Israeli athletes not welcome at Paris Olympics: French MP

Far-left French lawmaker calls to ban Israeli flag, national anthem from Olympic games.

By World Israel News Staff

Israeli athletes should be banned from the Paris Olympics or forced to compete under a non-Israeli flag, a French parliamentarian told anti-Israel demonstrators at a recent rally.

“The Israeli delegation is not welcome in Paris. Israeli sportspeople are not welcome at the Paris Olympic Games,” said MP Thomas Portes of the far-left France Unbowed party.

Portes urged “mobilization” by anti-Israel demonstrators, in what appeared to be a call for protesters to harass Israeli athletes who will be competing at the games.

“France’s diplomats should pressure the International Olympic Committee to bar the Israeli flag and anthem, as is done for Russia,” Portes later local told French media.

“It’s time to end the double standard.”

Yonathan Arfi, head of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France, blasted Portes for his comments on social media platform X.

The MP is “putting a target on the backs of Israeli athletes,” Arfi wrote.

He added that Portes’ rhetoric is particularly dangerous in light of the 1972 Munich Olympic massacre, which saw Palestinian terrorists murder 11 members of the Israeli delegation.

Portes’ comments come amid an atmosphere of high tension in Paris, as police and intelligence agencies have stepped up their security efforts to prevent an Islamic terror attack targeting the games.

Due to the terror threat, the Israeli Olympic delegation will be traveling with an entourage of Shin Bet security officials, including bodyguards and undercover agents.

According to reports in international media, France and Israel are cooperating on efforts to safeguard the Israeli athletes.

“Of course, it is not possible to go into detail about the security methods, but the combination of Israeli experience and knowledge, together with the cooperation with local security forces, provides an excellent and complete answer to the security of the delegation,” former Shin Bet official Lior Akerman said to The Telegraph.