It was October 9, two days after the attacks perpetrated by Hamas in Israel and before the escalation of the conflict. The former basketball player of the French team, Emilie Gomis, published a story featuring a map of France which we saw gradually being covered with Israeli flags. All accompanied by a question: “What would you do in this situation?” »
Now ambassador for the Paris 2024 Olympics, Gomis made a post on her networks as an apology. Insufficient, says the ethics committee, contacted by the organizers of the Olympic Games. On Monday, he recommended the exclusion of the former basketball player from her role as ambassador of the event.
This illustration, which remained online for 24 hours, says the Ethics Committee “clearly refers to events concerning the State of Israel and Palestine, in particular the Gaza Strip, in particular the plan to partition Palestine by the “United Nations in 1947, the Six Day War and the vote on United Nations Security Council Resolution 242 in 1967.”
Excuses “not likely to mitigate the seriousness of the breach”
“The publication can also be legitimately interpreted as suggesting that the France of 2023, whose map is dominated by the Star of David, is also invaded by Jews,” the body further suggests.
For the ethics committee, Emilie Gomis’ apologies “are not likely to mitigate, in this case, the seriousness of the breach noted”, especially since “she concedes ‘a form of clumsiness’ […] it does not repudiate the content of this publication.”
And to recall that in accordance with the Paris-2024 Ethics Charter, its members and employees must “respect the duty of reserve in their public expression” and “refrain from any act that could harm the image or the reputation of Paris-2024”.