#ethnic enclave

[dynamicsofthecity]

Little Armenia

Zoe Deyermond

Little Armenia is an enclave located in Los Angeles, right next to Hollywood, named after the prominent Armenian community that settled in the area after the Armenian genocide that began in 1915. This small area of Los Angeles has grown throughout the decades to reflect Armenian culture and to preserve the history of those that live there, ultimately making Little Armenia the place with the largest Armenian population outside of Armenia itself (Mirzoyan). One of the most prominent attributes to Armenian culture is the emphasis on hospitality and etiquette for guests of a space. This could potentially be accredited to the culture’s faith in Christianity, and the belief that guests are sent as a gift from God (Bock). Aside from these cultural and moral beliefs for Armenian people and their communities, there also remains the fact that the city of Los Angeles holds a prominent and widespread population of people experiencing homelessness and a lack of hospitality. My goal in traveling to Little Armenia, with these ideas in mind, was to examine how people interact with the space as well as to see the types of people that are included in these spaces. Alongside this, I also interacted with several business owners in order to get a better understanding of how residents of the community might interact with non-residents or unhoused individuals.

The primary concern with the power dynamics of accommodating such a large population of unhoused and mentally ill individuals in a city such as Los Angeles would be the ever present systems and constructions of oppressive practices. Such practices can be observed through the use of exclusive architecture, monetary coercion, or blatantly destructive actions like “clean-ups” around the city. Practices like this that dismantle and further diminish the livelihood of unohoused individuals is not only cruel and inhumane, but largely counterproductive as it wastes resources on exclusionary measures instead of offering any real assistance. This being said, the responsibility to do better in terms of providing support for unhoused individuals should not solely fall onto the backs of local business owners and residents, but it is a good place to start in order to get attention from bigger organizations that only seem to exacerbate the issue. Focusing on Little Armenia as a foundational understanding of how the homeless population could be better accommodated in Los Angeles, I chose to travel to three different businesses, as well as the local church and the murals located around Winona Blvd.

My first impression of Little Armenia as a space was how clean and well kept the outdoor environment was. The sidewalks were relatively clean in comparison to the space around campus, and trash was seemingly nonexistent. This was impressive to me because the sidewalk space itself seems to be a fraction of the size that it is in Hollywood, but nonetheless seemed to be well taken care of. The first business that I walked to was a local coffee shop called Obet & Del’s, which serves a wide variety of coffees and teas, and also provided a welcoming atmosphere with open doors and open concept seating. The barista was very friendly and talkative, and I asked him to make me his favorite coffee. I was given a Filipino iced coffee, which was delicious, and I sat down in one of the available seats to observe the space. During my time here, there were about 20 other customers that entered and left, with about 5 of them utilizing the open seating. The demographic of these customers were mostly young adults. A good portion of them appeared to be college students, but the vast majority appeared to be local residents and regulars to the shop. The employees were all very friendly with each of the customers and even brought their drinks to their tables, if they chose to sit down. Another thing that I noticed about this business was how they would greet each of the customers upon entrance, as well as say goodbye and thank you when people left. I thought this was really refreshing and not something you would experience in a chain coffee shop.

After I left, I decided to go visit the local church, which is called St Garabed Armenian Church, and is located on Alexandria Ave. On my way there, the tidiness of the space was consistent, and I was unable to find but one tent on the sidewalk. Instead, unhoused individuals seemed to navigate and utilize the space just the same as everyone else and were even welcomed into many of the spaces, such as thrift stores or places with bathrooms. I feel this contrasts much of my experience thus far in Los Angeles where the homeless individuals are frequently excluded from these common areas. The benches were even more inclusive, as many of them were free of bars or handles and were being utilized by unhoused individuals. Upon arriving at the church, the front doors were unfortunately locked, however, I did spend a good amount of time outside of the church to take in the architecture and observe the overall surroundings. Much like the rest of Little Armenia, this space was very clean and well maintained. One aspect of the church that I observed was the implementation of outdoor, public water fountains for drinking. They were located at the front entrance of the church and were fully functional, providing access to clean water for people that might not otherwise have it. Once again, a very drastic difference to other areas around Los Angeles that make the best attempt at deterring unhoused people.

Next, I traveled back the way I came from and decided to eat at a local Armenian restaurant called Carousel’s. I went here alone, but this did not impact the positive experience that I had. I was seated at a table in the middle of the restaurant where I was best able to take in the surroundings. The space was very cozy and relaxing, both with the arrangement of the tables, the music, and the friendliness of the staff. There were about 15 other people dining at the restaurant at this time, with one large group of about eight guests, and two smaller groups at other tables. Although I was alone, I did not feel judged by any of the people here, which I really appreciate. I decided to order an eggplant dish, which was called the Mousakka plate, and it came with an Armenian style salad, an arrangement of cheeses and vegetables, pita bread, and a choice of one side. I decided to order the rice as my side, and the waitress was mindful to ask me about my diet preferences. I told her that I was a vegetarian, and she notified me that the rice contained chicken broth and brought me a plate of fries instead. My food arrived quickly and I was frequently checked on by multiple staff members about the quality of my food. There were outdoor seating options available, as well as a restroom open to the public, although nobody used it during this time. I packed up the remainder of my food to go, as the portions were quite large, and started to head back towards campus.

On my way back, I came across the murals located around Winona Blvd, which depict references to the Armenian genocide in 1915. One of the most prominent murals was the one called We Are Still Here, which was painted in 2015 and appears to showcase an older Armenian woman bound by chains at the wrist, releasing the tortured spirits from the past. Her mouth is covered with red cloth that reads “1915” across her lips. I spent a good amount of time here as well, taking in the artwork and appreciating the effort that is put into maintaining these large scale murals. The eyes of the woman in the painting visibly carry a lot of pain and suffering and I thought this was a really poetic way to honor and commemorate Armenian history and the residents of this space. Finally, my last stop in Little Armenia was a chandelier shop located on Hollywood Blvd, which was called George’s Lighting Plus. At first, I entered the shop because I was attracted to the beautiful chandeliers and lamps, but I stayed much longer than I anticipated to speak with the man working inside. He went into great detail about the lamp and chandelier services that they offer, as well as brought me around the store to show me some of his favorite pieces, and other works in progress. I was really touched by his enthusiasm over his lamps as well as his eagerness to welcome me into the store. I walked around a bit, thanked him for his customer service, and left with some really lovely pictures. Overall, my experience in Little Armenia was very positive and I witnessed more than one instance of accommodation for non residents and unhoused people. I think that other areas around the city should look to Little Armenia as an example of being able to keep a space clean without totally excluding those in need.

Bibliography

    Bock, Gregory L. “The Philosophy of Forgiveness.” vernonpress.com, 2019. https://vernonpress.com/index.php/file/6661/d4f20d145841a3af4df4e73b6ef881de/1537944706.pdf.

    Mirzoyan, Inna. “The Armenian Ethnic Enclave of L.A.” Armenian Los Angeles | Department of Sociology | Michigan State University, June 2, 2022. https://sociology.msu.edu/news/inna-essay.html.

[itmeblog]

Learns more about JD Vance against my will: ...is ...is he ...old school racist?

Like 1920s racist??

Like there's a right type of white racist??

[qprstobin]

Me, making an idle comment to Lyn: As much fun as Italian American Steve is, I'm not often a huge fan of it because I think people just want him to be able to cook and speak Italian and don't realize that if he was ItAm he probably would never be left alone when his parents traveled bc even in small town and rural areas we clump together lol

Me, a week later: *doing research into parishes in Indiana and demographics and shit because now the idea of making this work has bewitched me*

[stainlesssteellocust]

US diplomat: "Okay, so you bought some of Alaska's land from Russia, okay, okay. But...your people live on the other side of the world, and, let's be real here, we're too racist to respect you as equals. Why should we honour your deal with the Russian Empire when we can just...waltz in and annex your little home away from home?"

Tsalal Alaskan colonist leader: "Good question! Do you see this missile, this one right here, bigger than a train? Its warhead is filled with several tons of fuel-air explosives. Now, I'm not saying that we have a dozen of these things stocked on ships ready to fire at any given moment and a bunch of fanatical suicide pilots ready to fly them ludicrous distances into your nearest population centers...

"But I'm not not saying that."

[ericpoptone]

Pan-Asian Metropolis -- Pasadena's Lost Chinatown

INTRODUCTION Most of my essays about Los Angeles begin similarly. A question is asked, an answer is hard to find or is deemed inadequate, and then I head straight down a rabbit hole. This one began when a friend asked a question that involved Altadena and a street there with a Japanese name. She then mentioned that neighboring Pasadena had had a couple of Latino colonias — Chihuahuita and…

[allthegeopolitics]

In a move that has raised serious concerns about Israel’s long-term intentions for Gaza, the Israeli military has announced the creation of a new position: the “Chief Gaza Officer.” The role, far from being a temporary wartime measure, is designed to oversee “food, fuel and everyday life infrastructure” in the Gaza Strip for “years and years to come”, according to a senior military source speaking to YNET News. The appointment of a Brigadier General is seen as the establishment of a de facto permanent governor for Gaza, a development that has sparked fears that Israel is planning to reoccupy the coastal enclave indefinitely, potentially completing the ethnic cleansing campaign that began during the Nakba of 1948, when 750,000 Palestinians – three quarters of Mandate Palestine’s population – were expelled from their villages.

Continue Reading.

[weepingfireflies]

Add Artsakh to the list

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the Republic of Artsakh also refers to the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, right? I added it in parentheses for "Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh/Azerbaijan," but the links should be there from the former edit. Let me know if I'm misunderstanding something, though

[illgiveyouahint]

I'm finally watching Quo Vadis, Aida? and reading about the Srebrenica massacre and I'm thinking about all these conflicts and idk I guess I hope that at the very least one day the world will recognize the genocide of Palestinians by Israel like they do nowadays recognize the genocide of bosniaks by serbs.

[sayruq]

The UK government has revoked the student visa of a Palestinian student who lost relatives in Gaza after she spoke at a demonstration at the University of Manchester. Dana Abuqamar, a law student who heads the Friends of Palestine Society at the University of Manchester, said the UK government revoked her visa on “national security” grounds, after claiming she was a risk to public safety. “The claim they are making is baseless and violates my rights as a resident here in the UK. My legal team has lodged a human rights appeal against this decision to revoke my student visa in my last and final year as a law student,” Abuqamar said, speaking to Al Jazeera English, confirming that her visa had been revoked. Last year, Abuqamar revealed that she had lost at least 15 relatives in Gaza after the Israeli army bombed a three-storey building in the besieged enclave. “During this genocide, the UK Home Office decided to revoke my student visa following public statements supporting the Palestinian right to exercise under international law to resist oppression and break through the siege that was illegally placed on Gaza for over 16 years,” said Abuqamar. “Freedom of expression is a fundamental human right, but it seems to not apply to ethnic minorities, particularly Muslims and Palestinians like myself. We must reject the double standard in the application of human rights by public authorities and rise against this oppression.” A spokesperson for the UK Home Office said it did not respond to individual cases.

[mariacallous]

It is over and everything is lost. This is the refrain repeated by Armenian families as they take that final step across the border out of their home of Nagorno-Karabakh.

In just a handful of days more than 100,000 people, almost the entire Armenian population of the breakaway enclave, has fled fearing ethnic persecution at the hands of Azerbaijani forces. The world barely registered it. But this astonishing exodus has vanished a self-declared state that thousands have died fighting for and ended a decades-old bloody chapter of history.

On Saturday, along that dusty mountain road to neighbouring Armenia, a few remaining people limp to safety after enduring days in transit.

Among them is the Tsovinar family who appear bundled in a hatchback littered with bullet holes, with seven relatives crushed in the back. Hasratyan, 48, the mother, crumbles into tears as she tries to make sense of her last 48 hours. The thought she cannot banish is that from this moment forward, she will never again be able to visit the grave of her brother killed in a previous bout of fighting.

“He is buried in our village which is now controlled by Azerbaijan. We can never go back,” the mother-of-three says, as her teenage girls sob quietly beside her.

“We have lost our home, and our homeland. It is an erasing of a people. The world kept silent and handed us over”.

She is interrupted by several ambulances racing in the opposite direction towards Nagorno-Karabakh’s main city of Stepanakert, or Khankendi, as it is known by the Azerbaijani forces that now control the streets. Their job is to fetch the few remaining Karabakh Armenians who want to leave and have yet to make it out.

“Those left are the poorest who have no cars, the disabled and elderly who can’t move easily,” a first responder calls at us through the window. “Then we’re told that’s it.”

As the world focused on the United Nations General Assembly, the war in Ukraine and, in the UK, the felling of an iconic Sycamore tree, a decades old war has reignited here unnoticed.

It ultimately heralded the end of Nagorno-Karabakh, a breakaway Armenian region, that is internationally recognised as being part of Azerbaijan but for several decades has enjoyed de facto independence. It has triggered the largest movement of people in the South Caucasus since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Azerbaijan has vehemently denied instigating ethnic cleansing and has promised to protect Armenians as it works to reintegrate the enclave.

But in the border town of Goris, surrounded by the chaotic arrival of hundreds of refugees, Armenia’s infrastructure minister says Yerevan was now struggling to work out what to do with tens of thousands of displaced and desperate people.

“Simply put this is a modern ethnic cleansing that has been permitted through the guilty silence of the world,” minister Gnel Sanosyan tells The Independent, as four new busses of fleeing families arrive behind him.

“This is a global shame, a shame for the world. We need the international community to step up and step up now.”

The divisions in this part of the world have their roots in centuries-old conflict but the latest iterations of bitter bloodshed erupted during the collapse of the Soviet Union. The Karabakh Armenians, who are in the majority in the enclave, demanded the right to autonomy over the 4,400 square kilometre rolling mountainous region that has its own history and dialect. In the early 1990s they won a bloody war that uprooted Azerbaijanis, building a de facto state that wasn’t internationally unrecognised.

That is until in 2020. Azerbaijan, backed by Turkey, launched a military offensive and took back swathes of territory in a six-week conflict that killed thousands of soldiers and civilians. Russia, which originally supported Armenia but in recent years has grown into a colder ally, brokered a fragile truce and deployed peacekeepers.

But Moscow failed to stop Baku in December, enforcing a 10-month blockade on Nagorno-Karabakh, strangling food, fuel, electricity and water supplies. Then, the international community stood by as Azerbaijan launched a 24-hour military blitz that proved too much for Armenian separatist forces. Outgunned, outnumbered and weakened by the blockade, they agreed to lay down their weapons.

For 30 years the Karabakh authorities had survived pressure from international powerhouses to give up statehood or at least downgrade their aspirations for Nagorno-Karabakh. For 30 years peace plans brokered by countries across the world were tabled and shelved.

And then in a week all hope vanished and the self-declared government agreed to dissolve.

Fearing further shelling and then violent reprisals, as news broke several Karabakh officials including former ministers and separatist commanders, had been arrested by Azerbaijani security forces, people flooded over the border.

At the political level there are discussions about “reintegration” and “peace” but with so few left in Nagorno-Karabakh any process would now be futile.

And so now, sleeping in tents on the floors of hotels, restaurants and sometimes the streets of border towns, shellshocked families, with a handful of belongings, are trying to piece their lives together.

Among them is Vardan Tadevosyan, Nagorno-Karabakh’s minister of health until the government was effectively dissolved on Thursday. He spent the night camping on the floor of a hotel, and carries only the clothes he is wearing. Exhausted he says he had “no idea what the future brings”.

“For 25 years I have built a rehabilitation centre for people with physical disabilities I had to leave it all behind. You don’t know how many people are calling me for support,” he says as his phone ringed incessantly in the background throughout the interview.

“We all left everything behind. I am very depressed,” he repeats, swallowing the sentence with a sigh.

Next to him Artemis, 58, a kindergarten coordinator who has spent 30 years in Steparankert, says the real problems were going to start in the coming weeks when the refugees outstay their temporary accommodation.

“The Azerbaijanis said they want to integrate Nagorno-Karabakh but how do you blockade a people for 10 months and then launch a military operation and then ask them to integrate?” she asks, as she prepares for a new leg of the journey to the Armenian capital where she hopes to find shelter.

“The blockade was part of the ethnic cleansing. This is the only way to get people to flee the land they love. There is no humanity left in the world.”

Back in the central square of Goris, where families pick through piles of donated clothes and blankets and aid organisations hand out food, the loudest question is: what next?

Armenian officials are busy registering families and sending them to shelters in different corners of the country. But there are unanswered queries about long-term accommodation, work and schooling.

“I can’t really think about it, it hurts too much,” says Hasratyan’s eldest daughter Lilet, 16, trembling in the sunlight as the family starts the registration process.

“All I can say to the world is please speak about this and think about us. We are humans, people made of blood, like you and we need your help.”

[ethnicenclavess]

Interesting places in Costa Rica where you can find people of other cultures!

1.Chinatown: you can find a lot of people from China.

2. San Jose: you can find people from Nicaragua, Colombia and Venezuela.

3. Kimchis: it is a korean restaurant where you can find Korean people

4. Nodally: it is a japanese and korean restaurant, you can find people from both places.

5. Indian Palace: It is an indian restaurant, you can find their typical dishes and people there.

6. Tacopedia: It is a restaurant where you can find a lot of Mexican people and see their culture.

[dynamicsofthecity]

Outing in Little Tokyo

Katelin Berube

I had the opportunity to go and walk around Little Tokyo with my small Canon camera and with no clue where I was going to end up. I wanted to go and be an observer of this community and see how people and companies use the public spaces there. We’ve learned a lot about Little Tokyo in class by reading different articles and sources, but most importantly from the guest speaker we had earlier this semester. She told us a lot about the space and how businesses coming in can hurt the community. I was really intrigued by community space coming into this class, and her discussion about Little Tokyo trying to create community spaces truly stuck with me. Spaces for people with alike identities can strengthen their sense of  community, as well as act as a claiming of space. When a community can look around and say that is a space where they feel comfortable and welcomed, it is a concrete way of making them more permanent within the bigger society. If a community uses their public spaces to honor their culture or be accessible to residents, the space becomes a place of safety for the residents, and a place of education and learning for outsiders. 

Something we tackled in class was the idea of gentrification and outside business coming into a community and forcing other community places and residents out. We looked at places such as Boyle Heights and Little Tokyo as examples of businesses coming in and forcing residents out and not serving the community they were invading. For Little Tokyo, there is an emphasis on community spaces throughout that part of the city. When I visited, I focused on the space where the Japanese American National Museum was located, as well as the Japanese Village Plaza. This was a more commercial part of Little Tokyo, but I found patterns emerging even in this small place. 

I went on a Monday morning, aiming to avoid the influence of tourism that could be seen in the afternoons and especially on the weekends. I was fortunate for a warm morning where people were seen enjoying the public seating and community aspects of this very small part of Little Tokyo. Walking around with no distinct plan of where to end up led me to study a small space called the Japanese Village Plaza. I thought one of the most interesting parts was the two cafes that occupied this space and who was sitting at each location, and who had the most customers. One of the first things I noticed was the idea of open and closed seating. There were many benches and chairs that were open to the community, but some seating was roped off and unavailable. The seating that was unavailable was for restaurants that didn’t reflect the community where they occupied space, but the tables and benches that were open were more in front of the restaurants and stores that did reflect the community residents. I focused mostly on two restaurants that were open that morning and were very busy. 

Although in Little Tokyo, there were two cafes open that morning. One was Cafe Dulce, and the other was Yamazaki Bread and Cake Bakery. This kind of lined up with what we talked about in class. It was interesting to see the patterns of who went into each cafe and if they sat down to eat or not. At Cafe Dulce, it was mostly a place where people ordered and kept walking after picking up their food, where most customers of Yamazaki would sit outside of the cafe and eat, as well as talk with the other people sitting outside. Watching who went into each cafe suggests which one belongs to the community, and who that business is for. Watching residents of Little Tokyo go into Yamazaki and talk with other residents while sitting outside attests to how much that business and customers reflect the culture of who lives there. Cafe Dulce, although having good food, did not reflect the people of the community, and was a grab and go food spot for tourists or people on their way to work. 

I learned a lot about Little Tokyo while walking around and I kept looking at how they chose to use the space within their community. A lot of their space was also used to commemorate their culture and claim the space as their own. There were many signs and plaques around the Japanese Village Plaza that educated tourists about the space they are walking into, which is not something that every community does. It isn’t for the residents to read and look at, but for the people coming in, like me, who might not know who was in the space or the history of it. I thought it was important to look around and think about why these signs are up and why they’re important to see. There were magazines and newspapers available, as well as murals that covered the walls of the space. It made the space welcoming to someone coming into the space, but it can serve to remind the residents of the history and their community. 

[vicholas]

July 26, 2024

(...)With the Paris Games starting on July 26, Israel's killing of athletes and players in Gaza, along with its destruction of the enclave's sports facilities, has triggered mounting demands to disqualify Israel from the tournament as activists and spectators question the legitimacy of its participation.

Palestinian writers and sports commentators contend that Israel's Gaza onslaught, which has killed nearly 40,000 Palestinians, also represents an attempt to eliminate sports and athletic achievement.

"It's a genocide ... ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people, and the attacks on athletes and sports in particular in the Gaza Strip are all very systematic attacks to obliterate and erase sports in the territory," Abubaker Abed, a Gaza-based sports journalist told Anadolu.

Israel's intentions go further than eliminating Gaza's current athletic capacity, according to writer and lecturer Abdaljawad Omar, who held that it was part of a concerted effort by Tel Aviv to undermine Palestinians' achievements in all areas, with sports being no exception.

"Israel systemically seeks to ensure that Palestinian accomplishments and potential in all realms remain dampened and always dwarfed by its own achievements.

"This applies to political, intellectual, economic, and literary fields, where historically, many talented and highly accomplished Palestinians have been targeted. Sports is no exception in this sense," he explained.  

The situation is "extremely worse" for athletes in Gaza, according to football journalist Abed, adding that many players have been killed in the territory.

According to the Palestinian Olympic Committee and Palestine Football Association, about 400 athletes have been killed since Oct. 7, with the football association noting that the war has claimed 245 players in that sport alone, including 69 children and 176 young men.

Some 33 scouts and 70 members of sports unions have also been killed.

According to the association, Israeli forces have also detained players, including 12 in the occupied West Bank.

Israel's attacks have killed several Olympians as well. Sixty-nine have been killed during Israel's ongoing assault, says the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, launched in 2004.  

Besides athletes, sports facilities also have not been spared. Dozens, including gyms, training halls, fields, and stadiums, have been damaged or destroyed since Oct. 7.

A total of 42 facilities have been leveled in Gaza, while seven were destroyed in the West Bank, says the Palestinian Football Association.

Abed pointed out how Israel has destroyed football schools, including the Al-Wahda Academy and the Champions Academy, which "was one of the most promising football projects" in Gaza.

He pointed out how Israel has eradicated talent in football, the most popular sport among Gaza's residents, leaving only one stadium, the Al-Dorra stadium, intact out of the enclave's 10.

Israeli forces have been seizing stadiums in Gaza and turning them into detention centers.

Human rights monitor Euro-Med highlights that the Israeli army turned the Yarmouk Stadium in Gaza City into a detention center "to hold and humiliate hundreds of Palestinians, including children, shown naked and stripped of their clothes in footage published by the Israeli media in December 2023."

A report by the group published in May indicates that facilities bulldozed and destroyed include "300 five-a-side courts, 22 swimming courts, 12 covered sports halls for basketball, volleyball, and handball, and six tennis stadiums.

"Twenty-eight sports and fitness centers have been targeted, damaged, and destroyed."  

Israel's offensive has also caused the death of prominent players in Gaza.

This includes Palestine's first-ever Olympian and flagbearer, Majed Abu Maraheel, who died due to kidney failure in a refugee camp in June.

The 61-year-old Olympic distance runner died as Israel's ongoing blockade of humanitarian assistance left many, including Maraheel, lacking medical treatment and facilities.

Maraheel had competed in the men's 10,000-meter race at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games.

In January, the Palestinian Olympic football team's coach Hani Al-Mossader was killed in an Israeli airstrike.

The same month, Nagham Abu Samra, a karate champion who was set to participate in the Paris Olympics, died in a hospital in Egypt after succumbing to her injuries.

She had been severely wounded by an Israeli attack that left her with head injuries and led to the amputation of one of her legs.

(...)With hours left until the Paris 2024 Games' opening ceremony, experts are still questioning the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) decision to keep Israel in the tournament.

"Athletes, whether footballers ... whatever the sport is, they don't belong to political factions ... they are targeted and are illegitimate targets for Israeli forces, and this is absolutely prohibited by all international laws and all FIFA regulations," says Abed.

He argued that Israel's actions show that it lacks the Olympic values of peace, tolerance, forgiveness, love, and sportsmanship.

"So, how could Israel even participate in the Olympics?" he asked.

Russia, meanwhile, has been banned from Olympic and FIFA tournaments after it launched its war on Ukraine in 2022, noted Abed, who maintained that Moscow's actions in that conflict were mild compared to the devastation Israel has caused in Gaza.

This "disgraceful stance," he asserts, revealed the hypocrisy of the IOC, as well as the world governing body for football.

The organizers of this year's Olympics have said their decision to keep Israel in the Games while upholding the ban on Russia and Belarus is due to Moscow's annexation of Ukrainian territory, while Tel Aviv has not formally seized territory in Gaza.

Fadi Quran, senior director at US-based rights group Avaaz, said the Olympics and the IOC's current leadership will be remembered for "turning a blind eye to a country committing what the ICJ ruled is a plausible genocide, and said is apartheid."

He was referring to a preliminary ruling by the International Court of Justice that recognized genocide as a plausible risk in Gaza. Israel stands accused of genocide at the top UN court, which in its latest ruling has ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

Quran expects that athletes will protest Israel's presence at the Olympics and fans will boycott events where the Israeli flag is raised.

"Now that the IOC has refused to ban Israel, activists across the world will take action to ensure that the Paris Olympics are branded as the 'Apartheid Olympics,' or 'War Crime Olympics'," he said.

According to Abed, it will take a decade to revive sports in the Gaza Strip.

"The war on Gaza has changed everything. The war on Gaza has killed the dreams of many."

[travelling-bird]

Are you planning your move to the US? Read on to know the list of some ethnic enclaves in the US that bring distinctive civilizations and provide a safety net for newbies

[crinosg]

Hey. remember how I said it was just a matter of time before the GOP would come after Italians and Irish people, because they hate everyone and they only wanted Italians and Irish around to vote against Abortions? Remember how one of you responded by posting that stunned party girls meme pic?

YEAH WELL LOOK WHOSE FUCKING RIGHT? Vance pulling that mask right off and showing you what the GOP really thinks of us.

Like you think if you're not black or Jewish or trans that you're safe? No no no, you will never be white enough for them, whoever you are whatever your background, if they want to they will find a reason to other you. If you are kept around its only as a convenient pawn and nothing more, and they will discard you as soon as they feel comfortable doing so.

[maxknightley]

just had the realization that if and when the american empire falls, emigration could lead to the existence of 'americatown' ethnic enclaves. and they would have the best burgers on the face of the fucking planet