Authorities tell Israeli fans to skip Israel-France soccer match in Paris over concerns of physical violence from mobs.
By World Israel News Staff
Israel’s security authority is urging fans to skip the upcoming soccer match between the Israeli and French national teams, warning that anti-Israel groups are planning to attack and physically hurt Israelis under the guise of legitimate protests.
“In the last few days, various calls have been identified among pro-Palestinians/supporters of terror groups to harm Israelis and Jews, under the cover of protests and demonstrations, and while taking advantage of mass attendance [of sports and cultural events] to maximize harm and media exposure,” read a statement from Israel’s National Security Council.
The council, which is responsible for urging Israelis to refrain from traveling to specific countries, added that Israelis in Europe should “completely avoid attending sports games/cultural events involving Israelis, with an emphasis on the upcoming match of the Israeli national team in Paris.”
The Council added that “groups that want to harm Israelis have beennumber of European cities,” including Brussels, major UK cities, Amsterdam and Paris.
Paris police chief Laurent Nuñez told French news broadcaster BFM TV that the game would be held as planned, along with boosted security.
“There’s a context, tensions that make that match a high-risk event for us,” Nuñez acknowledged, though he stressed that the police “won’t tolerate” any violence.
He said that 2,500 police officers would be deployed in the area around the stadium, and an additional 1,500 would stationed on public transportation and in other areas throughout the city.
“There will be an anti-terrorist security perimeter around the stadium,” Nuñez added.
Last week, Arab and Muslim residents of Amsterdam launched violent attacks on Israeli soccer fans who had traveled to the city to watch Maccabi Tel Aviv compete against Dutch team Ajax.
At least two dozen Israelis were wounded as large groups of thugs, who had coordinated the attacks in advance, attacked Israelis who were alone or in pairs.
Five Israelis were hospitalized.
The antisemitic pogrom triggered Israel’s security authorities to issue updated safety guidelines for Israelis in Europe, including encouraging them to hide signs of their Jewish and Israeli identities.