Indonesia denies visas to Israel gymnasts amid Gaza outcry

(Reuters): Indonesia has denied visas to Israeli gymnasts, costing them a spot in a world championship in Jakarta this month, a sports official in the Southeast Asian nation said on Friday, amid outcry over Israel’s military offensive in Gaza.

The Israeli team was set to participate in the World Artistic Gymnastics championship from October 19 to 25 in Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, which has no formal diplomatic ties with Israel.

“They are confirmed to not be attending,” Ita Juliati, the chief of the Indonesian gymnastics federation, told reporters.

The Israel Gymnastics Federation did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

Indonesia decided not to issue visas to the Israeli athletes, senior legal affairs minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra said, citing objections from groups such as a council of Islamic clerics and the government in Jakarta, the capital.

The decision is in line with Indonesia’s policy of having no ties with Israel until it recognises “the independence and full sovereignty of the state of Palestine”, Yusril added in a statement on Friday.

The most recent Israeli campaign in Gaza, which began in October 2023 over an attack by Hamas and has killed more than 67,000 Palestinians, according to health authorities in the enclave, has drawn criticism from Indonesia.

Israel launched the assault after Hamas-led fighters stormed through Israeli towns and a music festival, killing 1,200 people and capturing 251 hostages.

A recent Instagram post from the Indonesian gymnastics federation drew hundreds of pro-Palestinian comments from domestic users, days after an Israeli association said it would attend the Jakarta event.Under the government of President Prabowo Subianto, Indonesia has softened its Israel stance slightly.

The world must have an independent Palestine, but also recognise and guarantee the safety and security of Israel, Prabowo told last month’s session of the United Nations General Assembly.

It is not the first sports-related dispute between the two countries.

In March 2023, FIFA dropped Indonesia as host of the Under-20 World Cup, citing failure to honour its commitments, after a regional governor refused to host the Israeli team.

Last month, UN experts called for FIFA and the Union of European Football to suspend Israel as a country team from international football, as “a necessary response to address the ongoing genocide in the occupied Palestinian territory”.

Israel has dismissed accusations of genocide.