The IOC suspends Indonesia from hosting all future Olympic events after Jakarta bans Israeli gymnasts — a stunning rebuke defending Israel’s right to compete.
In a dramatic and unprecedented move, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Wednesday announced that Indonesia will be barred from hosting any international sporting events until it guarantees entry to athletes of all nationalities — a direct response to the country’s ban on Israeli participants at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Jakarta.
The decision, reported by the Associated Press, came after Indonesian authorities refused visas to Israeli competitors, including Olympic gold medalist and reigning world champion Artem Dolgopyat, who was scheduled to perform in the men’s floor exercise. The games began on October 19, but without Israel’s star athletes, a shadow fell over what should have been a celebration of global sport.
Declaring that Indonesia’s conduct “violates the Olympic Charter and the principles of non-discrimination, autonomy, and political neutrality,” the IOC suspended all talks with Jakarta about future bids — including the 2036 Summer Olympics, the Youth Olympic Games, and any Olympic-related summits or conferences.
In a sharp statement, the IOC’s executive board said:
“These actions deprive athletes of their right to compete peacefully and prevent the Olympic movement from showing the power of sport.”
The IOC further urged all international sports federations to avoid scheduling tournaments or meetings in Indonesia until its government issues “adequate guarantees” for equal participation. The Indonesian Olympic Committee has now been summoned to Lausanne, Switzerland, to explain the discriminatory ban and clarify the government’s stance.
Indonesia’s move has sparked global outrage — and reinforced a familiar pattern of politically motivated isolation of Israel in international forums. As the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation, Indonesia has long refused to establish diplomatic relations with Israel. Past leaders have vocally opposed the Jewish state: in 2021, then-Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi vowed support for the Palestinian Authority to “end the Israeli occupation,” while former President Joko Widodo called for Muslim unity against Israel.
Yet, in a surprising recent statement, current President Prabowo Subianto signaled openness to normalization, saying Jakarta could recognize Israel if it acknowledges Palestinian statehood — a possible diplomatic window that now appears jeopardized by this athletic scandal.
For Israel, the IOC’s decisive response represents a moral and diplomatic victory — a rare acknowledgment from one of the world’s most influential institutions that anti-Israel discrimination has no place in sport or diplomacy.
As Dolgopyat and his teammates sit out the championship they trained for, the broader message resounds far beyond gymnastics mats:
The world will no longer look the other way when Israel’s athletes are targeted simply for representing the Jewish state.
