Israel’s Olympic team has reported that some athletes have received threats while competing in Paris. These threats come amidst broader tensions stemming from the recent war in Gaza and the escalating threat of a wider regional conflict in the Middle East. Yael Arad, president of the Israeli National Olympic Committee, revealed to The Associated Press on Tuesday that team members had received “centralized” threats intended to induce “psychological terror” in athletes, although specific details were not disclosed.
Last week, Paris prosecutors initiated an investigation into emailed death threats directed at Israeli athletes, and the national cybercrime agency is actively examining the leak of certain Israeli athletes’ personal data online. This information was subsequently removed. Prosecutors also launched an inquiry into inciting racial hatred after Israeli athletes encountered “discriminatory gestures” during an Israel-Paraguay match.
Tom Reuveny, a 24-year-old Israeli athlete who secured a gold medal in windsurfing over the weekend, confirmed he had received threats. He emphasized that politics “should be put aside” during the Games, stating, “I don’t think any politics should be involved in sport, especially in the Olympic Games. 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 has advocated for the Olympics to remain a neutral platform, the Palestinian delegation has utilized the Games to raise awareness about the ongoing struggles faced by those in Gaza. The conflict between Israel and Hamas has tragically resulted in the loss of over 39,000 Palestinian lives.
Palestinian American Olympic swimmer Valerie Tarazi expressed her anguish, stating, “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. … 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.”
Amidst global calls for a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared that he will accept nothing short of a “total victory” against Hamas. The world has gathered in Paris during a period of intense global political turmoil, grappling with multiple wars, unprecedented migration, and a deepening climate crisis—issues that have taken center stage at the Olympics.
Tensions across the Middle East have escalated following the targeted killings of a senior Hezbollah commander in Lebanon and Hamas’ top political leader in Iran, believed to have been carried out by Israel. Both groups have Iranian backing. Palestine’s Olympic team has demanded that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) ban Israel from competing in the Olympics, alleging that Israel has violated the Olympic charter. Last week, the Palestinian delegation confirmed they had not received a response from the IOC and intend to bring their appeal to higher sports tribunals.
Israel’s team has faced jeers in stadiums during the playing of the country’s national anthem, and athletes have been escorted to events under heavy police protection, including riot police vans. Arad, the head of Israel’s Olympic committee, acknowledged the challenges, saying, “It’s not easy to be an Israeli athlete in the international arena these days. The Olympics is “a bridge between people, between countries, between religions. And we are here to compete.”
