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Rise in Antisemitism Is Security Challenge for Israeli Olympic Athletes, Israel Committee Says
A stone cutter renovates a memorial stone for the 11 Israeli athletes killed by Palestinian terrorists during the 1972 Olympic Games, at the site of the hostage-taking at the former Olympic Village in Munich, Germany, Aug. 18, 2022. PHoto: REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay
A rise in antisemitic acts around the world during the Gaza war has set new security challenges for Israeli athletes ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympics, Israel‘s Olympic Committee chief said.
Demonstrations — both pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel — have been held in many countries since the Palestinian terror group Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and taking about 240 people hostage.
In response, Israel‘s military has targeted Hamas in Gaza with air strikes and ground operations, seeking to wipe out the terrorists in control of the Palestinian enclave.
Since then many countries have seen a spike in antisemitic acts, with Germany last month reporting a 240 percent rise in the first week after the war began compared to the same period in 2022.
“The current wave of global antisemitism has created unique security requirements and challenges for our athletes as they gear up for the Olympics,” said Yael Arad, Israel Olympic Committee President.
“Sadly, some of our athletes had faced obstacles with even participating in the competitions necessary for the Olympic criteria,” she told Reuters in a written statement on Tuesday.
Israel‘s artistic swimming team earlier this month said it would not travel to competitions, including Olympic qualifiers in Qatar, due to safety fears.
Arad, Israel‘s first ever Olympic medalist, said none of the members of the Israeli Olympic team were active in any military activity.
“Our Olympic team members were not recruited [by the military], and are not involved in any combat or military activity. The Olympic team is wholly devoted to their training and solely focused on representing Israel at the Olympics,” Arad said.
“The Israeli Olympic Committee, in close collaboration with various stakeholders both in Israel and in host countries, is dedicated to ensuring the safety and security of our athletes.”
She did not provide any specific details on security measures for Israeli athletes.
‘UNPRECEDENTED’ SECURITY
Paris Games organizers said security arrangements for the July 26-Aug. 11, 2024 event would be “unprecedented.” The Games’ security budget stands at 320 million euros.
“All threats, including terrorist threats, have been taken into account by the State since the beginning of the discussions on security for the Olympic Games,” a Paris Games spokesperson said.
For the International Olympic Committee (IOC) security is equally important, especially around the athletes’ village and competition venues.
The 1972 Munich Olympics saw attacks on the Israeli team by gunmen associated with the Palestinian terrorist group Black September inside the athletes’ village. Eleven Israeli team members died as well as one German police officer and five of the Palestinian gunmen.
“Security at any edition of the Olympic and Paralympic Games is a topic of great importance for the IOC,” an IOC spokesperson said when asked whether plans for the Israeli team had been beefed up since the start of the Gaza conflict.
“We are in regular contact with Paris 2024 and have full confidence in the ability of the Organizing Committee and the French authorities to deliver safe and successful Games.”
In the US the Gaza war has brought a rise in antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents including violent assaults and online harassment, according to advocacy groups. London’s police force said there had been a 14-fold increase in incidents of antisemitism in the three weeks after Oct. 7. France recorded 1,159 antisemitic acts in the month since Oct. 7, more than three times the number of such acts in 2022.
The post Rise in Antisemitism Is Security Challenge for Israeli Olympic Athletes, Israel Committee Says first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.