Anti-Israel protesters in Milan call to expel Israel from Winter Olympics

Anti-Israel groups called for Israel’s expulsion from the Olympics at a rally in Milan, Italy, on Sunday, according to La Repubblica. The broader protest, however, focused primarily on opposition to Italy hosting the Games and to the felling of hundreds of trees to construct a new bobsled run in the Alpine town of Cortina.

Italian news outlet Corriere della Sera also reported that anti-Israel groups called for the release of Mohammad Hannoun, the Hamas-linked president of the Palestinian Association in Italy. Hannoun and several activists were arrested in December and are suspected of having raised millions of euros for the terrorist organization Hamas, using humanitarian aid organizations as a front. 

“Israel is a fascist and terrorist state,” Hannoun’s son Mohammed told the crowd, according to the news outlet. In August, Rome-based daily Il Tempo reported that Italian left-wing politicians had ties to Hamas officials, including Hannoun. These individuals played a central role in organizing anti-Israel rallies across the country. There were reports of cases of violence among the anti-Olympics activists.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni blasted the anti-Olympics protesters, calling them “enemies of Italy.”

“Then there are those who are enemies of Italy and Italians, demonstrating ‘against the Olympics’ and ensuring that these images are broadcast on television screens around the world. After others cut the railway cables to prevent trains from departing,” Meloni wrote in a post on Instagram on Sunday. 

International Olympic Committee (IOC) spokesperson Mark Adams also slammed the violent protests.

“Peaceful protest is entirely legitimate… We draw a line at violence. That has no place at the Olympic Games,” Adams stated at a press conference. 

“We just need to get on with the Games, which will spread a strong message of unity and peace to the world, which I think is very important at this moment in time,” he added. 

A delegation of nine athletes will represent Israel at the athletic competition.

“We feel the responsibility on our shoulders and the privilege of continuing to fly the Israeli flag in every location, and global sport is an incredible opportunity for that,” the president of the Olympic Committee of Israel, Yael Arad, stated.

Russian-born figure skater Mariia Seniuk (20) expressed pride in representing Israel ahead of the opening on Friday, where she held the Israeli flag at the ceremony in Milan. 

“Today there is so much antisemitism and many negative things said about Israel, but I feel like a Jew who is very proud to represent Israel,” Seniuk said.

The American-born Israeli bobsled pilot, Adam J. Edelman, revealed that passports and items worth “thousands of dollars” were stolen during the weekend from an apartment in northern Italy that the Israeli bobsled team used while training for the competition. 

The Israeli national bobsled team recently made history by qualifying for the Winter Olympics for the first time in the Jewish state’s history. 

“Dreams do come true. For this dream, that day is today,” Edelman wrote on Instagram. “The Israeli Bobsled Team is now ‘The Israeli Olympic Bobsled Team.’ We are headed to Milan."