Last update - 02:03 16/11/2007
Jerusalem & Babylon / Using the Olympic Games as leverage
By Anshel Pfeffer
Keren Hayesod, the United Israel Appeal, is finalizing plans to open its first office in China, in Shanghai, some time in 2008. The financial center of the world's most booming economy has, over the last decade or so, attracted thousands of Jewish businesspeople; a relatively small but extremely wealthy community has sprung up. The East is suddenly the new frontier in Jewish fund-raising. But the Jewish world's interest in the new superpower shouldn't be money only. For instance, why have we yet to hear an established Jewish position on the Beijing Olympic Games, slated to take place nine months from now?
There is no shortage of organizations calling for a boycott of the Games. From the Free Tibet campaign to groups like Reporters Without Borders protesting against the lack of a free press, through the persecuted Falun Gong, the medical associations crying foul at the commercial harvesting of organs from the bodies of executed prisoners and, of course, environmentalists monitoring the pollution-heavy no-holds-barred economic drive. The list goes on and on. Should it seem strange that no mainstream Jewish organization has yet seen fit to join these ranks?
Cause celebre
Branching out into non-Jewish affairs has become quite fashionable in recent years for the various organizations. The Joint Distribution Committee has been running projects in Rwanda and Indonesia, the Anti-Defamation League has long ago extended its fight against anti-Semitism to other forms of bigotry and racism and the plight of Darfur. The issue, already a well-established common cause, was first effectively raised in the United States by the Washington National Holocaust Museum.
But there are so many deserving causes, and while individuals can join whoever they like, large Jewish organizations tend to take two factors into consideration before embarking on a new crusade: What are the risks for the local Jews and how will this affect Israel?
For that reason, the great majority of Jewish leaders worldwide, despite personally finding the position morally reprehensible, will not publicly recognize the inescapable fact that the Armenian tragedy during World War I was indeed genocide. Turkey's strategic role in the Middle East is just too important - and let's not forget the precarious situation of the Istanbul community.
By why aren't the Olympics a potential target for Jewish activism? There is no real Jewish community in China and it's still a relatively minor player in the region. The tradition of having the Games once a generation or so in the capital of a fascist or communist regime is, of course, well-established. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) might pay lip service to "Olympian ideals" but that's about all. The standard excuse of the apologists has always been that hosting such a large international event will promote "openness" and prove a "boost for democracy." That's what they said before the 1936 Berlin Games and again in 1980 at Moscow. They're saying it again now and all the signs are that this Olympiad will also prove to be more of a showcase for the dictatorship than a velvet revolution. Unlike 1980, when the U.S. lead a 65-nation group in boycotting the Moscow Games over the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan, there doesn't, as yet, seem to be a single government seriously contemplating such a move. Why precipitate another Cold War? Israel, with enough human rights and boycott issues of its own, certainly won't take the lead on such an initiative.
But what about world Jewry? Like it or not, Jewish individuals, foremost of all, the athletes who made the grade, will have to make a choice. Another individual, Steven Spielberg, is already at the center of controversy over his role as artistic advisor to the Games. Attacked by Hollywood human-rights activists for taking part in the Beijing Games while China continues to support the genocidal regime in Sudan, Spielberg sent a letter to the Chinese leadership threatening to quit if nothing was done to alleviate the situation in Darfur; the outcome is still unclear. Whatever course "Schindler's List" director takes will have a profound impact, not least on the young athletes.
Moral staturs
But shouldn't other figures of moral stature and organizations proud of their ideology also be taking a stand? Perhaps the conclusion would be that, all things considered, a boycott of the Olympics is not a good idea - but that debate should at least be taking place.
This isn't just a moral issue. There was a Chinese response to Spielberg's letter: A senior official was dispatched to Sudan, urging the regime to accept a UN peacekeeping force. China is vulnerable right now because of the Olympics, and this can be used for pressure not only over Sudan, but also against Iran. China, the second biggest buyer of oil after the U.S., is blocking, together with Russia, calls for more sanctions if Iran continues enriching uranium in its nuclear program. The Olympics could be just the right leverage to bring Beijing on board. There are other Spielbergs out there who could easily start a much more threatening march toward a boycott. Perhaps someone should start considering that option.