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LA Olympics can be 'beacon of light', says chairman

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Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Casey Wasserman, Chairman of Los Angeles 2024, left, and Eric Garcetti, Mayor of Los Angeles, right, react during a press conference after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Extraordinary Session, at the SwissTech Convention Centre, in Lausanne, Switzerland, Tuesday, July 11, 2017. Jean-Christophe Bott, EPA/FILE." src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/sports/10/16/20231016-olympics.jpg"/><figcaption>Casey Wasserman, Chairman of Los Angeles 2024, left, and Eric Garcetti, Mayor of Los Angeles, right, react during a press conference after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Extraordinary Session, at the SwissTech Convention Centre, in Lausanne, Switzerland, Tuesday, July 11, 2017. <em>Jean-Christophe Bott, EPA/FILE.</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MUMBAI, India -- Los Angeles 2028 chairman Casey Wasserman said Monday he hoped the Olympics could be a &quot;beacon of light and hope&quot; for the world, as he lamented the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Hamas-ruled territory of Gaza.</p><p>Israel declared war on the Islamist group a day after waves of its fighters broke through the heavily fortified border on October 7, shooting, stabbing and burning to death more than 1,400 people, most of them civilians.</p><p>Since then, Israeli strikes on Gaza have flattened neighborhoods and killed about 2,750 people, mainly civilians, according to the Hamas-controlled health ministry.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/10/16/23/foreign-nationals-in-desperate-wait-to-escape-war-torn-gaza">Foreign nationals in desperate wait to escape war-torn Gaza</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/10/16/23/actions-of-hamas-do-not-represent-palestinian-people-abbas">Actions of Hamas &#x27;do not represent Palestinian people&#x27;: Abbas</a></li></ul><p>Wasserman, addressing the International Olympic Committee (IOC) session in Mumbai on LA&#x27;s preparations, began his remarks by saying he was &quot;proud to be Jewish&quot; before adding: &quot;There are no words that can fully capture the devastation and shock over the massacre in Israel on October 7.</p><p>&quot;The world is still reeling from the largest loss of Jewish life since the Holocaust.</p><p>&quot;There is no justification for this.</p><p>&quot;I unequivocally stand in solidarity with Israel, but let me be clear I also stand with the innocent civilians in Gaza who did not choose this war.&quot;</p><p>Wasserman, citing the deaths of 11 Israeli athletes in a terror incident at the 1972 Munich Games, added: &quot;Unfortunately, the Olympics are not immune to the world we live in.</p><p>&quot;At its worst, it is a platform for hate to express itself on the stage and we will always remember the 11 members of the Israeli Olympic team who were taken hostage and murdered in Munich.</p><p>&quot;But at its best it is an opportunity for sport to show the world a better path with peace and unity, and we will always remember the triumph of Jesse Owens in the face of unspeakable evil,&quot; he said.</p><p>Owens, an African-American track and field athlete, won four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, when Germany was under the control of Adolf Hitler&#x27;s Nazi regime.</p><p>&quot;The world has never needed the Olympic Games more to be a beacon of light and hope, and let us rise to the challenge together,&quot; he said.</p><p>© Agence France-Presse</p><div><br/><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Q6UT_sxgoig?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

Los Angeles 2028 chairman Casey Wasserman said Monday he hoped the Olympics could be a 'beacon of light and hope' for the world.