Indonesia won’t allow Israeli gymnasts at Jakarta world championships
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Representational (Instagram photo).
Jakarta/Indonesia: Indonesia will block Israeli athletes from competing at the upcoming gymnastics world championships in Jakarta, a government official said Thursday, the Associated Press reported.
The decision to deny visas to the Israeli athletes comes after their planned participation had sparked intense opposition in the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation, which has long been a staunch supporter of Palestinians.
Israel is among 86 countries registered to compete at the worlds that start in Jakarta on Oct. 19, with a team highlighted by 2020 Olympic gold medalist and defending world champion Artem Dolgopyat in the men's floor exercise.
Now its participation is in doubt, even though the Israeli Gymnastics Federation said in July that it had been assured by Indonesian officials that it would be welcome at the worlds. That would have gone against Indonesia's long-standing policy of refusing to host Israeli sports delegations for major events.
On Thursday, Indonesia's senior minister of law, Yusril Ihza Mahendra, made it clear the Israeli team will not be allowed into the country, despite Israel and Hamas having agreed to a ceasefire.
“The government will not grant visas to Israeli gymnasts who intend to attend the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Jakarta,” Mahendra said.
He added in a video statement that the decision was in line with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto's previous directives on various occasions, and most recently in his speech at the UN General Assembly, which strongly condemned Israel for its continued attacks on the Gaza Strip.
Mahendra acknowledged that the Indonesian Gymnastics Federation had previously submitted a sponsorship letter for six Israeli athletes to obtain visas, but that “the federation has withdrawn the sponsorship letter.”
In recent days, Indonesian politicians and moderate Muslim groups have made increased calls for the Israeli team to be barred from the world. They have been joined by a flood of outraged comments on social media by users objecting to the arrival of athletes from a country they say is committing genocide.