It is always regrettable when sporting tournaments are overshadowed by wider concerns, but the decision to withdraw four Israeli athletes from involvement in the Europe Triathlon Cup in Derry at the weekend was unquestionably the correct one.
While the event is an important competition in its sector, it pales into insignificance when it is compared to the brutal campaign of genocide inflicted by Israel on the people of Palestine for almost three years.
There was no possible justification for the attack by Hamas on southern Israel almost three years ago which resulted in some 1,200 deaths, but the prolonged response by the Israeli government has been appalling in every way.
Almost 75,000 people, the majority of them women and children, have been killed by the Israel Defence Forces, which has indiscriminately and relentlessly directed its hugely sophisticated arsenal against the civilian population.
Israel has also used famine as a weapon, and routinely targeted both health workers and journalists, with its policies regularly condemned by special United Nations committees and a wide range of human rights groups.
Engaging in cultural and sporting links with Israel should not be considered by the rest of the world as long as this disgraceful process continues, and, while it was a relatively small gesture in global terms, Ireland, together with several other countries, was completely entitled to boycott this year’s Eurovision Song Contest in protest over Israeli involvement.
The Republic of Ireland’s soccer team should also have pulled out of the Nations League as soon as it was drawn to face Israel, and it is shameful that the two fixtures are still scheduled to go ahead in the coming weeks.
It is telling that both games have been switched to neutral venues in farcical circumstances, with Israel designated as the home side in Hungary on September 27, and a handful of their supporters permitted to attend, while Ireland are regarded as the hosts in Serbia on October 4, behind closed doors.
Although the Europe Triathlon Cup attracted some of the continent’s best performers in the field to Derry, it was inevitable that considerable difficulties would follow as soon as entries were accepted from Israel.
Organisers the North West Triathlon Club expressed safety concerns last week, and said it could not support athletes from Israel participating, before the Israeli Triathlon Association asked for the withdrawal of the four competitors.
There have been suggestions that legal action could follow, but it remains essential that an unequivocal message is sent to the Israeli administration, stressing that its actions are unacceptable and representatives of its country will not be welcome at international gatherings until it permanently ends the slaughter in Gaza.
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