Shin Bet security agents to secure Israeli athletes throughout Paris Olympics

Shin Bet security agents are departing for Paris this week where they will secure Israeli athletes throughout the Olympic Games, which begin on July 26, the UK’s Telegraph newspaper reports.

Sports and Culture Minister Miki Zohar tells the news outlet that the security team’s budget has been doubled since the Tokyo Games in 2021, and that preparations for the Games had been in the works for “more than a year.”

The guards will be armed and will work in cooperation with local French security and Parisian police forces, former Shin Bet official Lior Akerman says.

In total, 88 Israeli athletes and delegation members will receive security coverage, although they won’t all have a personal bodyguard, Zohar says.

“We try our best to make sure the athletes feel free but also safe and not afraid. We don’t want them to notice the security guards too much. We want them to feel confident so they can do their job,” he explains.

Speaking to the Telegraph, a diplomatic official says that the Israeli team is expected to participate in the games as normal, and will not miss out on any events as a result of increasing antisemitic and anti-Israel sentiment in France in the wake of the October 7 terror onslaught and the ongoing war in Gaza.

The cooperation between Israel and France is “excellent,” the diplomat adds.

The Shin Bet has accompanied the Israeli athletes to previous Olympic Games, including the London 2012 Olympics, and at the 2016 Rio Olympics, the Israeli-owned International Security & Defense Systems was selected to manage security for the entire event.