The ongoing conflict in Gaza has caused many disasters. In Paris, Israel’s Olympic team claimed that they faced a troubling situation here. According to athletes, they received death threats due to the Gaza war and ongoing conflict in the Middle East. The president of the Israeli National Olympic Committee, Yael Arad said that the purpose of these threats is to create fear in the minds of athletes so that they don’t not perform well in Olympic games.
Recently, Paris prosecutors started an investigation related to this claim that death threats were sent to the players via email. Furthermore, the national cybercrime agency is looking into a data leak that revealed the personal data of the Olympic athletes. Now this information has been removed. A report also exposed that Israeli players don’t receive equal rights as other athletes. This situation clearly expresses the geopolitics impact on the sports landscape whose main purpose is to convey the message of equality.
Tom Reuveny, who recently won the gold medal is the 24-year-old Israeli windsurfer. He has spoken about the political challenges that faced during the game. According to him, political tactics should be kept aside. He also stated that games should be free of political dust so that the Olympics maintain the focus on sports and unity. He has received many messages related to death threats due to the current political tension between Israel and Palestine. While Israel advocates for the Olympics to remain a neutral and peaceful event, the Palestinian delegation has used the Games to raise awareness about the ongoing struggles in Gaza.
On the other side, the death of a huge number of Palestinians also had a bad impact on the game. It severely impacts on the spirit of the Olympics that many athletes hope to celebrate. The tension highlights how political issues can sometimes interfere with the ideal of the Olympics as a time for international harmony and competition.
It is worrying how Palestinians are now perceived primarily as statistics—simply numbers for deaths and displacement, as Palestinian American Olympic swimmer Valerie Tarazi pointed out. She highlights that athletes, just like everyone else, have lives outside their sports and wish to compete while living in their own homes. As global leaders voice increasing alarm about the dire situation in Gaza and push for a cease-fire between Hamas and Israel, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is adamant about achieving a total victory over Hamas.
This insistence complicates the quest for peace. Meanwhile, the Olympics in Paris are shining a spotlight on pressing global issues, including political upheaval, ongoing wars, massive migration, and the deepening climate crisis. These topics are at the forefront of global conversation, emphasizing how interconnected and urgent these challenges have become in today’s world.
Nowadays the Middle East is suffering from great troubles. The recent killing of two key leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah also increased the tension. Palestinian officials claimed that Israeli forces were responsible for this murder. After the death of brave leaders, Hamas and Hezbollah got great support from Iran. This support further complicates the conflict.
Also, the Palestine Olympic team requested the International Olympic Committee to not allow Israel to play in the 2024 Olympics. According to the Palestinian team, Israel violated the Olympic rules. However, the International Olympic Committee has not responded to this request and allows the Israel Olympic team to play. The Palestinian delegation is now considering taking their complaint to higher sports authorities for resolution.
In this international event, Israeli athletes face many challenges. They are often met with boos and jeers during their national anthem. Also, they require extensive police protection, including riot vans, due to the strong negative reactions from the public and the tense atmosphere at these events.
According to the head of the Israel Olympic Committee, “It’s not easy to be an Israeli athlete in the international arena these days.” He further added, “ The Olympics is “a bridge between people, between countries, between religions. And we are here to compete.”
