Israeli swimmers' tribute to Gaza hostages predates Olympics

"The Israeli Olympic team was not allowed to wear their yellow 'Bring Them Home' pins at the Olympic games so they decided to spell it out for the entire world to see it!" says Rob Shuter, a UK gossip columnist, in a July 27, 2024 Facebook post with thousands of interactions.

The post includes a picture of swimmers in a pool arranged to spell out the message in support of Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas.

The same claim has spread elsewhere on Facebook, Instagram, X, Threads, TikTok and LinkedIn -- including in Spanish, French, German, Slovak, Czech, Portuguese and Finnish.

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Screenshot from X taken August 2, 2024

Israel vowed to destroy Hamas after militants associated with the Palestinian Islamist group killed 1,197 people -- mostly civilians -- and took 251 hostages on October 7, 2023, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures. Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed at least 39,623 people in Gaza, according to the territory's health ministry, which does not give details of civilian and militant deaths.

Israel's 88-person Olympic delegation has faced anti-Semitic threats and harassment since the start of the Paris Games, where officials have stepped up security for the group amid rising tensions in the Middle East.

Israeli public broadcaster Kan 11 reported July 3, 2024 that several athletes were barred from wearing yellow ribbons, a symbol to draw attention to Israelis being held in Gaza (archived here).

While the picture shared online is real, it predates the Paris Olympics by eight months.

A reverse image search reveals Israel's artistic swimming team posted the photo November 19, 2023 on Instagram (archived here). 

The caption says the picture was taken at the Wingate Institute, Israel's national sports training center outside Tel Aviv, and that it features 10 artistic swimmers. Among the athletes are Shelly Bobritsky and Ariel Nassee, who qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics as part of the duet category (archived here and here).

Israeli news outlets including the Arabic-language service of i24News reported on the team's photo in November 2023 (archived here and here).

Israeli drone photographer Adam Spiegel posted the picture on Instagram the same day as the Israeli Artistic Swimming Team (archived here).

Spiegel confirmed in a July 30 email that he took the original image, compiling several aerial shots of the swimmers into a composite collage. He said he was "disappointed" that social media users used his photo without credit and "invented a fake news story."

In May 2024, Spiegel again photographed Israeli swimmers Bobritsky, Nassee and Eden Blecher forming the shape of the yellow ribbon.

IOC rules

Yona Berkovitz, a representative for the Israeli Olympic Committee, told AFP in an August 1 email that the group was "advised not to wear the yellow pins as part of the pre-ruling held a few months ago by the IOC, even though it is a first-rate humanitarian issue."

She added: "The Israeli delegation of 88 athletes, despite the difficulty and expectation in Israel, overwhelmingly respects the instructions."

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Israel's delegation with Israel's flag bearers Peter Paltchik (2R) and Andrea Murez (R) sails on a boat during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on July 26, 2024 (AFP / Damien MEYER)

The Olympic Charter, which sets out the rules for the games and how the IOC is governed, bars athletes from engaging in political demonstrations, including by wearing clothing or equipment that represents a political cause (archived here). However, it also says competitors "shall enjoy freedom of expression."

Olympic Guidelines on Athlete Expression issued for this year's Games specify participants may express their views to the media or through social media channels (archived here). Expression is also permitted "on the field of play prior to the start of the competition," provided it is consistent with the fundamental Olympic principles and is not "targeted, directly or indirectly, against people, countries, organizations and/or their dignity."

Limitations on expression are imposed only "during official ceremonies (including Olympic medal ceremonies, opening and closing ceremonies), during competition on the field of play and in the Olympic Village."

AFP contacted the IOC for comment, but a response was not forthcoming.

AFP has debunked other claims about the Paris Olympics here.