Chilean Cycling Organizations Denounce Israel’s Participation in World Track Championships as ‘Image-Washing’ for Genocide in Gaza

Original article: “Lavado de imagen”: Organizaciones ciclistas de Chile rechazan participación de Israel en mundial de pista en el país

Chilean Cycling Organizations Denounce Israel in Track World Championships, Accusing It of ‘Image-Washing’ for Genocide in Gaza

Twenty-five Chilean cycling organizations, including the well-known Furious Cyclists Movement, have released a joint statement opposing Israel’s participation in the World Track Cycling Championship, set to take place in Santiago from October 22 to 26, as initially reported by Prensa Opal. The groups accuse Israel of using sports to whitewash what they label a «genocide» and an «apartheid regime» against the Palestinian people.

According to the statement, cited by both Prensa Opal and Crónica Digital, the organizations base their stance on an ethical contradiction. «This position, the signatories explain, arises from the contradiction of competing alongside a country that systematically violates the principles of coexistence, mutual respect, and human dignity that cycling itself promotes,» the media detailed in their coverage.

The organizations were emphatic in noting, through a statement released by the Palestinian Information Center (CIP) and quoted by Crónica Digital, that «We cannot remain silent while the sport we love is used to cover up one of the most terrible massacres of our time.» They argue that this participation seeks to whitewash «one of the most egregious crimes of our era,» as stated in the original declaration.

The groups, which include clubs, collectives, and cycling media, stress that they do not align themselves with any specific political faction. The media highlighted that the signatories—comprising professional and amateur cyclists as well as cycling culture promoters—base their rejection on the universal values of sports. They assert that principles such as «coexistence, mutual respect, loyalty to the rules, and human dignity… have been systematically disregarded by Israel,» according to the original declaration.

A call to action is a central component of the statement. It notes that the collectives urge «the cycling community and the general public to echo their declaration and to demonstrate peacefully on social media, in the streets, and at the velodrome.» With this, they aim not to be «complicit» through their silence and join global protests demanding justice for Palestine.

The responsibility also lies with the National Cycling Federation of Chile (FEDENACICH), a member of the International Cycling Union (UCI), which «must answer for allowing its presence at the World Championships,» according to Prensa Ppal.

The full list of the 25 signing organizations includes: Austral Randonneurs, Centro Bicicultura, Cicletada de las Niñas, Ciclolumpen, Club Deportivo y Cultural Watones Crew, Club CXCL, Club Deportivo y Social Gravel Cross, Facheritos CC, Fondo Comunitario de Bicis, Gravel Bio Bío, Furious Cyclists Movement, Pantera Courier, Pedal Autónomo, Puro Plano, Pedaleros Zona Sur, Radio Rueda Libre, Revolución Ciclista FEM, Ruedas por Palestina, South CX, Syntax Error, The Good Cycling Club, Vegan, Cycling Culture, and Club Santiago Pista.