The participation of an Israeli team at La Vuelta a España, Israel-Premier Tech, has caused great controversy in Spain, and the cycling competition is becoming a boiling point of Pro-Palestinian support. Boycotts or protests against Israel Premier-Tech have also happened this at Giro d'Italia and Tour de France, but in Spain's La Vuelta it is reaching new heights, and active demonstrations of rejection to Israel and support to Palestine are happening at almost every race and getting louder and more visible as the race continues into the second week (it is at its midway point, with Wednesday having the eleventh stage out of 21 in Bilbao).
Many of the protests are being coordinated by the Platform for the Sports Boycott of Israel (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions, BDS), and they assure all of them are pacifists. Their main focus is Israel-Premier Tech, a team founded in 2014 by former Israeli cyclist Ran Margaliot which, while not tied with the Israeli government (all cyclist teams are private companies) is funded by Sylvan Adams, an Israeli-Canadian billionaire businessman, self-proclaimed "Ambassador-at-Large" for Israel through his philanthropist campaigns and cultural and sporting events, friend of Benjamin Netanyahu.
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His money helped boost Israel-Premier Tech team as it reached the UCI World Tour, and although it was relegated in 2022 to UCI ProTeam (sort of "second division" in cycling), it still has the right to compete in World Tour events like La Vuelta as one of the best teams in that category. Adams' influence even made the first three stages at Giro d'Italia 2018 to start in Israel.
Now, activists and some leftist political parties in Spain are asking for the expulsion of the team from La Vuelta or that the Spanish government stops funding the race. Protests will continue throughout the rest of the race.
Also on Wednesday, UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin exposed his views on why Israeli teams have not been banned from competitions like Europa League (with Maccabi Tel Aviv) while Russian teams and athletes have been banned for over three years now. Do you think Israeli athletes and teams should be banned from international competitions?