The Israeli delegation to the Paris Olympics “will be subject to reinforced security,” according to French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin.
“A fortnight ago, I proposed to the president of the Republic that the Israeli delegation (Olympic and Paralympic) be fully protected by the French police around the clock,” Darmanin told France 2 news.
“We took this decision because we know that Israeli athletes, particularly since the [1972] Munich Games, have been targeted by attacks,” he said.
Thomas Portes, an MP for the far-left La France Insoumise (France Unbowed) party, had previously declared at a rally in support of the Palestinian people that “Israeli athletes are not welcome at the Paris Olympics.”
Darmanin said that Portes was “putting a target on the back” of Israeli athletes, using deplorable “antisemitic overtones.” Portes “is not attacking the North Korean or Iranian delegation, he is knowingly attacking the Israeli delegation because they are Jewish,” said Darmanin.
“I want to express my disgust at that. I want to assure the Israeli athletes of our full protection, like all athletes, but particularly them, also welcoming them,’’ he added.
The Israel Security Agency will also help secure the Israeli athletes at the Olympics.
Portes’s remarks sparked a wave of indignation. On X, Yonathan Arfi, president of Crif, the umbrella representative group for Jewish institutions in France, said that “since October 7, Thomas Portes has been legitimizing Hamas.”
The minister also said that the far-left MP “put a target on the backs of Israeli athletes, who are already the most threatened at the Olympic Games,” recalling that at the 1972 Munich Olympics, 11 Israelis had “been murdered by Palestinian terrorists.”
The mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi, called for the closure of La France Insoumise. “I request that dissolution proceedings be initiated against LFI and, in the meantime, the withdrawal of all public aid for this party and its members, who have definitively banished themselves from the nation,” he tweeted.
A full-scale security test will take place at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris on Wednesday, two days before the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.
At 9 p.m., a soccer match between the men’s teams of Israel and Mali will kick off. The French Interior Ministry has designated the match as one of the most sensitive moments of the games in terms of security.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog will attend the opening Olympic ceremony on Friday. He will also participate on Wednesday in a memorial commemoration marking 52 years since Palestinian terrorists killed 11 Israeli sportsmen at Munich. He will later watch Israel’s soccer team play against Mali at Parc des Princes.
Palestinians Repeat Call for Israeli Ban at Paris Olympics
The Palestinians on Monday reiterated their call to ban Israeli athletes from competing in the Paris Olympics over the Jewish state’s war against Hamas in Gaza, sparked by the terror group’s massacre of 1,200 people in southern Israel on Oct. 7.
The Palestine Olympic Committee said on Monday that it had sent a letter to International Olympic Committee (IOC) chief Thomas Bach asking him to bar Israel from the international tournament.
According to the Palestinians, the Israelis are in violation of the Olympic Truce due to the war in Gaza.
The letter said that “Palestinian athletes, particularly those in Gaza, are denied safe passage and have suffered significantly due to ongoing conflict.” It also claimed that “approximately 400 Palestinian athletes have been killed, and the destruction of sports facilities exacerbates the plight of athletes who are already under severe restrictions.”
The letter also cited last week’s International Court of Justice non-binding opinion declaring Israeli “occupation” of Judea and Samaria to be “unlawful.”
Israeli Delegation Arrives in Paris
The Israeli and Palestinian delegations arrived at the French capital on Monday to prepare for the event.
Before departing for France, Israel Olympic Committee President Yael Arad said at Ben Gurion Airport that it was a “victory” for the 88-strong delegation to be heading to the Olympics.
“Our first victory is that we are here and going and that we didn’t give up and have been competing in hundreds of competitions since Oct. 7,” Arad told reporters.
Arad also discussed the increased security for Israeli athletes in Paris.
“It’s no secret that these Olympic Games are a little more difficult for all of us. But we have full confidence in the organization of security,” Arad added.
“We feel like emissaries of the State of Israel,” said Arad. “Our athletes are here to accomplish their dreams, but there is an additional dimension, that of a national mission.”
This article was originally published by European Jewish Press.
