for Peace official web-site: http://www.un.org/wcm/content/site/sport/

Thank you very much!