Netanyahu’s Olympic Victory
Netanyahu’s Olympic Victory
Israel exploited the unprecedented success of its Olympic athletes to distract from ongoing war crimes being committed by its far-right government. The Olympics themselves also bear responsibility.
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In the ninth century BC, three Greek kings— Iphitos of Elis, Cleosthenes of Pisa, and Lycurgus of Sparta— signed a historic treaty that ensured the safe participation of athletes and spectators in the ancient Olympic Games, even as their city-states were at war. This agreement, known as the "Olympic Truce," was revived by the International Olympic Committee in the 1990s to "harness the power of sport to promote peace, dialogue, and reconciliation."
The United Nations General Assembly even adopted a resolution for the observance of the Olympic truce at the 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games.
“In this fragile world, this Olympic Truce Resolution is more relevant than ever,” IOC President Thomas Bach said in his address to the UN Assembly at the time. “In these difficult times, this resolution is our opportunity to send an unequivocal signal to the world – yes, we can come together, even in times of wars and crises. Yes, we can join hands and work together for a better future.”
However, despite the idealistic vision of sports as a unifying force, it was hardly surprising that the Olympic truce was not upheld during the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
On Saturday, an Israeli airstrike on a school where displaced Palestinians were sheltering in Gaza City massacred at least 90 people, marking the latest escalation in a 10-month war that is on the verge expanding into a broader Middle East conflict. Elsewhere, Ukrainian troops have advanced up to 30km inside the Kursk region of Russia, in what has become the deepest and most significant incursion since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
Meanwhile, each of these countries was represented in Paris. Israel secured a record seven medals at the Paris Games, including a gold medal in windsurfing for sailor Tom Reuveby, whose brother is currently taking part in Israel’s destruction of Gaza.
“My brother has been a combat soldier since the war began.” Reuveny told Reuters after his win. “It’s much bigger than me to win this event and it feels amazing,”
Three Israeli judokas also left Paris with medals: Raz Hershko, Inbar Lanir and Peter Paltchik. All three athletes have been vocal in their support of the war; Hershko and Lanir met with IDF soldiers stationed along the border with Gaza, while Paltchik signed his name on artillery shells aimed at civilians in Gaza. He posted a photo of the shells on social media, along with the caption “From me to you with pleasure.”
Though Israel has long been in violation of the Olympic Charter through its occupation of Palestinian territories, its athletes were allowed to compete at the Paris Games. Not only did this undermine the IOC’s own romanticized notions of achieving peace through sports, it allowed Israel’s far-right government to exploit the event, as well as the unprecedented success of its athletes, to distract from its ongoing war crimes in Gaza.
"You are fantastic,” c told Israel’s rhythmic gymnastics team, which won the country’s seventh medal in Paris. “You have brought pride and honor to the State of Israel on a scale that is hard to describe.”
As of Aug. 9, over 39,677 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in the span of 10 months. This includes at least 113 journalists and over 224 humanitarian aid workers. A further 479 Palestinians, including 116 children, and 9 Israelis have been killed in the occupied West Bank.
And yet, Israel’s time in Paris is far from over. The 2024 Paralympics kick off on August 28, with Israel sending 28 athletes to those Games, including a handful of returning gold medal swimmers.
This is far from the first time that a country has used the Olympics or other major international events as a form of soft power or to distract from ongoing abuses at home. The most infamous example of this was the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, which was used by the Nazi regime to present the image of peace and prosperity in Germany, as well as to promote the superiority of their ideology.
Despite Black American athlete winning four gold medals in track and field, the Nazi Olympics were wildly successful. Germany secured the most medals by far in the Games, and to this day, the 1936 Olympic Games are remembered as one of the most successful examples of soft power projection through the medium of sports.
There are numerous instances where the Olympics have been used as a tool by regimes seeking to enhance their global image and distract from their darker realities. The 1980 Moscow Olympics served as a propaganda platform for the Soviet Union during the Cold War, showcasing a façade of strength and unity while the regime suppressed dissent at home and abroad. Similarly, the 2008 Beijing Olympics were a carefully orchestrated spectacle aimed at presenting China as a modern, prosperous, and powerful nation, even as human rights abuses and censorship continued behind the scenes.
The 2014 Winter Games in Sochi followed a similar pattern, with Russia using the event to project a revitalized national pride and international influence, all while the government was cracking down on political opposition and engaging in controversial actions on the world stage. These examples illustrate how the Olympics have repeatedly been weaponized by authoritarian regimes to rebrand themselves and manipulate international perception.
And yet, the IOC continues to present itself as an apolitical entity and a harbinger of peace. It banned political gestures and expressions from participating athletes and released a statement earlier this year decrying the “politicization of sports” after Russia announced plans to host an alternative multi-sport event called the World Friendship Games.
Speaking of Russia, the country only had 15 athletes competing at the Paris Games due to IOC restrictions that barred athletes with ties to the military or have publicly supported the invasion of Ukraine. The athletes were also barred from participating in the opening ceremony, or from using their flag or national anthem. In the end, only two Russians have won medals at these Games, a shared silver in women's doubles tennis. Ukraine, on the other hand, scored eight medals, including three gold.
Unsurprisingly, the Olympics did not air on Russian TV for the first time since 1984, when the Soviet Union boycotted the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. After sending more than 300 athletes to Tokyo and placing second in the all-time Olympic medal tally behind the United States, Russia had all but disappeared from the 2024 medal count.
Russia's exclusion from the Games highlights the IOC's glaring inconsistency in applying its own rules, especially when countries like Afghanistan, Myanmar, Syria, and Israel were still allowed to participate despite ongoing human rights abuses. This selective enforcement not only erodes the supposed neutrality and integrity of the Games but also gives autocrats and regimes a platform to exploit sports for political gain.
Netanyahu took full advantage of this, using the brief, uplifting moments of Olympic success to stoke patriotism and boost national morale, all while his government continued its brutal campaign in Gaza. The Olympics, with their lofty ideals of peace, must reckon with their complicity in this narrative.
In the end, the Games aren't just a celebration of athleticism—they are a powerful tool for regimes to rewrite their own narratives and escape accountability.
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