Israel Olympic team cancels annual awards amid global opposition and exclusion of country's athletes
The Olympic Committee of Israel canceled its 2025 awards for athletes and coaches, as the nation's sports teams face growing global opposition, protest and safety concerns amid tensions over the War in Gaza.
Israel's committee informed its sports governing bodies of the cancellation in a statement, which was provided to Fox News Digital by the Israel Fencing Association.
"Some of our top athletes, including Olympic medalists, were unable to participate in major international events, which directly affects the selection of both athletes and coaches of the year," the statement read.
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Multiple Israeli national teams were prevented from competing in major international competitions over the last year.
Most notably, the country's gymnastics team and Olympic gold medalist Artem Dolgopyat were denied visas to enter Indonesia for the World Gymnastics Championships in Jakarta.
The Indonesian government cited security and safety concerns for denying the visas, but an Israel Gymnastics Federation (IGF) spokesperson confirmed to Fox News Digital that Israel's security team gave clearance to its athletes.
"We received authorization from the Israeli Security Authorities to participate in the World Championship subject to the necessary security protocols in place. From our side, all preparations were complete — registration process, entry visas to Indonesia and Israeli Security Authorities confirmation," the IGF said.
Israeli men's gymnast Eyal Indig told Fox News Digital Indonesia's decision was "a blatant incident of discrimination on the basis of nationality." Indig also said that Israel's judo team was also unable to enter Hungary for the World Judo Championships in June.
The Israel-based outlet, The Jerusalem Post, has also reported that "Olympic judo medalists Inbar Lanir and Raz Hershko were similarly unable to participate in the World Judo Championships during a tense period of competition against Iran."
The outlet also reported, "The national fencing team faced delays reaching the European Championships after being forced to travel by sea, while Israel’s shooting team could not attend the World Championships. The triathlon team also missed the European Championships, as did several other teams across disciplines."
The governing bodies for soccer in Ireland, Norway and Turkey have called for the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) to suspend Team Israel from competition over the War in Gaza.
Meanwhile, even fans of Israel teams have faced exclusion in recent months.
In England, fans of the Israeli soccer team Maccabi Tel Aviv were banned from attending the team's recent match against Aston Villa in the U.K. for safety concerns. Maccabi Tel Aviv FC supporters were reportedly the target of violence in Amsterdam before and during the soccer team’s match against Ajax last year. However, unrest still broke out at the game on Thursday, with anti-Israel protesters in the vicinity.
British police said six people were arrested Thursday ahead of the Israeli team's match against Aston Villa in a Europa League match.
About 200 protesters gathered near a park near Aston Villa Park’s Trinity Road stand. These protesters included members of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, per The Associated Press. Some pro-Israel protesters were also present.
Meanwhile, the Israeli cycling team, Israel-Premier Tech (IPT), lost its top sponsor despite honoring the sponsor's request to remove the word "Israel" from the team name.
The Canadian company Premier Tech announced it would be ending its partnership with the team in a statement released Friday.
"After multiple discussions with the team and careful assessment of all relevant circumstances, Premier Tech has decided to step down as co-title sponsor of the team taking effect immediately," the statement said.
The team was excluded from an October race in Italy, the Giro dell'Emilia, because of concerns over potentially disruptive pro-Palestine protests.
Organizers made the decision after protesters repeatedly disrupted the recent Spanish Vuelta in the presence of Israel-Premier Tech.
Seven of the past 11 days of racing at the Vuelta were cut short or interrupted because Spain's government estimated more than 100,000 people were on the streets in Madrid during the final stage in September.
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