The NHL has joined the chorus of voices critical of the decision by ice hockey’s world governing body to block Israel’s national teams from participating in upcoming championship tournaments, due to what the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) has described as safety reasons, not political ones.
A statement released by the National Hockey League on Jan. 13 expressed “significant concerns” with an earlier announcement by the IIHF that bars Israel’s national ice hockey teams–including men, women, and two junior men’s squads–from taking to the ice this winter in four championship tournaments to be held in Spain, Serbia and Estonia.
While the statement did not mention antisemitism or the ongoing Israel war in Gaza following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack and massacre of 1,200 Israeli residents, the NHL pointed out that it has been assured the IIHF move is temporary, and shouldn’t be considered as a sanction on Israel.
But that is exactly how the news was interpreted by Israel’s own hockey federation, as well as some athletes, staff and Canadians who helped build the Jewish State’s hockey program.
“We see this as discriminatory and against the Olympic Charter and it will not be accepted by Israel,” said Mikhael Horowitz, an Israel hockey player who is now the new CEO of his country’s national hockey federation.
Israel will now be appealing the IIHF’s decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, based in Lausanne, Switzerland, Horowitz told The CJN in an interview from Tel Aviv.
Risk assessment
It isn’t clear whether the legal challenge will happen in time to reverse the outcome for Israel’s U20 men’s hockey team before their tournament starts in Bulgaria on Jan. 22.
Israel’s men’s junior team was initially supposed to host this month’s tournament in Israel. It would have been a chance for the Israeli teens to get a do-over, after capturing the silver medal in the 2023 championship in Istanbul, in their division. The Israeli team made it to the finals in that tournament, but lost in the gold medal game to Australia by a final score of 4-1.
After Oct. 7, it was decided to move the Division lll U20 matches this year to Sofia, Bulgaria, where Israel was scheduled to start the competition in the Group B round robin with five other teams: Turkey, Kyrgyzstan, New Zealand, Mexico and Bulgaria.
According to the Israel Hockey Federation’s Horowitz, Israel understood the reason for the…
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