Some comments
I have now signed this petition.
The point is that if it was right (if it was) to block Russian chess players and chess teams because Russia started a war against Ukraine, it is undoubtedly even more appropriate to impose sanctions on Israeli sportspersons on the grounds that Israel is committing war crimes on a massive scale in the Gaza Strip, killing tens of thousands of civilians and, let us face it, committing genocide.
Sporting sanctions against Israel should, of course, also apply to chess.
Details should certainly be clarified, for example, when it is permissible to compete as an individual but not as part of an Israeli team, when it is permissible to compete but not under the Israeli flag, etc.
Such clarifications are necessary to avoid collective punishment of individuals.
However, I must emphasise here that, although I have signed this petition, my signature is to be considered valid only in so far as it relates to crimes against humanity and war crimes committed by Israel.
I refrain from taking a clear position on who is occupying whose territory, who started the war and who had the right to do so.
Unfortunately, petitions often contain more demands than the supporters are prepared to sign. So they have no choice but to either sign the whole package or not sign even a demand they strongly favour.
In fact, I believe that Israel has the right to defend its territory and its citizens. But I do not know where Israel's legal territory is, and I know that the right to self-defence does not give Israel the right to kill more than 10,000 children.
