Israel athletes booed during Paris Olympics opening ceremony, 3 allegedly received death threats

French police have opened an investigation into death threats allegedly received by three Team Israel athletes, The Guardian reported on Jul. 29, 2024.

Israeli athletes at the games are being protected by "elite tactical units", and are being provided 24-hour protection.

Team Israel athletes have also been booed at various instances during the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Some of the athletes have also had their private details leaked by hackers.

Athletes booed at events

Video footage circulated online of Israel's athletes being booed by crowds at the opening ceremony of the Olympics as they crossed the Seine River:

@trendingsportspodcast Scenes from the #2024Olympics #OpeningCeremony ♬ original sound - Trending Sports

Audible jeering can be heard the moment the Israeli contingent is announced.

Booed during the first match

The Israel's men's football team was also booed during its first match at the Parc des Princes on Jul. 24, 9pm (Paris time) against Mali.

According to The Guardian, boos were heard in the sparsely populated stadium as the Hatikvah, Israel's national anthem, was played.

France's Interior Minister, Gérald Darmanin, had called for an "anti-terror periphery" around the Israeli team during its first appearance at the games, following rumours that there would be protests in the stadium.

The Israeli team arrived under a heavy police escort according to ABC News, with motorbike riders and a dozen riot police vans.

Armed police officers, some with rifles, were also reportedly patrolling the stadium.

Nevertheless, the atmosphere around the venue was largely calm, and aside from "piecemeal demonstrations" by protestors there was no "major disruption", The Guardian reported.

The match between Israel and Mali drew and finished 1-1.

Possible hate crimes being investigated

Possible antisemitic hate crimes during a football match between Israel and Paraguay on Jul. 26 are also being investigated, The Guardian wrote.

A video, uploaded by laughing_at_the_iof, a TikTok channel, shows the alleged antisemitic hate crimes:

@laughing_at_the_iof Israel football team booed at olympics #olympics #israel #idf #occupation #paraguay #football #freepalestine ♬ original sound - IOF🤣🤣🤣

Protesters can be seen making what appears to be a Roman salute (also known as a fascist salute), and chanting "Heil Hitler" in the video.

A group of pro-Palestinian supporters were seen in the stands at the match, dressed in black and waving Palestinian flags.

They were also seen, according to The Guardian, holding a banner reading "Genocide Olympics".

Data leaks

On Jul. 28, Le Monde reported that a cybercrime team was called in to remove leaked private data of several Israeli athletes.

The data was released due to doxing, a term referring to the malicious release of personal information online.

Leaked data included blood test results and login credentials. They were released on Telegram on Jul. 19 (Paris time), Le Monde wrote. 

Hackers also apparently leaked details about the athletes' military status on social media.

Israel foreign minister warns of Iran-backed plot

A week prior, on Jul. 25, Israel's Foreign Affairs Minister Israel Katz warned Stephane Sejourne, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs in France, of a potential Iranian-backed terrorist plot against members of the Israeli delegation and Israeli tourists during the Olympics.

Iran's mission to the United Nations told Reuters, in response to the accusation: "Terrorist acts have no place in the principles of resistance groups; lies and deceit cannot switch the roles of the plaintiff and the accused." 

Tensions between Iran and Israel have been brewing amidst a rocket strike on Jul. 27 on the Israel-occupied Golan Heights, allegedly by the Iran-backed militia group Hezbollah.

The strike hit a football pitch in Majdal Shams, home largely to Arabic-speaking Druze, killing 12, many of whom were children.

The Olympic Games are no stranger to violent attacks against Israeli athletes.

In 1972, members of the Black September terrorist group, an offshoot of the Palestine Liberation Organization, infiltrated the Olympic Village in Munich, Germany in an attempt to hold the Israeli athletes hostage.

The ensuing clash left 11 athletes and five terrorists dead, and also a West German policeman.

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