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GuardianJul 28
France Probes Death Threats to Israeli Olympic Athletes
Above: Athletes of Team Israel wave their flags on the team boat along the River Seine during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 on July 26, 2024 in Paris, France. Image copyright: Maja Hitij/Staff/Getty Images Sport via Getty Images
The Facts
The Paris prosecutor's office has said that an investigation has been launched into online death threats — reported by France's Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin — against three Israeli athletes at the Paris Olympics.
Last week, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz warned his French counterpart, Stéphane Séjourné, of a "potential threat posed by Iranian terrorist proxies" to attack visiting Israeli citizens during the Games.
The Spin
Pro-Israel narrative
Nothing seems to have changed for the better in terms of antisemitism from Munich 1972 to Paris 2024, as harassment and multiple death threats have forced Israeli athletes to be placed under full-time police protection — and even to hide not to become a target. If anything, we are actually witnessing the most antisemitic Games since Berlin in 1936.
Pro-Palestine narrative
It's no surprise that allowing a country that is currently carrying out a genocide campaign to participate in the Olympics would lead to emotional reactions — especially when the Israeli flag bearer in the opening ceremony signed bombs used to kill civilians, including over 300 athletes, in Gaza. Similar to Russia and Belarus, Israel should have been banned.