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Israel barred from competing in Hockey World Championship

The IIHF barred Russia and Belarus from competing shortly after the beginning of the war between Russia and Ukraine.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Israel’s hockey men’s and women’s hockey teams were barred from competing in the World Hockey Championship due to “security concerns.”

The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) issued a statement on Wednesday 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.”

The organization added that it is obligated to “protect all participants at IIHF competitions” and arrived at the decision following discussions with participating countries, hosts of tournaments and after making a full risk assessment.

The IIHF didn’t indicate for how long Israel would be excluded and stated the decision is in effect “for the time being.”

No mention was made of the war in Gaza, nor was it implied that any other competing countries objected to Israel’s participation.

The IIHF barred Russia and Belarus from competing shortly after the beginning of the war between Russia and Ukraine used similar language and cited reasons of security and safety.

The men’s team playing for Israel is ranked 33rd globally and was slated to compete in the 2024 IIHF World Championship Div. II-A from April 21 to 27 in Belgrade, Serbia.

The women’s hockey team playing for Israel is ranked 44th and was scheduled to participate in the women’s World Championship Div. III-B in Kohtla-Jarve, Estonia, from March 24 to 29.

The Israeli Ice Hockey Association is filing a claim with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) over the IIHF’s decision and hopes to reverse it.

Although the IIHF cites security reasons, others are of the opinion that Israel should be banned from the 2024 Olympic games directly because of its war against Hamas.

An article published in The Nation was entitled “Should Israel’s Flag be Raised at the Paris Olympics?”

The writers of the article, Jules Boykoff and Dave Zirin, posited that Israel should experience a similar situation at the Olympics that Russia faced after the invasion of Ukraine.

The proposal would ban Israelis from competing entirely or allowing them to participate but under a “neutral flag” and without their national anthem played if they should win a medal.