French authorities investigating ‘Heil Hitler’ chants and Nazi salutes at Israel-Paraguay Olympic soccer match
Fans waved Palestinian flags and gave Nazi salutes during the Israeli national anthem prior to Israel’s match against Paraguay at the 2024 Paris Olympics, July 27, 2024, in Paris. (Geoffroy Van der Hasselt/AFP via Getty Images)
(JTA) — French law enforcement are investigating after fans at an Israel-Paraguay soccer match gave Nazi salutes and chanted “Heil Hitler” during the Israeli national anthem.
Fans also waved Palestinian flags and displayed a banner reading “Genocide Olympics” during the match on Saturday, which Paraguay won 4-2.
Olympics organizers confirmed the incident in a statement to Sky Sports, saying “a banner bearing a political message was displayed and anti-Semitic gestures were made.”
“Paris 2024 strongly condemns these acts,” the statement added. “A complaint has been lodged by Paris 2024, which is at the disposal of the authorities to assist with the investigation.”
According to CNN, the Paris prosecutor’s office has launched a probe into reports of “aggravated incitement to racial hatred” and “incitement to discrimination.” French police are also investigating death threats made to three Israeli Olympians.
In a separate incident, the personal data of members of Israel’s delegation were leaked on social media on Friday. The leaks came one day after Israel’s foreign minister warned of Iranian efforts to target Israeli athletes and attendees at the Paris Olympics.
Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, called the Nazi salutes and chants “Outrageous and unacceptable.”
He tweeted, “This blatant display of antisemitism has NO place in our society or at the @Olympics. Despicable.”
Guy Luzon, the coach of Israel’s national soccer team, said at a press conference last week that his team feeds off fans’ opposition to their country. “Bring on the loudest protests,” he said. “They will make us try harder.”
The team, which is playing in its first Olympics in nearly half a century, tied Mali in its first match and plays Japan on Tuesday.
The security of Israeli athletes at the Olympics has been a concern particularly because 11 were murdered in a Palestinian terror attack at the 1972 Olympics in Munich. This year, there were calls to bar Israel from the Paris Games over its ongoing war with Hamas in Gaza. One American Jewish Olympian told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that the past violence has made her nervous ahead of the tournament.
Olympics organizers in Paris have arranged for round-the-clock security for Israel’s nearly 90-athlete Olympic delegation, both in the Olympic Village and in transit to Olympic venues.
Earlier this week, a now-debunked video went viral appearing to show a Hamas operative threatening that “rivers of blood will flow through the streets of Paris” because of Israel’s participation in the Olympics. Researchers at Microsoft concluded that the video was the work of a Russian disinformation campaign.
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