Athletes from the Jewish state who are planning on competing in this week's Olympic Games in Paris have been receiving death threats from unknown sources, according to Israeli media reports.
Israel’s Walla news service reported that over the weekend, 15 prospective participants to the quadrennial event were sent emails, phone calls, and text messages from individuals who identified themselves as being from the “People’s Defense Organization.”
While reportedly telling the recipients to “prepare for the intifada,” the agitators insisted that they would be murdered if they entered France because “the Jewish lobby that controls the French Parliament” could no longer protect them.
One correspondence even threatened to “repeat the events of Munich 1972,” referring to the incident when the Palestinian terrorist organization Black September infiltrated the Olympic Village in Munich and murdered 11 members of the Israeli team and a West German police officer.
The Chairwoman of the Israel Olympic Committee, Yael Arad, responded to the harassment, telling Walla "It was clear to us that such a troll would come. We prepared for it. We instructed the athletes on how to act when it comes, and we had many conversations and meetings on the subject.”
Arad’s comments come as the U.K.’s Telegraph announced in a Sunday exclusive that security officials in Jerusalem dispatched Shin Bet agents to accompany the country’s delegation in what will be their largest ever Olympic security operation.
Related Story: FIFA Clears Israeli National Soccer Team to Compete in Paris Olympics After Palestinians Ask for Ban
