The Olympic Committee of Israel (OCI) responded on Monday to death threats against its athletes participating in the Paris Games, saying that it will focus on sports and not hate.
“Unfortunately, a wave of hate and threats is taking place against our athletes,” an OCI statement began.
“Our response will be given on the sporting field, and the Israeli delegation will continue to represent Israeli and Olympic values with pride, dedication and fairness,” it added, while thanking Israeli and French authorities for “working tirelessly to ensure our safety.”
On Sunday, the Paris prosecutor’s office announced that France had opened an investigation into death threats against three Israeli athletes.
Separately, France’s cybercrime unit is probing the release of Israeli athletes’ personal data on social media on Friday, and seeking to have it removed, the prosecutor’s office said.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz sent a message to French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné on July 25, one day before the launch of the Olympic Games in Paris, warning of an Iranian threat to Israeli athletes.
Israel’s 88-strong delegation is receiving the largest security protection operation in Israeli Olympics history, including from the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) and French security forces.
