Not Just Fun and Games -- Women, Jews, and the Olympics

Crossposted on JVoices

The first Olympics I remember well were the 1988 SummerGames, held in Seoul. We were sitting shiva for my grandfather on Long Island. I remember my sister and I lying on ourgrandparents' bed (my grandmother always had pink satin sheets) and beingcompletely mesmerized by the tiny female gymnasts as they tumbled across thefloor. To my knowledge, none of thosewomen were Jewish (Kerri Strug made her debut in 1992, and the Israeli gymnastswho competed in 1988 likely did not make it to American television), but AmericanJewish women have made a strong impact on the Olympic Games over the past100-plus years.

Many of the notables competed during the early years of theOlympic Games. Charlotte Epstein, a swimmer,and Lillian Copeland and Syd Koff, both track and field athletes, were allactive in the 1920s and 1930s with Copeland setting world records in shotputand discus 76 years ago this week. All three also made the 1936U.S. Olympic team, butboycotted the Games in Berlin. It's interesting to look at this year'sJewish women Olympians - Dara Torres, Sada Jacobson, and Deena Kastor amongthem, in comparison to those who came 80 years earlier, as it is the case thatthe 2008 Games in Beijingmay be the most controversial since 1936.

With China's embarrassing human rights record at home and inTibet, and their continued trade with the genocidal government in Darfur,many Jewish organizations have spent the last several months protesting thesegames, and a few have even called for Jewish athletes to boycott the games. Notable was the protest in San Francisco as the Olympic torch made itsway through the city this past April.

Should the Jewish athletes of today boycott China thattheir forebears took against Nazi Germany in 1936? The issue seems far less clear cut, at leastinsomuch as China is not gearing up for the systematic destruction of theJewish people, and the idea that China's record affects the Torres or Jacobsonin the same way that Hitler's "Jews Not Welcome" signs affected Copeland andKoff is outrageous. On the other hand,the sustained Jewish outcry against human rights abuses and genocide is thelogical extension of World War II, and I don't think the protests are misguided. The question is, unfortunately, if a Jewishboycott of the Olympics would make any impact at all, and the answer seems tobe "no." That said, as we watch theathletes in the next few weeks, it is our responsibility to keep open thedialogue about China'sabuses and how to actually combat them.

To find out more, visit Jewish Women in the Olympics.