An email is circulating with
snapshots of the official Athens 2004 Olympic and Paralympic Games web site
claiming Palestine is listed as a country with its capital as Jerusalem, and
Israel is listed as having its capital being Tel-Aviv, thus sparking a bias
complaint.
Boycott Watch has investigated the claims
and discovered that the web site in question is in fact the official web site
of the Athens 2004 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and that the information
claimed is in fact what was displayed on the web site.
The email claims that people have protested the
listing. As of today, March 11, 2004, the listings have changed removing all
capital city information for Israel and correcting the official languages of
Israel to Hebrew and Arabic as stated in the circulating email. Additionally,
as of today all general information about Palestine has been removed, thus no
capital city or other information is listed.
The
protests are apparently having an effect - information on the web site has
changed and appears to be in the process of more changes. The only question
remaining is if the International Olympic Committee will accept the following
facts in their future postings and updates to their Athens 2004 web site: 1)
Israel considers it's capital to be Jerusalem and it is the actual location of
Israel's seat of government. Since every country has a right to declare what
its own capital city is, Jerusalem is in fact Israel's capital. 2) There is no
official country called Palestine, and therefore no capital city can be
declared for a country that does not exist.
Boycott
Watch deals in facts, not political correctness or posturing. The International
Olympic Committee and those behind the Athens 2004 Olympic and Paralympic Games
web site can not simply change any information about any country or entity
based upon personal feelings. The facts remain facts, and by clearly displaying
their bias, the International Olympic Committee, which is overall responsible
for the Athens 2004 web site, is violating the very basis of the Olympics,
which is to bring together the people and countries of the world in friendly
athletic competition and to foster peace between nations. By violating its own
principals, the Olympics will become a forum to foster hate, not peace. |
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| Click Here to see a PDF of the original
email (75k PDF) |
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