France Probes Death Threats to Israeli Olympic Athletes

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.^[1]
• 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.^[2]
• Meanwhile, Paris 2024 officials have filed a complaint with police over possible anti-semitic acts during the men's soccer match between Israel and Paraguay on Saturday, in which spectators reportedly booed the Israeli national anthem and carried pro-Palestine banners.^[3]
• In another related development, AFP reported that France's anti-cybercrime officers are working to remove unauthorized personal information of Israeli Olympic team members on social media, which the hacker group Zeus leaked on Friday.^[4]
• The Olympic Committee of Israel on Monday applauded French and Israeli authorities for 'working tirelessly' to ensure the safety of the Israeli delegation, stressing that their team will not be intimidated by any threats.^[5]
• Israeli athletes have been under around-the-clock protection during the Games, with elite tactical units escorting them to and from events. At the 1972 Munich Games, Palestinian attackers killed 11 Israeli athletes and a German police officer.^[6]

Sources: ^[1]France 24, ^[2]Reuters, ^[3]Guardian, ^[4]Timesofisrael (a), ^[5]Timesofisrael (b) and ^[6]Sky News.

Narratives

• Pro-Israel narrative, as provided by Jerusalem Post. 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, as provided by Palestine Chronicle. 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.
• Nerd narrative, as provided by metaculus.com. There's a 20% chance that a terrorist act will occur in metropolitan France during the 2024 Summer Olympics, according to the Metaculus prediction community.