Action Alert

#ShameOnGiro: Let’s Give Giro d’Italia a Reality Check

As millions around the world follow the famed cycling race, join social media actions to to spoil the party and give Giro d'Italia a reality check!

Social media call for action

Giro d’Italia is steamrolling ahead with its decision to start the famed cycling race in Jerusalem this Friday. They need a reality check.

Israel’s multi-million dollar bribe was enough to enlist Giro in its propaganda campaign. As a result, Giro is …

  • Whitewashing, or sport-washing, Israel’s ongoing war crimes, including the deliberate murder of peaceful Palestinian protesters in Gaza, just kilometers away from the race.
     
  • Ignoring the Palestinian cities and towns along the route destroyed and ethnically cleansed by Israel in 1948.
     
  • Covering up Israel’s dozens of apartheid laws and policies that force some Palestinian communities to live without basic services such as water, electricity, schools and roads.
     
  • Ignoring Israel’s illegal settlements, apartheid wall and checkpoints denying Palestinians freedom of movement.     
     
  • Ignoring the Israeli government’s explicitly racist policy of gradual ethnic cleansing of indigenous Palestinians from Jerusalem.
     
  • Ignoring the calls from Palestinian and international civil society organizations representing millions, from Palestinian officials, Palestinian Christian networks and members of European Parliament to relocate the race.

UCI, the world cycling body, has kept its head firmly in the sand, refusing to take measures to ensure cycling isn’t complicit in Israel’s oppression of Palestinians.

It’s up to us to spoil the party and give Giro a reality check!

On Friday, May 4, as millions around the world follow the race, let’s rain on the parade. Let’s spoil the “celebrations” of 70 years of Palestinian dispossession.

Share the sample tweets, videos, memes and interactive map below with the hashtag #ShameOnGiro and #Giro101.


SHARE

Sample tweets/posts

#ShameOnGiro: Israel shot this Palestinian cyclist in the leg while peacefully protesting in Gaza, then denied him permits to travel for healthcare. #Giro101 is whitewashing Israel’s crimes! http://bit.ly/2fJ3V2N



 

Just KMs from #Giro101, Israel is implementing a shoot-to-kill-or-maim policy against Palestinian men, women & children peacefully protesting for UN sanctioned rights. +50 killed, 1000s injured. @girodItalia is sports-washing Israel’s crimes! #ShameOnGiro http://bit.ly/2fJ3V2N



 

#Giro101 runs thru dozens of the +500 Palestinian cities/towns ethnically cleansed during or after Israel’s establishment on the ruins of the Palestinian homeland in 1948 @girodItalia is sports-washing Israel’s crimes! #ShameOnGiro https://arcg.is/1u8KO9



 

#Giro101 route passes by Al Araqib, a Palestinian Bedouin village demolished by Israel *120* times. @giroditalia is sports-washing Israel’s crimes! #ShameOnGiro http://bit.ly/2fJ3V2N



 

Israel commits war crimes and imposes an illegal siege on Palestinians in Gaza. #Giro101 is whitewashing Israel’s crimes! #ShameOnGiro http://bit.ly/2fJ3V2N



 

Israel's cycling team participates in races on Palestinian land under Israeli military occupation. If Palestinians organize a race, Israeli soldiers shut it down. #Giro101 is sports-washing Israel’s crimes! #ShameOnGiro http://bit.ly/2fJ3V2N



Illegal Israeli settlements steal Palestinian land and deny Palestinians our right to freedom of movement. #Giro101 is whitewashing Israel’s crimes! #ShameOnGiro http://bit.ly/2fJ3V2N


#ShameOnGiro for ignoring calls from orgs representing millions, Palestinian officials, prominent jurists, European Parliament members to #RelocateTheRace from Israel due to violations of Palestinian human rights. http://bit.ly/2fJ3V2N #Giro101

Memes, posters

 

Videos

 

 
Giro d'Italia - Don't Cycle Apartheid

Watch! Giro d'italia is sports-washing 70 years of Israel's dispossession of Palestinians. The cycling race goes through Palestinian towns and cities destroyed and ethnically cleansed by Israel, and near Gaza where Israeli snipers are implementing a shoot-to-kill-or-maim policy against Palestinian men, women and children peacefully protesting for freedom, dignity and their UN sanctioned rights. #Giro101 https://bdsmovement.net/giro

Posted by Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel on Wednesday, May 2, 2018

 

Giro d'Italia, Helping Israel Erase a Palestinian Village

Stage three of the Giro d'Italia cycling race is set to pass through the Naqab (Negev) near the Palestinian Bedouin village of Al Araqib, which has been demolished by Israel *over 120 times*. Watch as dramatic satellite imagery illustrates how Israel has erased the village while developing an exclusive Jewish-only settlement just 3 km away. Israel refuses to recognize or provide fundamental services to and has repeatedly demolished dozens of Palestinian Bedouin towns. Since 2010, Israel has revoked the citizenship of hundreds, possibly thousands, of Palestinian Bedouins, leaving them stateless. This is apartheid, a crime under international law. Giro d’Italia is helping Israel cover up its crimes and violations of Palestinian human rights. And UCI, the world cycling body, has failed to act. It’s time to #RelocateTheRace! https://bdsmovement.net/giro #Giro101 #Giro2018

Posted by Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel on Wednesday, March 7, 2018

 

#CyclingWhilePalestinian: Palestinians try to pedal from Ramal...

Starting the Giro d'Italia cycling race in Israel is being presented as something that can unite people and bring peace and harmony. See what happened when Palestinian cyclists tried to pedal from Ramallah to Jerusalem! Israel’s infrastructure of occupation and apartheid, roadblocks, military checkpoints, apartheid wall, Jewish-only settlements and roads stop Palestinians in their tracks at every turn. Giro d’Italia has aligned itself with Donald Trump. They both give legitimacy to Israel’s unlawful control over Jerusalem, contradicting international consensus. They both collude with Israel's far-right government to legitimize Israeli ethnic cleansing and apartheid. Palestinians are saying to Giro d’Italia: "Don't support Trump's decision, relocate the race and cycle away from Israel’s occupation and apartheid.” #CyclingWhilePalestinian #RelocateTheRace https://bdsmovement.net/tags/giro-ditalia

Posted by Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel on Thursday, December 21, 2017

 

APARTHEID ON WHEELS - Giro d'Italia in Israel

Doing what they do best, Apartheid Adventures has a new video out on the Giro d'Italia start in Israel -- now with French and Italian subtitles! "In May 2018 you can cycle the length of Israel to celebrate 70 years of ethnic cleansing, war crimes and apartheid." #RelocateTheRace #CyclingWhilePalestinian #Giro101 https://bdsmovement.net/tags/giro-ditalia (To activate the subtitles, click the gear icon ⚙️on the video, "More Settings" and "Always Show Captions")

Posted by Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel on Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Stay updated!

Sign-up for news, campaign updates, action alerts and fundraisers from the BDS movement.

Subscribe Now