“Politics and sport are always strongly linked, and Glushko’s presence is part of Israel’s strategy to normalize its racism and apartheid against Palestinians. New Zealand will have none of it.”
Pro-Palestinian protesters in New Zealand disrupted a tennis match on Monday in which an Israeli tennis player with ties to the army was participating.
The protest, organized by the Palestine Support Network Aotearoa (PSNA), drew attention to Lina Glushko’s military background, the Anadolu news agency reported.
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“Politics and sport are always strongly linked, and Glushko’s presence is part of Israel’s strategy to normalize its racism and apartheid against Palestinians. New Zealand will have none of it,” the PSNA National Chair John Minto said in a statement.
Israeli Army Reservist
Glushko, 24, has served in the Israeli military as a “mitztayenet,” a designation for athletes who continue their sporting careers while serving, the report noted.
The protesters used loudspeakers outside the venue of the ASB Classic tournament held in Auckland, to chant “Free Palestine,” “Israel is a terror state” and other slogans, which were clearly heard on court and during broadcasts.
The disruptions caused brief pauses during the first set, Anadolu reported.
Tennis star Naomi Osaka defeated former IDF soldier and current army reservist Lina Glushko 6-4, 6-4 to advance to the second round of the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators used microphones from outside the venue to disrupt the match, chanting… pic.twitter.com/QcPizkekuO
— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) December 30, 2024
According to Drop Site News, the protesters were gathered on a public street and therefore “organizers were unable to move them.”
Glushko, who is an Israeli army reservist, was defeated by her opponent, Naomi Osaka, in the match.
‘Utterly Unacceptable’
“It is utterly unacceptable that the ASB Tennis Classic would include a reservist soldier from an army committing genocide in Gaza,” Minto stated.
“Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors without Borders) and United Nations officials have all condemned Israel for crimes of genocide and extermination in Gaza,” the chairman added.
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Minto said the PSNA had previously written to the government asking it to suspend all visas for Israelis who have served in the Israeli military from coming to New Zealand.
“We have not yet had a response,” he noted.
Ongoing Genocide
The ongoing Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip, which began on October 7, 2023, has led to a humanitarian crisis of unprecedented scale. As the death toll among besieged and starved Palestinian civilians continues to rise daily, Israel is currently facing charges of genocide against Palestinians before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Six children and a nurse froze to death in Gaza, where 9 in 10 people are displaced. Families in makeshift shelters face torrential rain & freezing cold without basic necessities.
The world must act to stop this tragedy.
? Read more: https://t.co/C3JWVlGLEI#GazaUnderAttack… pic.twitter.com/gDxa2q5fjr
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) December 30, 2024
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, at least 45,541 Palestinians have been killed, and 108,338 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7, 2023. The toll is expected to rise further, with at least 11,000 people still unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes across Gaza.
The war, which Palestinians call “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood,” began after a military operation carried out by Hamas on Israeli territory. Israel reports that 1,200 of its soldiers and civilians were killed during the initial attack on October 7. However, Israeli media have raised concerns that a significant number of Israeli casualties were caused by ‘friendly fire’ during the assault.
Humanitarian Disaster
Human rights organizations, both Palestinian and international, have reported that the overwhelming majority of the casualties in Gaza are women and children. The ongoing violence has also exacerbated an acute famine, with thousands of children among the dead, highlighting the severity of the humanitarian disaster.
'Welcome to Hell' – Rights Groups Confront Israel's Genocide
If you take the two latest reports by the International rights groups, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, and pair them with Israel's own human rights group B'tselem's reports, you will get a picture of the… pic.twitter.com/DAQinpqirC
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) December 29, 2024
The war has displaced nearly two million people from their homes across Gaza, with the majority of the displaced forced into the already overcrowded southern region of the Strip. The population in Gaza remains trapped in the ongoing conflict, with little access to basic necessities such as food, water, and medical care.
(PC, Anadolu)
Good, if not quite at the level that HART (Halt All Racist (Rugby and other sports) Tours) achieved in 1981!