The Israeli delegation is the most closely watched at the Paris Olympics. But what do we know about the threats to the athletes and the measures put in place to guarantee their safety?
While the security arrangements surrounding an international event like the Olympic Games are exceptional by nature, the 88 Israeli athletes, and more broadly the entire delegation, are subject to particularly tight surveillance. This is in light of the current geopolitical context. According to Israel, threats against its nationals abroad have increased sharply since the attacks of October 7. And the level of risk is considered very high.
Since the start of the Games, they have mainly focused online. And each time, the reaction has been immediate. An investigation was opened by the National Center for Combating Online Hate for aggravated death threats after threatening emails were sent to three Israeli athletes, AFP reported on Sunday, July 28. The Parisian, for his part, indicates having learned that the anti-terrorist group (GLAT) had been seized on July 22 and a teenager arrested after having published on the social network X a message in which he commented on the visit to France of Israeli President Isaac Herzog for the Olympic Games, urging “ an attack “.
Threatening emails and doxing
Israeli athletes have also been victims of “doxing”. Personal information, such as logins and passwords or blood test results, have been found on the Telegram messaging service. Other data concerning athletes who have been or are currently in the military had already been leaked the day before on the encrypted messaging service.
Although no major incidents have been reported for the moment, the tension surrounding the arrival of the Israelis for the Olympic Games Paris remains high. This is because in Gaza, the war launched by Israel against Hamas following the attacks of the Palestinian terrorist group continues, despite international criticism. The members of the Olympic team ofIsrael did indeed parade on the Seine, flag in hand, alongside the other delegations during the opening ceremony on Friday, July 26. But boos were heard from the audience as they passed by.
Ahead of the event, voices were raised calling for Israel to be excluded from the Olympics or for them to compete under a neutral banner, like the Russian and Belarusian athletes. A member of parliament from La France Insoumise created controversy by claiming that Israeli athletes were “not not welcome “, immediately accused by Gérald Darmanin” to put a target on the back ” While the French Minister of the Interior had committed to ensuring the security of Israeli athletes during the Olympic Games.
SATURDAY, Several incidents marred the Israel-Paraguay football match. A group of about ten individuals “ dressed in black, masked and carrying Palestinian flags unfurled a banner bearing the words “Genocide Olympics” and one of them mimed “ anti-Semitic gestures “, according to the prosecution, which also reacted by opening an investigation for incitement to aggravated racial hatred. Classified ” particularly sensitive ” by the Ministry of the Interior, due to calls for “ mobilization ” against the presence of the Israeli delegation, a meeting between Israel and Mali had mobilized a thousand police officers and gendarmes on Wednesday, July 24. However, it took place without any major hitch.
Presence of Shin Bet agents, geolocation, strict instructions
The day before the opening ceremony, Israel had warned France of potential threats. of terrorist attacks ” against its athletes and tourists by groups supported by Iran. Without mentioning specific threats, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz had written to his resigning French counterpart, Stéphane Séjourné, in a letter dated Thursday, July 25, a copy of which was communicated to the media: ” We currently have assessments of potential threats from Iranian terrorist groups and other terrorist organizations aimed at carrying out terrorist attacks against members of the Israeli delegation and Israeli tourists during the Olympic Games. “.
Israel also accused Iran of “ digital terrorism ” aiming to ” to arouse fear ” among the Israeli delegation. As a reminder, Tehran had welcomed the bloody attack by Hamas against Israel on October 7, but claimed not to be involved.
So far, no link has been made between these various threats and Iran. It is no secret that these Olympic Games are a little more difficult for all of us, but we have full confidence in the security organization. “, declared the president of the Israeli Olympic Committee, Yaël Arad, as she boarded the flight to France.
In concrete terms, Israeli athletes attending the Games will benefit from 24-hour personal security provided by members of the elite units of the French police and gendarmerie. The latter will accompany the athletes, in uniform or in civilian clothes, whether inside the Olympic village in Saint-Denis, where they are staying like most of the other Olympic delegations. As well as at each outing, on the way and at the event sites.
But for the services responsible for the athletes’ security, the work began well before, recalled Michel Fauvergue, former deputy of the presidential majority and ex-leader of the Raid, on RFI. “ The services work upstream on delegations posing security problems. There is a lot of intelligence work being done with the countries of origin, but also with other countries. Any international intelligence is always good to take “, he explained. A ” complicated mission “, which is the subject of collaboration between the national security services and the French services, assures the former police officer.
The shadow of the 1972 Munich Games bombing
Even though other national teams like the United States or Iran, for example, it is the only delegation to be subject to such treatment. In addition to this system, according to the British daily The Telegrapharmed agents of the Shin Bet, Israel’s domestic intelligence service. Each athlete is also geolocated in real time, according to information from France Télévisions, even if each does not have their own bodyguard, according to Israeli Minister of Culture and Sports Miki Zohar.
“ We do not take [la menace] lightly, we are on maximum alert and all athletes have been informed of the situation “, commented Israeli government spokesman David Mencer before the Games. The security budget for the delegation to the Games has been doubled, according to the Minister of Culture and Sports in Times of Israel.
” We do our best to make the athletes feel free, but also safe and not afraid. We don’t want them to notice the guards too much. “, declared the Israeli Minister of Culture and Sports in The Telegraph. According to Le Figarothe instructions for athletes are still very strict: they are forbidden from leaving the Olympic Village, taking the metro or speaking Hebrew in public. And the Shin Bet services have recommended that athletes ” leave the Olympic Village within 48 hours after the end of their competition, to return to Israel as soon as possible, and not to “give in to the slightest provocation“. »
“ Traditionally, the protection of the Israeli delegation is reinforced, the personnel are tested ” assured Michel Fauvergue on RFI.
Beyond the current particularly incandescent context, the memory of the Munich attacks in 1972 remains very vivid for the Israeli Olympic delegations. A Palestinian terrorist commando dubbed “Black September” had taken members of the Israeli delegation hostage in the Olympic village. Eleven athletes had been killed. Security at the Olympic Games has been significantly strengthened since this event. Before the start of the competition, Times of Israel reported that 15 athletes in the delegation had received threatening messages by email or phone, some stating: ” If you come, please know that we intend to repeat the events of Munich 1972. », these messages say in particular.
A ceremony was to be held before the opening ceremony to pay tribute to the athletes killed in Munich. But it was ultimately postponed for security reasons.