LOS ANGELES TIMES
Amid calls for an Olympic ban, Israeli athletes are determined to succeed in Paris
Kevin Baxter
July 16, 2024

Israel is sending 88 athletes to Paris this month, the second-largest Olympic team in the country’s history. And they’re going to France against the backdrop of a bloody war at home that is entering its 10th month with no end in sight. Yet that’s a topic few Israeli athletes seem willing — or able — to talk about. “I don’t want to answer. I don’t want to go inside this thing,” Misha Zilberman, a four-time Olympian in badminton, said when asked about the war in Gaza. A communications officer for a first-division Israeli soccer team, which placed numerous players on the Olympic team, was more blunt. “We will not approve any questions regarding political/security situation/current affairs,” he warned. “I don’t think it’s fair on them to face such questions.” READ MORE

JEWISH PRESS US Muslim Group Wants Israel Expelled from Paris Olympics The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the US largest Muslim organization, on Wednesday called on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to ban Israeli athletes from participation and recognition in the 2024 Olympics, to open on July 26, as the IOC punished Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine.

WASHINGTON TIMES Adidas backtracks after uproar over 1972 Olympic shoe redo using pro-Palestinian model Bella Hadid Adidas has apologized for an ad launch starring pro-Palestinian model Bella Hadid wearing a revamped shoe from the 1972 Munich Olympics, where Palestinian terrorists killed 11 Israeli athletes and coaches. Adidas spokesman Stefan Pursche said Thursday that “we apologize for any upset or distress caused” by the ads. Ms. Hadid is an Arab American supermodel known for her Palestinian advocacy and anti-Israel views.

TWITTER The Persian Princess: In advance of what is sure to be the most ANTISEMITIC Olympic Games since the Berlin Olympics of 1936, @ELALUSA releases an advertisement for the Israeli Olympic Athletes to remind them they are not alone.