Athletes and killers? Israeli soldiers in sports give more weight to push for Olympics ban

Is it morally okay for soldiers to be athletes and take part in international events like the Olympics, and especially if their army is accused of genocide?

That is the question now for Israel, which has killed more than 37,000 Palestinians and wounded at least 85,000 more in Gaza since last October, sparing no one-not women, not children, not the elderly.

The ongoing Israeli assault has laid to waste vast tracts of Gaza, displaced millions of Palestinians and left them facing famine and starvation with a crippling blockade on food, water, medicines and other essential supplies.

All of this has been cited as evidence of genocidal intent by lawyers arguing South Africa's case at the International Court of Justice, with the world court itself ordering Israel to take a raft of measures to prevent genocide in Gaza.

For months now, Israel has also been facing all sorts of boycotts, ranging from economics to academia and beyond.

A rising chorus of voices is also demanding punitive measures in the field of sports, with the 2024 Paris Olympics-now just weeks away-being a major area of focus.

Many are demanding Israel's expulsion from the world's biggest sporting event, while the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement is running a "#BanIsrael" campaign on social media, calling for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to bar Israel "until it ends its crimes against Palestinians and recognizes our UN-stipulated rights."

For Leyla Hamed, a sports journalist, this push to expel Israel has all the more weight because of its history of having soldiers as athletes.

Hamed, along with other colleagues, has been specifically researching the issue of Israeli soldiers in sports.

Since Israel launched its war on Gaza, she has been tracking social media activity of Israeli athletes, documenting how they have been supporting Israel's violent assault and aggression against Palestinians.

"Israeli teams and athletes should be banned from international sports … Israel is violating human rights in Palestine, especially at the moment in Gaza," said Hamed, who shared her research documents with Anadolu.

This clearly contravenes the "statutes, rules and regulations" of international sporting bodies, including the IOC, she said.

On athletes with military backgrounds, Hamed said there were Israeli athletes participating in various international sports competitions worldwide "who have actually been active soldiers and involved in past aggressions in Gaza."

"They boast about it openly on their social media … Just go through their social media, which most of them have public, and you will find plenty of pictures of them serving as part of the IDF (Israel Defense Forces), and not just doing the mandatory military service, but enlisted as part of the IDF," she said.

"This is totally against the rules of many sports bodies across the world."

- 'Supporting the genocide on social media'

In Israel, men over the age of 18 are required to serve in the military for 32 months, while women have to serve for 24 months.

However, Hamed stressed that many of the athletes she came across had enlisted in the army as "their own choice."

"The surprising part was that it's not only that they are doing the mandatory service that the government asks for," she said.

"Rather it is their own choice to be part of not just the genocide that we are witnessing now, but also previous aggressions in Gaza."

Some specific cases of Israeli soldiers in sports include Linoy Ashram, who won gold medals in individual rhythmic gymnastics at the 2020 Olympics and 2020 European Gymnastics Championships.

Ashram enrolled in the Israeli military when she was 18 and was part of it until late 2019, with the army even posting a congratulatory message for her when she won the Olympic gold medal.

Another case is Sagi Muki, a judoka who has won medals at the Olympics and European competitions.

Hamed also pointed out others in different sports, such as Yuval Nagar, a member of the Israeli women's football team.

"She regularly posts videos of herself in uniform doing TikTok videos, continually mixing her past life as a solider and her current life as a football player," said the journalist.

Nagar uses social media platforms as means for "somehow whitewashing the genocide in Gaza and to also mocking the suffering of the Palestinian people," she said, adding that her research found that there are "shockingly" high number of Israeli athletes doing the same.

She said they have come across many Israeli athletes from various disciplines who are "supporting the genocide on social media."

"They cheer on the IDF and their colleagues to continue what they are doing right now in Gaza," she said.

Despite it all, they have not "faced any kind of sanctions or suspensions, and not even a warning."

There are other examples such as posts by Libby Zelikowitz, a member of the women's football team, repeating Israeli propaganda points such as "this conflict revolves around a global effort to eradicate the Jewish people and anyone who lives in Israel."

Zelikowitz, a "combat soldier" from December 2017 to December 2019 according to her LinkedIn profile, made videos aimed at discrediting the notion that Israel is an apartheid state, something that has been repeatedly said by top international rights groups and even UN experts.

She has also posted messages discouraging donations to Palestinian charities, claiming they are "counterfeit," "Hamas-affiliated" and "sophisticated fronts for Hamas military operations."

Others like Shani David, another member of the women's football team who was in the army, retaliated to the viral "All Eyes on Rafah" image, with her own post saying: "Where were your eyes on October 7?"

She also constantly reposts content from accounts known to disseminate Israeli military propaganda, amplifying their reach and ability to spread for misinformation.

Another glaring example is Peter Paltchik, a Ukrainian-born Israeli judoka, who won bronze in the mixed team judo competition at the 2021 Olympics.

Last October, just days after Israel launched its war on Gaza, he posted a photo of rockets with the caption: "From me to you with pleasure."

There was also the case of Shon Weissman, a member of the Israeli men's football team and an ex-soldier, who put likes on tweets with comments such as "All of Gaza supports terrorism" and "Destroy. Tighten. Crush. To God's revenge."

- 'Sportswashing genocide'

The ongoing global push to expel Israel from the Paris Olympics is something rooted in history, as there have been many previous cases of countries being banned for actions deemed violations of the Olympic spirit.

When Russia launched its "special military operation" in Ukraine in February 2022, the IOC took all of four days to recommend a ban on athletes from Russia and its ally Belarus.

They have since been barred from competing in the Olympics under their countries' flags, instead participating as neutral and independent contestants in the 2022 Winter Olympics, and will do the same this year in Paris.

Another important precedent is South Africa, which was barred for nearly three decades during its apartheid era.

That has more parallels with Israel today, as many rights groups and international organizations view oppressive Israeli policies in Palestinian territories as an apartheid.

So far, though, the IOC has made it clear that it has no intention of sanctioning Israel.

"I think that international sports bodies, by not suspending Israel, are giving a really bad image about themselves because it's showing plenty of double standards and hypocrisy," said Hamed.

She said the current stance of the IOC and other sports bodies like FIFA shows that somehow "a Ukrainian life is worth more than a Palestinian life."

"Why is it so complicated to take steps against Israel for the damage that they're doing against the Palestinians in Gaza?" she said.

"It's clearly a way of sportswashing the genocide in Gaza because we give these athletes a platform for them to be seen all over the world."