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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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Treasure Trove examines the controversial leader of an American Zionist group
This certificate represents a $1,000 donation to the Palestine Independence Fund “to aid and speed the recognition of a democratic Hebrew nation”. The fund was an arm of the American League for a Free Palestine, and the certificate states that the donation will “help underwrite Hebrew independence in recognition that only through the security and dignity […]
The post Treasure Trove examines the controversial leader of an American Zionist group appeared first on The Canadian Jewish News.
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IDF Announces Death of Major (res.) Yotam Itzhak Peled, 34, in Gaza
Yotam Itzhak Peled. Photo: IDF
i24 News – An Israel Defense Forces reserve officer was killed by a roadside bomb in central Gaza on Saturday, the military announced.
IDF announces the death of Major (res.) Yotam Itzhak Peled, 34, in Gaza. Peled was killed by a roadside bomb planted by Hamas. pic.twitter.com/1npx36rQpo
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) August 17, 2024
The death of Maj. (res.) Yotam Itzhak Peled, 34, a logistics officer with the Jerusalem Brigade’s 8119th Battalion, brought Israel’s toll in the ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza to 330.
The post IDF Announces Death of Major (res.) Yotam Itzhak Peled, 34, in Gaza first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Hamas Mulled Exhuming Graves of British Soldiers to Deter UK from Moving Embassy to Jerusalem
Yahya Sinwar, head of the Palestinian terror group Hamas in Gaza, in Gaza City on April 14, 2023. Photo: Yousef Masoud / SOPA Images/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect
i24 News – Hamas, the Palestinian jihadist group at war with Israel, planned to exhume century-old graves of British soldiers in the Gaza Strip and use the remains as leverage to blackmail the British government, the Telegraph reported Friday.
Israeli forces fighting against Hamas in Gaza uncovered a seven-page document detailing the malodorous plan, dated October 5, 2022. It is understood the document links the plan to Yahya Sinwar, the then-Hamas leader in Gaza, who would go on to orchestrate the October 7 massacre. He was recently named as the new chief of the Hamas political bureau after the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh.
The document outlined the jihadists’ strategy to pressure the UK government into reversing its stance on Jerusalem following then-Prime Minister Liz Truss’s announced decision to relocate the British embassy from Tel Aviv.
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission administers a cemetery in central Gaza holding the graves of Christian and some Jewish soldiers from WWI. According to the Telegraph, the graveyard holds the remains of over 3,000 Commonwealth troops.
The post Hamas Mulled Exhuming Graves of British Soldiers to Deter UK from Moving Embassy to Jerusalem first appeared on Algemeiner.com.