Indonesia denies visas to Israel gymnasts
Indonesia has denied visas to Israeli gymnasts, preventing them from competing in this month’s World Artistic Gymnastics Championship in Jakarta, amid growing public anger over Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Gaza.
The event, scheduled for October 19–25, was set to feature athletes from around the world, but Indonesia — the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation — confirmed that the Israeli delegation will not be allowed to participate, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
“They are confirmed not to be attending,” said Ita Juliati, head of the Indonesian Gymnastics Federation.
Israel’s gymnastics body has not yet commented on the decision.
Senior legal affairs minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra said the government decided against issuing visas for the Israeli athletes following objections from religious and civil groups, including Indonesia’s council of Islamic clerics. The move, he said, aligns with the country’s longstanding policy of not establishing formal relations with Israel until it recognizes “the independence and full sovereignty of the state of Palestine.”
Indonesia has been a vocal critic of Israel’s actions in Gaza. The ongoing Israeli offensive, launched after the October 2023 Hamas attack, has killed more than 67,000 Palestinians, according to health officials in the enclave. Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostages during the initial assault on Israeli towns and a music festival.
The issue sparked heated debate online, with hundreds of Indonesian social media users flooding the national gymnastics federation’s Instagram page with pro-Palestinian messages after reports that Israel planned to attend the championship.
While President Prabowo Subianto has slightly softened Indonesia’s rhetoric toward Israel — emphasizing at the UN General Assembly that the world must recognize both an independent Palestine and Israel’s right to security — the government continues to back the Palestinian cause firmly.
This is not the first sporting controversy between the two nations. In March 2023, FIFA stripped Indonesia of its hosting rights for the Under-20 World Cup after a regional governor refused to welcome the Israeli team.
Last month, UN experts called on FIFA and UEFA to suspend Israel from international football, describing it as “a necessary response to address the ongoing genocide in the occupied Palestinian territory,” an accusation Israel has strongly denied.
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