Israeli cycling team removes country’s name from jerseys amid protests in Spain

The Israel-Premier Tech team announced Saturday that it has removed the word Israel from its jerseys for the remainder of the Spanish bicycle race La Vuelta, citing safety concerns after repeated pro-Palestine protests disrupted the competition.

On social media, the team said the decision was made “in the interest of prioritizing the safety of our riders and the entire peloton, in light of the dangerous nature of some protests.”

The move follows days of tension at the Spanish cycling competition.

Demonstrations against the team’s participation forced Wednesday’s stage in Bilbao to end 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) early. On Friday, Spanish police used batons to clear protesters from the road in Asturias, delaying the leaders by about 30 seconds.

The team added that the uniforms now match its vehicles and casual clothing, which also avoid using the word Israel.

In a Friday interview with Israeli publication Sport 5, Sylvan Adams, the Canadian-Israeli billionaire co-owner of the team and a close ally of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, dismissed the protesters in Spain’s Basque Country as terrorists.

The Amaury Sport Organization, which runs La Vuelta, reportedly asked Israel-Premier Tech to consider bowing out of the race, but Adams said he refused. “If we give up, it’s not just the end of our team, but of all the other teams,” he said.

Netanyahu also weighed in Friday, with his office posting on US social media company X: “Great job to Sylvan and Israel’s cycling team for not giving in to hate and intimidation. You make Israel proud!”

But Jose Manuel Albares, Spain’s foreign minister, said he believed the Israeli team should be expelled from the competition and voiced full support for the protests.

On Saturday, the race continued through the northwestern region of Asturias with Palestinian flags and signs condemning the war dotting the route, though it was not disrupted.

La Vuelta will continue across Spain and is set to finish in Madrid on Sept. 14, where large pro-Palestine demonstrations have already taken place.

Meanwhile on Saturday, streets across Gaza City filled with families fleeing south, after Israel warned of expanded ground operations and struck residential towers.

Nearly 64,400 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, which faces famine and a deepening humanitarian crisis.

Sports authorities have been accused of hypocrisy in allowing Israel to continue in international competitions although they banned Russia soon after the start of the Ukraine war.