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Palestinian Athletes Told to Take 'Resistance' to the Olympics

Valerie Tarazi will compete in the swimming for the Palestine delegation at the Paris Olympics - AFP
Valerie Tarazi will compete in the swimming for the Palestine delegation at the Paris Olympics - AFP
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Palestinian Athletes Told to Take 'Resistance' to the Olympics

Valerie Tarazi will compete in the swimming for the Palestine delegation at the Paris Olympics - AFP
Valerie Tarazi will compete in the swimming for the Palestine delegation at the Paris Olympics - AFP

Eight Palestinian athletes taking part in the Paris Olympics will be symbols of "resistance" during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, a Palestinian minister said Sunday as the official delegation left the occupied West Bank.

This will be the eighth time Palestinian athletes have taken part in the Olympics since 1996, but Olympic committee head Jibril Rajoub said the athletes had never felt so much attention.

The athletes are preparing for the start of the Paris Games on July 26 in a "very dark moment in our history", said Palestinian authority minister of state for foreign affairs Varsen Aghabekian Shahin, AFP reported.

"You are not just athletes, you are also ... symbols of Palestinian resistance," Aghabekian added.

French organizers have stepped up security in Paris because of the conflict. But Rajoub said: "We want this participation to be a message from the Palestinians to the world that it is time for them to be free in their homeland."

"Through this participation, we want to present the suffering of the Palestinian people and the unprecedented killing taking place in Gaza," he added.

Rajoub said 400 athletes, coaches and sporting officials in Gaza have been killed or wounded since the start of the war on October 7.

Majed Abu Marahil, a long distance runner who was the first Palestinian to compete in an Olympics in Atlanta in 1996, died in June. According to officials, he suffered kidney failure and could not get treatment as Gaza's hospitals have been devastated by the conflict.

Rajoub said getting athletes to Paris "is already a victory".

The eight will compete in athletics, swimming, archery, taekwondo, judo and boxing. One secured a place through regular qualifying and seven were given special invitations.

Swimmer Valerie Tarazi, 24, has US and Palestinian nationality and won titles at the Arab Games last year in Algeria.

"My heart aches for them," she said of the Gaza people. Tarazi said she has relatives in Gaza and speaks with them nearly every day.

"Being in Paris on behalf of Palestine is a very important thing, and taking part in a global swimming competition at a time when there are no places to train is surreal," she said.

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More Democrats in Congress Call on Joe Biden to End His Reelection Bid

US President Joe Biden speaks during a bilateral meeting with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 10 July 2024. (EPA)
US President Joe Biden speaks during a bilateral meeting with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 10 July 2024. (EPA)
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More Democrats in Congress Call on Joe Biden to End His Reelection Bid

US President Joe Biden speaks during a bilateral meeting with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 10 July 2024. (EPA)
US President Joe Biden speaks during a bilateral meeting with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 10 July 2024. (EPA)

A growing number of Democrats in Congress are calling on Democratic President Joe Biden to end his reelection bid after the 81-year-old incumbent's halting debate performance against Republican rival Donald Trump.

While many lawmakers have expressed unease with Biden's continued candidacy - and others have steadfastly backed the incumbent's plans - here is a list of those who have publicly and directly called for Biden to not run again.

SENATOR PETER WELCH

"For the good of the country, I'm calling on President Biden to withdraw from the race," the senator from Vermont wrote in an opinion piece in the Washington Post. Welch was the first Democratic US senator to call on Biden to step aside as candidate.

REPRESENTATIVE PAT RYAN

"Joe Biden is a patriot but is no longer the best candidate to defeat Trump," Ryan, who flipped a Republican-held New York district in 2019, said in a social media post. "For the good of our country, I am asking Joe Biden to step aside - to deliver on his promise to be a bridge to a new generation of leaders."

REPRESENTATIVE MIKIE SHERRILL

"Because I know President Biden cares deeply about the future of our country, I am asking that he declare that he won’t run for reelection and will help lead us through a process toward a new nominee," Sherrill, of New Jersey, said in a statement.

REPRESENTATIVE ADAM SMITH

"President Biden should end his candidacy for a second term as President and release his delegates to the Democratic National Convention to enable the party to nominate a new candidate for President," Smith said in a statement. "The President’s performance in the debate was alarming to watch and the American people have made it clear they no longer see him as a credible candidate to serve four more years as President. Since the debate the President has not seriously addressed these concerns. This is unacceptable. The stakes are simply too high."

REPRESENTATIVE LLOYD DOGGETT

Doggett, a House member from a safe Democratic district in Texas, was the first congressional Democrat to call for Biden to step down.

"President Biden has continued to run substantially behind Democratic senators in key states and in most polls has trailed Donald Trump," Doggett said in a statement. "I had hoped that the debate would provide some momentum to change that. It did not."

REPRESENTATIVE RAUL GRIJALVA

Grijalva, a liberal who represents a district in southern Arizona along the border with Mexico, told the New York Times it was time for Biden to end his campaign, saying, "If he's the candidate, I'm going to support him, but I think that this is an opportunity to look elsewhere." Grijalva representatives did not respond to requests for comment.

REPRESENTATIVE SETH MOULTON

Moulton, a Democrat from Massachusetts, praised Biden's service to the country but told a local radio show that the president should follow in "George Washington's footsteps and step aside to let new leaders rise up and run against Donald Trump."

REPRESENTATIVE MIKE QUIGLEY

A moderate from Illinois, Quigley said Biden must step aside and "let someone else do this" or risk "utter catastrophe."

REPRESENTATIVE ANGIE CRAIG

Craig, whose district in Minnesota is considered a top priority for Republicans to win back in November, was the first incumbent from a highly competitive district to call for Biden to step down.

"Given what I saw and heard from the president during last week's debate in Atlanta, coupled with the lack of a forceful response from the president himself following that debate, I do not believe that the president can effectively campaign and win against Donald Trump," Craig said.

REPRESENTATIVE EARL BLUMENAUER

"The question before the country is whether the president should continue his candidacy for re-election. This is not just about extending his presidency but protecting democracy," Blumenauer said.

"While this is a decision for the president and the first lady, I hope they will come to the conclusion that I and others have: President Biden should not be the Democratic presidential nominee," he added.