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International Olympic Committee Examines Israeli Medalist Peter Paltchik for IDF Support
Paris 2024 Olympics – Judo – Men -100 kg Victory Ceremony – Champ-de-Mars Arena, Paris, France – August 01, 2024. Bronze medallist Peter Paltchik of Israel celebrates on the podium. Photo: REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is examining the controversy surrounding a social media post uploaded by Israeli judoka and Olympic medalist Peter Paltchik that showed support for Israel attacking Hamas terrorists, the Swiss newspaper Le Matin reported on Sunday.
Paltchik won the bronze medal in the men’s under-100kg category at the Olympic Games in Paris on Thursday. The 32-year-old was also one of Israel’s flag bearers during the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics.
After the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack in Israel, the Ukrainian-born athlete shared on social media a photo of several Israeli missiles that were signed with messages, including one that compared Hamas to the Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist organization and also said “Ippon,” which is the highest score achievable in judo and automatically ends a match. Paltchik wrote in the caption of the photo, “From me to you with pleasure #HamasisISIS #IsraelAtWar.” The photo was later deleted but still upset many Hamas supporters and anti-Israel activists. It was even mentioned by the president of the Palestinian National Olympic Committee. Paltchik also praised Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers in a pre-Olympics interview shared by StandWithUs.
The IOC told Le Matin it is “in contact” with the Israeli Olympic Committee about the “sensitive issue,” but did not comment on possible sanctions that Paltchik could face.
Yael Arad, a former judoka and Olympic medalist who is now the president of Israel’s Olympic Committee, defended Paltchik and his since-deleted social media post, saying about the rockets in the photo: “It’s not against a country. It’s not against a people, it’s against a terrorist organization.” Arad also said that Paltchik did not write any of the messages shown on the rockets in the photograph.
IOC Communications Director Mark Adams was asked at the IOC daily briefing on Aug. 2 about Paltchik’s behavior and in his reply, he reminded National Olympic Committees to follow Olympic guidelines, Le Matin reported. “We will wait and see what happens,” Adams added, when asked about possible repercussions for Paltchik.
Paltchik’s bronze medal win on Thursday was his second Olympic medal, following a team bronze medal win in the Tokyo Olympics. His coach is Oren Smadga, whose son was killed in combat in June while fighting with the IDF in Gaza.
The post International Olympic Committee Examines Israeli Medalist Peter Paltchik for IDF Support first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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White House Withdraws Nomination for US Hostage Envoy
FILE PHOTO: Adam Boehler, the CEO of the US International Development Finance Corporation, addresses the daily coronavirus task force briefing in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, US, April 14, 2020. Photo: REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo
The Trump administration has withdrawn the nomination of Adam Boehler to serve as special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, the White House said on Saturday.
Boehler, who has been working to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, will continue hostage-related work as a so-called “special government employee,” a position that would not need Senate confirmation.
“Adam Boehler will continue to serve President Trump as a special government employee focused on hostage negotiations,” White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
“Adam played a critical role in negotiating the return of Marc Fogel from Russia. He will continue this important work to bring wrongfully detained individuals around the world home.”
A White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Boehler withdrew his nomination to avoid divesting from his investment company. The move was unrelated to the controversy sparked by his discussions with the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.
“He still has the utmost confidence of President Trump,” said the official.
“This gives me the best ability to help Americans held abroad as well as work across agencies to achieve President Trump’s objectives,” Boehler told Reuters in a brief statement.
Boehler recently held direct meetings with Hamas on the release of hostages in Gaza. The discussions broke with a decades-old policy by Washington against negotiating with groups that the US brands as terrorist organizations.
The talks angered some Senate Republicans and some Israeli leaders. According to Axios, Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer expressed his displeasure to Boehler in a tense phone call last week.
Boehler was given permission from the Trump administration to engage directly with Hamas, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said earlier this week, calling the talks a “one-off situation” that had not borne fruit.
Boehler has been credited with helping secure the release of Fogel, a US schoolteacher who was freed by Russia in February after three and a half years in prison.
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Bernard-Henri Lévy, German Officials Bow Out of Israeli Antisemitism Conference
French philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy addressing the 38th Zionist Congress. Photo: Screenshot.
i24 News – A French intellectual superstar and a pair of German officials announced that they withdrew from a conference on antisemitism organized by the Israeli government, citing the participation of far-right figures in the Jerusalem event.
Iconic thinker Bernard-Henri Lévy, who was set to deliver the conference’s keynote address, opted out upon learning that Marion Marechal and Jordan Bardella from France’s far-right National Rally party were among the other speakers.
Felix Klein, the Federal Government Commissioner for Jewish Life in Germany and the Fight Against Antisemitism, “has decided not to attend,” his representatives told Haaretz.
“He was unaware of the other attendees when he accepted the invitation, and upon learning who the other speakers were, he decided to withdraw.”
Volker Beck, a former Green Party parliamentarian who chairs the Germany-Israel Friendship Society (DIG) also announced he was cancelling his attendance. “If we associate ourselves with extreme right-wing forces, we discredit our common cause; it also goes against my personal convictions and will have a negative impact on our fight against antisemitism within our societies.”
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US Kicks Out South Africa’s Hamas-Linked Ambassador
Marco Rubio speaks after he is sworn in as Secretary of State by US Vice President JD Vance at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, DC, Jan. 21, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
i24 News – US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday designated the South African ambassador to Washington Ebrahim Rasool as a Persona Non Grata, branding Rasool a “race-bating politician.”
The decision comes after Rasool made the inflammatory allegation that Trump was “leading global white supremacist” movement.
A known supporter of the genocidal Palestinian group Hamas, Rasool even boasted that he owned a keffiyeh signed by late Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh.
South Africa filed a claim with the International Court of Justice, alleging that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza during its ongoing war against Hamas, a charge both Israel and the US regard as slanderous and antisemitic.
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