PRO-Palestine activists have held a protest in the Scottish Borders calling out British Cycling for allowing an Israel-backed team to participate in the Tour of Britain.
Dozens of supporters of the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign (SPSC) and Show Israel the Red Card turned out in Kelso on Tuesday morning to urge British Cycling to ban Israel Premier-Tech (IPT) from competing in the event and future competitions.
The event will see riders make their way down the UK over the course of the week until the finish up in Suffolk on Sunday.
Campaigners have accused British Cycling of “sportswashing” Israel through allowing IPT’s participation amid the country’s trial at the International Court of Justice for the crime of genocide.
IPT is co-owned by billionaire Israeli-Canadian philanthropist Sylvan Adams who previously told the Jerusalem Post regarding the team’s participation in the Tour de France: “The best way to answer the haters is through our performance and presence.”
The IPT team were greeted with chants of “shame on you” during their on stage presentation, while “boycott Israel” was blasted over megaphones – one of which was reportedly confiscated by police officers.
Elisa Smith, chair of the SPSC Borders branch, added: “As a huge cycling fan and former coach and racer myself, I’m absolutely disgusted that British Cycling have included Israel Premier Tech in this race.
“We’ve had a lot of support locally. We got a lot of angry comments when we protested the team on the stage but we are committed to the fact we are here for the right reasons, we’re on the right side of history and we’re here to represent the Palestinian people and to say no more sportswashing.”
Campaigners are planning to continue demonstrating their opposition to IPT throughout the race stage on Tuesday afternoon.
Maree Sheppard from Show Israel the Red Card, a campaign calling for Israel to be suspended from world sports, added: “Sylvan Adams has invested heavily in Israel and his whole idea is to sanitise the reputation of Israel through this international sports team.
“Our message is that this is sportswashing. Israel should be banned from all sports and cultural activities because if they aren’t it legitimises the genocide that’s happening.
“It’s business as usual while they are allowed to participate in these events so we’re asking British Cycling and any other sporting bodies that allow Israel to participate to grow a spine and ban them as Russia were banned really quickly [for their invasion of Ukraine] along with apartheid South Africa.”
An SPSC activist also filmed herself approaching two members of the IPT team on Monday evening as they arrived in Kelso.
The activist asked both the men if they had anything to say about their owner “supporting a genocide” as she offered them a Palestine flag to put on their car.
As she offered them a leaflet, she said their participation was “sportswashing” and questioned why the word “Israel” had been taken off the team car.
She accused them of “supporting a genocide” but the team members were silent throughout.
Earlier this year the IPT team removed any explicit mention of Israel from team vehicles as a “precautionary measure” but the team said it continues to “race proudly” as IPT with Israel branding on the racing kit.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Around 10.50am, a woman was issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice in connection with abusive and threatening behaviour in the Roxburgh Street area of Kelso.”
A British Cycling spokesperson said: “We fully respect the right of everyone to express their point of view and protest peacefully.
“We ask that people do so with their own safety and the safety of others in mind, and to refrain from action that could compromise people’s safety.
“We would like to thank our local authority partners and the police for working with us collaboratively to ensure that we prioritise the safety of riders, spectators and everyone involved in the race.”
