Paris Probes Threats to Israeli Olympic Athletes Amid Gaza War Tensions

[Social Media]

 

Paris prosecutors are currently investigating a series of death threats and other offenses targeted at athletes from Israel's Olympic team. These threats are arising amid heightened tensions over the ongoing Gaza war and growing fears of a wider conflict in the Middle East. The Israeli Olympic team has reported that some athletes have received threats while competing in Paris, driven by the broader turmoil linked to Palestinian casualties in Gaza and the looming risk of regional escalation.

 

Yael Arad, president of the Israeli National Olympic Committee, on Tuesday that team members had been subjected to "centralized" threats designed to create "psychological terror" among the athletes. She did not provide further specifics.

 

In response, Paris prosecutors launched an investigation last week into the emailed death threats received by Israeli athletes. Additionally, the national cybercrime agency is scrutinizing the leak of personal data of some Israeli athletes, which has since been removed from the internet. Prosecutors have also opened an inquiry into incidents of inciting racial hatred after Israeli athletes faced “discriminatory gestures” during an Israel-Paraguay match.

 

Among those affected is Tom Reuveny, a 24-year-old Israeli athlete who recently won a gold medal in windsurfing. He reported receiving threats and emphasized the importance of keeping politics separate from the Olympic Games. “I don’t think any politics should be involved in sport, especially in the Olympic Games,” Reuveny stated during a memorial for the 11 Israeli athletes killed at the 1972 Munich Olympics. “Unfortunately, there is a lot of politics involved — not in the Games — of the people who don’t want us to compete and don’t want us to be here. I’ve gotten quite a few messages and threats.”

 

While Israel advocates for the Olympics to remain a neutral ground, the Palestinian delegation uses the Games to highlight the daily struggles of Gazans. Palestinian American Olympic swimmer Valerie Tarazi expressed her distress over the situation, saying, “The thing that really hurts me is that people are looking at Palestinians as just numbers now. The number of people that died. The number of people displaced.” She continued, “As athletes, we're here just as everyone else. We want to compete. As people, we have lives. ... We want to live in our homes, just like everyone else in the world."

 

Tensions across the Middle East have intensified following the recent killings of a senior Hezbollah commander in Lebanon and Hamas’ top political leader in Iran, both allegedly by Israeli strikes. Both Hezbollah and Hamas are supported by Iran.

 

The Palestinian Olympic team has called for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to ban Israel from the Games, citing alleged violations of the Olympic charter. Despite submitting this demand last week, the Palestinian delegation has yet to receive a response from the IOC and plans to escalate their plea to higher sports courts.

 

Israeli athletes have faced hostile receptions, with stadiums erupting in jeers during the country's national anthem and athletes arriving at events under heavy police escort, including riot police vans. “It’s not easy to be an Israeli athlete in the international arena these days,” commented Arad, head of Israel's Olympic committee. The Olympics, she emphasized, should serve as “a bridge between people, between countries, between religions. And we are here to compete.”

 

Credit: France 24  2024-08-07

 

 

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[AustinRacing]

Israel should’ve been banned from the Olympics just like the Russians. 

[300sd]

7 hours ago, AustinRacing said:

Israel should’ve been banned from the Olympics just like the Russians. 

Interesting that this article is about people like you!

[AustinRacing]

2 hours ago, 300sd said:

Interesting that this article is about people like you!

Whatever that means. 😂😂😂😂

[Jingthing]

3 minutes ago, AustinRacing said:

Whatever that means. 😂😂😂😂

What that means is that they are totally different situations.

[AustinRacing]

1 hour ago, Jingthing said:

What that means is that they are totally different situations.

Of course different situations. They also have things in common. Invaders springs to mind, not to mention lots more!

[Nick Carter icp]

15 minutes ago, AustinRacing said:

Of course different situations. They also have things in common. Invaders springs to mind, not to mention lots more!

 

   Israel were invaded though , same as Ukraine were .

Russia and Palestine both did the invading .

Palestine and Russia both should have been banned 

[AustinRacing]

4 hours ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

   Israel were invaded though , same as Ukraine were .

Russia and Palestine both did the invading .

Palestine and Russia both should have been banned 

lol. Look up the definition of invasion. 

[Nick Carter icp]

21 minutes ago, AustinRacing said:

lol. Look up the definition of invasion. 

 

  "an incursion by a large number of people or things into a place or sphere of activity."

 

"an unwelcome intrusion into another's domain."

 

   That is a perfect definition of Palestinian invasion of Israel on Oct 7 th 

[AustinRacing]

One day VS decades by Israel based on that definition. So Israel should’ve been banned from Olympics several times over. 😉

[NativeBob]

Munich is going to repeat again? 

People doesn't learn anything from recent history. At all.