A lawmaker from France’s radical left-wing Indomitus party has sparked outrage by saying Israeli athletes are not welcome at the Paris Olympics and calling for protests against their attendance.
Thomas Portes quoted Israel’s war in Gaza at a pro-Palestinian rally in Paris on Saturday: “We are only a few days away from the international event in Paris – the Olympic Games. What I am saying here is, no, the Israeli representatives The team is not welcome in Paris. Israeli athletes are not welcome in the Paris Olympics. We must use this deadline and all the means we have to mobilize.
Yonathan Arfi, president of the Council of Representatives of Jewish Institutions in France (CRIF), described the comments as “indecent” and “irresponsible” and accused Portes of “putting a target on the backs of Israeli athletes.”
Alfie reminded lawmakers that 11 Israeli athletes were killed by Palestinian terrorists at the 1972 Munich Olympics and said the country’s Olympians were “already in the most dangerous situation” at the Games.
Portes later told Le Parisien that French diplomats should pressure the International Olympic Committee to ban the use of the Israeli flag and national anthem at the Games, which open on Friday, “as has been done with Russia”. “It’s time to end the double standards,” Portes said.
His comments drew criticism from other politicians. Karen Taieb, one of Paris’s deputy mayors, said Portes was a “danger and a disgrace”. “What we expect from our elected representatives is unity. These people promote hatred,” Taieb wrote on X.
French Interior Minister Gerrald Darmanin said: “There are anti-Semitic implications in his remarks. [Portes’] The comments are obvious.
Socialist MP Jérôme Guedj posted on X: “Of course Israeli athletes are welcome, like all athletes from around the world. Not because of who they are, but because of what they do.
The Israeli soccer team is scheduled to play its first Olympic match against Marly at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris on Wednesday, two days before the opening ceremony.
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Israeli President Isaac Herzog will take part in Friday’s boat parade on the Seine River and an event commemorating Israelis killed in Munich in 1972, his office said Sunday.
