PARIS – The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) on Jan 11 barred Israel from its World Championship to ensure the “safety and well-being” of all participants, including Israelis.
“The IIHF Council took this decision after careful consideration and based on a risk assessment, discussions with the participating countries and discussions with the hosts,” the federation said in a statement.
“The Council has decided to restrict the Israeli national team from participating in IIHF championships until the safety and well-being of all participants (including Israeli participants) can be assured.”
Israel will remain excluded “for the time being”, the IIHF added.
The Israeli men’s team were scheduled to play a Division II World Championship tournament in Serbia in April against teams including Australia and the United Arab Emirates.
The women’s team were set to compete in the third division in Estonia in March, with their opponents including Bosnia and Herzegovina and Singapore.
Israel’s ice hockey federation said in response that it will lodge a protest over the IIHF decision with the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
“The discriminative decision to exclude Israel is an unusual and very serious step that does not meet any international sporting standard and stands in complete contradiction to Olympic values,” said a statement from the Israeli federation released by the country’s embassy in Paris.
Yael Arad, the chairwoman of the Olympic Committee of Israel, described the ban as a “precedent-setting and dangerous decision”. She also said it reflected “a strong undercurrent of discrimination disguised under the pretext of athlete safety”.
The international hockey federation’s move comes with Israel locked in a war in the Gaza Strip.
The war erupted when Hamas militants stormed across the Gaza border into Israel in an unprecedented attack on Oct 7 which left more than 1,000 people dead, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Israel has vowed to eradicate Hamas and has kept up a relentless bombing of Gaza, which the Hamas-run health ministry says has killed at least 20,000 people. AFP
