Valencia BDS Calls to Cancel Basketball Game vs Israeli Hapoel
Valencia basket Faces Boycott Calls Over game with Israeli Team
Table of Contents
- Valencia basket Faces Boycott Calls Over game with Israeli Team
- Public Letter to Club Ownership
- Accusations of Sportswashing
- Concerns Over Palestinian Athletes
- Call to Action
- Valencia Basket Faces Boycott Calls: Examining the Controversy
- What is the Valencia Basket Club Boycott About?
- What are the BDS Movement’s concerns?
- What is “Sportswashing”?
- Who Owns the Valencia Basket club?
- What Actions is the BDS Movement Calling For?
- What are the Allegations Against israel regarding Palestinian Athletes?
- Where Does the facts Come From?
Valencia, Spain – The BDS movement in the Valencian region is urging the Valencia Basket Club to cancel its scheduled game against Hapoel Tel Aviv, an Israeli team. The game is slated for this evening at 8:30 p.m. local time. This request is part of an international campaign to boycott Israel.
The BDS movement aims to “denounce the strategy of ’sportswashing’ with which the Zionist regime seeks to bleach its image while perpetrating massacres against the Palestinian peopel,” according to a statement released by the group.
Public Letter to Club Ownership
In a public letter addressed to the Valencia Basket Club,owned by Juan Roig,who also owns the Mercadona supermarket chain,the local BDS chapter expressed “sadness and stupefaction” regarding the game. The letter emphasizes that the game is scheduled “while the bombs of Israel fall on Gaza,while the Palestine population suffers thirst and hunger and while Israel is being investigated by genocide in the international court.”

Accusations of Sportswashing
The letter states that allowing the game to proceed would enable “sport to be used to clean the image of a state that commits crimes against humanity.” The BDS movement argues that Israel uses sports competitions as a form of “sportswashing” to divert attention from human rights violations and gain international legitimacy.
Concerns Over Palestinian Athletes
The BDS movement highlights that Israel participates in European basketball competitions despite not being geographically part of Europe. They also allege that Israeli teams from illegal settlements in the West Bank are allowed to participate, violating international law.
The letter further claims that while Israeli players are facilitated in competitions, Palestinian athletes face significant obstacles. “Palestinian athletes are prevented from training, competing and, in many cases, even living: dozens of them have been imprisoned, mutilated and murders, their stages have been destroyed and the freedom of movement to participate in tournaments is constantly hindered by the Israeli army,” the letter states.
The Al Yarmouk Stadium stadium, De Gaza was “occupied by the Israeli army and turned into a detention and torture center before being completely destroyed.”
Call to Action
The BDS movement is calling for a boycott of Israeli teams, citing the destruction of the El Yarmouk Stadium in Gaza, which they say was “occupied by the Israeli army and turned into a detention and torture center before being completely destroyed.”
The movement concludes by stating that they are “responding to the call of the Palestinian civil society and hundreds of sports clubs.” They believe that “sports pressure can help end a regime from Apartheid,” referencing the example of South Africa.

Valencia Basket Faces Boycott Calls: Examining the Controversy
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What is the Valencia Basket Club Boycott About?
The BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) movement in the Valencian region is urging the Valencia Basket Club to cancel its scheduled basketball game against Hapoel Tel Aviv, an israeli team. The game is scheduled for this evening at 8:30 p.m. local time. This boycott is part of a larger international campaign against Israel.
What are the BDS Movement‘s concerns?
The BDS movement aims to halt what they call “sportswashing,” where sports events are used to improve the image of a state.They believe the Israeli government is using sports to divert attention from alleged human rights violations against Palestinians and gain international legitimacy. the BDS movement highlights the following in their statement:
The game is scheduled while there are attacks on Gaza and while the Palestinian population suffers.
Israel is being investigated for genocide.
Palestinian athletes face significant obstacles compared to israeli athletes participating in European competitions.
Israeli teams from illegal settlements in the West Bank are allowed to participate.
The destruction of the El Yarmouk Stadium in Gaza, which was occupied, used as a detention center, and destroyed.
What is “Sportswashing”?
The article defines sportswashing as the use of sports competitions to improve the image of a state, frequently enough to distract from human rights violations.
Who Owns the Valencia Basket club?
Valencia basket Club is owned by Juan Roig, who also owns the Mercadona supermarket chain.
What Actions is the BDS Movement Calling For?
The BDS movement is calling for a boycott of Israeli teams. They are “responding to the call of the Palestinian civil society and hundreds of sports clubs.” They believe that sports pressure can help end a regime of Apartheid,” referencing the example of South Africa.
What are the Allegations Against israel regarding Palestinian Athletes?
The article claims that Palestinian athletes face significant obstacles:
They are prevented from training.
They are prevented from competing.
In many other cases, they are prevented from living.
Dozens have been imprisoned, mutilated, and killed.
Their stages have been destroyed.
* Freedom of movement to participate in tournaments is hindered by the Israeli army.
Where Does the facts Come From?
All information is from the source article detailing the situation.
