Israeli Athletes Receive Threats At Paris Olympics: 'Psychological Terror'

PARIS (AP) — Israel’s Olympic squad said immoderate athletes person received threats arsenic they compete successful Paris amid larger tensions complete Palestinian deaths during nan warfare successful Gaza and nan threat of a wider location conflict successful nan Middle East.

Yael Arad, president of nan Israeli National Olympic Committee, told The Associated Press connected Tuesday that squad members had received “centralized” threats meant to make “psychological terror” successful athletes, without giving further details.

Last week, Paris prosecutors opened an investigation into emailed decease threats to Israeli athletes, and nan nationalist cybercrime agency is looking into nan leak of immoderate Israeli athletes’ individual information online, which has since been taken down.

Prosecutors besides launched an enquiry into inciting group hated aft Israeli athletes received ’’discriminatory gestures” during an Israel-Paraguay match.

Members of nan delegation of Israel are seen during nan opening ceremonial of nan Paris 2024 Olympic Games successful Paris, France.

Xinhua News Agency via Getty Images

Tom Reuveny, a 24-year-old Israeli jock who won a golden successful upwind surfing complete nan weekend, was among those who said he’s received threats. Politics “should beryllium put aside” during nan Games, he told AP, speaking during a memorial Tuesday of nan deadly onslaught that targeted nan Israeli delegation astatine nan 1972 Olympics successful Munich, Germany. The Sept. 5, 1972, battle by nan Palestinian group Black September killed 11 Israelis and a constabulary officer.

“I don’t deliberation immoderate authorities should beryllium progressive successful sport, particularly successful nan Olympic Games,” Reuveny said. “Unfortunately, location is simply a batch of authorities progressive — not successful nan Games — of nan group who don’t want america to compete and don’t want america to beryllium here. I’ve gotten rather a fewer messages and threats.”

While Israel has called for nan Olympics to stay a neutral space, nan Palestinian delegation has utilized nan Games arsenic a measurement to make speech astir nan day-to-day struggles of those successful Gaza.

The Israel-Hamas war has claimed much than 39,000 Palestinian lives.

“The point that really hurts maine is that group are looking astatine Palestinians arsenic conscionable numbers now. The number of group that died. The number of group displaced,” Palestinian American Olympic swimmer Valerie Tarazi told nan AP connected Sunday.

“As athletes, we’re present conscionable arsenic everyone else. We want to compete. As people, we person lives. ... We want to unrecorded successful our homes, conscionable for illustration everyone other successful nan world,” she added.

Tuesday’s memorial of nan 1972 onslaught underscored really nan Olympics person often recovered themselves caught up successful world crises that aren’t straight related to sport.

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach called it “the darkest time successful Olympic history” and “an onslaught connected nan civilization of bid that nan Olympic games promote.”

French authorities person cited nan Munich onslaught arsenic among reasons for heightened information for nan Paris Olympics, and Israeli athletes are nether 24-hour defender by a French constabulary unit.

Palestine’s Olympic squad has demanded that nan IOC prohibition Israel from competing successful Paris, alleging nan state has violated nan Olympic charter. Last week, the Palestinian delegation said it had not received a consequence from nan IOC and that it planned to return its plea to higher sports courts.

Israel’s squad has been met by jeers successful stadiums during nan country’s nationalist anthem, and athletes person arrived to events nether a dense constabulary escort, including riot constabulary vans.

“It’s not easy to beryllium an Israeli jock successful nan world arena these days,” said Arad, caput of Israel’s Olympic committee. The Olympics is “a span betwixt people, betwixt countries, betwixt religions. And we are present to compete.”

Associated Press journalists Megan Janetsky and Alex Turnbull contributed to this report.