The International Olympic Committee (IOC) called on Wednesday for Indonesia to be banned from hosting any international sporting events after it refused the entry of Israeli gymnasts to a world championship event last week.
In a statement, the IOC said that Indonesia’s actions undermine the “fundamental principles of non-discrimination, autonomy and political neutrality that govern the Olympic Movement.”
The Olympics organizers said that it will therefore “end any form of dialogue” with Indonesia about it hosting “Olympic Games, Youth Olympic Games, Olympic events or conferences” until the country promises to allow “all participants, regardless of nationality, to attend.”
Indonesia had repeatedly expressed an interest in hosting the 2036 Summer Olympics.
In addition, the IOC said that it will tell all international sporting federations not to host “any international sports events or meetings in Indonesia.” It also issued a request to summon Indonesia’s Olympic committee and the International Gymnastics Federation to the IOC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, “to discuss the situation.”
Yael Arad, the head of the Olympic Committee of Israel, welcomed the IOC statement and thanked it for standing “firm against malicious attempts to disrupt global sports.”
Arad said that the principles of world sports include “full adherence to equal opportunity and sportsmanship.”
She vowed that Israeli athletes will “continue to appear on the major, significant stages and we will continue — as at the Paris Olympic Games — to bring to light the Israeli excellence of our wonderful athletes.”
Indonesian authorities denied Israeli gymnasts entry visas for the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships that began last week in Jakarta, citing the country’s support for Palestinians as justification.
The Israel Gymnastics Federation submitted an urgent appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, seeking an injunction to allow Israeli athletes, including Olympic gold medalist Artem Dolgopyat, to take part. But the court rejected the request, leaving the Israeli athletes unable to compete.
In his own statement last week, Dolgopyat wrote that he was “shocked and saddened by the decision,” noting that he had hoped to go and defend the world title, which he won two years ago on October 7, 2023, “one of the most difficult days we have known as a nation.”
The gold medalist vowed to nevertheless continue to “work hard every day to place the Israeli flag as high as possible… we are a strong people, who never give up on who we are.”
Following the Indonesian ban, the IOC issued a statement last week expressing “great concern,” saying it is the “direct responsibility of the host country, the organizer and the sports organizations directly concerned” to enable all athletes, teams and officials to take part without discrimination.
In July 2023, Indonesia pulled out of hosting the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) World Beach Games following controversy over Israel’s participation.
In March that year, Indonesia lost the hosting rights to the FIFA Under-20 World Cup after two governors objected to Israel’s participation.
The country has maintained a clear stance for decades, consistently refusing to host Israeli delegations since the 1962 Asian Games, when Israel and Taiwan were excluded from Jakarta.
Indonesia has no formal ties with Israel, but Israeli nationals or their sponsors, such as Indonesian-based businesses or Indonesian nationals, can apply for a short-term visa under the “calling visa” procedure.
There has been talk of Indonesia possibly normalizing its relations with Israel under the Abraham Accords, and the country’s President Prabowo Subianto was widely reported last week to have been planning to visit Israel. Jakarta denied any visit was planned, and a source familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel that he initially okayed such a trip but backed out once the plan was leaked to the press, out of concern about domestic pushback.
Times of Israel staff, Jacob Magid and agencies contributed to this report.
