NEWYou can now listen to Pakinomist articles!
EXCLUSIVE: Israeli national team gymnasts Lihie Raz and Eyal Indig found out that all their hard work training for world championships would go to waste just days after their country’s historic peace deal to end the war in Gaza.
They had just experienced the joy of seeing the last remaining living hostages return home.
“We started the week with one of the happiest moments of the last two years, seeing the living hostages come home, finally being able to breathe halfway out and know their home with us,” Indig told Pakinomist Digital.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON Pakinomist
Then came shocking news.
“It seemed like out of nowhere,” said Raz, a Paris Olympian for Israel.
Lihie Raz of Team Israel practices on the vault during a gymnastics practice ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympics on July 25, 2024 in Paris, France. (Tom Weller/VOIGT/GettyImages)
They first learned from a news article that the Indonesian government blocked their visas to enter the country for the 2025 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Jakarta.
Raz and Indig claim they were told their visas were denied due to security concerns by the Indonesian government.
“The formal reason given by the Indonesian government was that our participation would endanger us and the other national delegations,” Indig said.
But Indig claims the team’s own security team had given them permission to enter the city after a prior inspection.
Indig cited decades-long security measures the country’s sports teams have used since the 1972 Munich Olympics, when eight terrorists affiliated with the Black September group — an affiliate of the Palestine Liberation Organization — snuck into the Olympic village in a failed mission to take the athletes hostage. The mission resulted in the deaths of six Israeli coaches, five athletes, a West German policeman and five of the terrorists.
“For us it was very strange,” Indig said. “The same security service did a scan a week before our flight, in Indonesia, they were in Indonesia, and they approved everything in terms of security. So we had full authorization from Israel’s security team, and you can believe me, they wouldn’t approve anything that wasn’t safe. And our federation kept telling us it was safe.”
Indig later called Indonesia’s decision “a blatant incident of discrimination on the basis of nationality.”
When asked if he thought the recent ceasefire with Hamas would result in fewer cases of international sports bans on Israelis, which has been a growing trend, Indig said. “I certainly hope so. But one thing I can say is that this incident has nothing to do with the ceasefire. It is a blatant incident of discrimination on the basis of nationality.”
Both Indig, Raz and their teammates have traveled to competitions in other Muslim-majority nations, including Azerbaijan, Egypt, Turkey and Qatar, and have had no problems.
Pakinomist Digital has reached out to the Indonesian Embassy in the United States, the Indonesian Foreign Ministry and the press office of the country’s President Prabowo Subianto for a response.
Indonesian Sports Minister Erick Thohir defended his country’s decision in a statement in the last week of October.
“We adhere to the principle of maintaining security, public order and public interest in hosting any international event,” he said.
EXCLUSIVE: A LOOK AT HEZBOLLAH’S PLAN TO TERRORIZE AND INVADE NORTHERN ISRAEL
The Israel Gymnastics Federation filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in an attempt to force the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) to guarantee Israel’s participation, or alternatively cancel or move the event to a new venue.
Indig and Raz claim they were hoping they and their teammates would simply be allowed to enter the country for the competition on time.
So they never stopped training.
“It was really tough,” Raz said of his training during the uncertain days.
“You’ve already been told you’re not going, but they said they’re still working on it, but the chances are low. But I knew that even in the slightest chance that we’d still compete, I’d stay in the best shape. So after all these problems, I could still go out there and still give my best performance.”
They claim they only found out about the news on a Friday when their flight was scheduled to depart the following Monday. Amid the uncertainty, the team pushed its flight back a day from Monday to Tuesday while they waited to see if the appeal would be accepted. So they spent the extra Monday training more.
Then Tuesday came and their flight was delayed again due to the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, and they kept training.
But late that Tuesday evening, October 14, CAS rejected the country’s appeal. Their World Cup hopes were over.
“After the CAS decision, there was nothing left to do, so we finally put down the gloves,” Indig said.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) immediately issued a statement later that week condemning Indonesia’s treatment of the team. The IOC later issued a statement discouraging the planning of other major sports competitions in Indonesia by world governing bodies, and even cut off all talk with the country about future Olympic hosting rights.
But the world governing body of gymnastics leadership was more empathetic towards Indonesia.
FIG president Morinari Watanabe and general secretary Nicolas Buompane defended the Indonesian government’s justification for security concerns as global controversy over the situation grew, at a press conference on 18 October.
“We were disappointed and frustrated because for us sports is a place free from politics,” Raz said. “Were disappointed that they put us in this situation, they didn’t have our back,” she added of FIG’s response.
Still, Raz and Indig watched the competitions in Indonesia that week, as loyal gymnastics fans would.
Raz said that made the situation even more difficult.
“Watching the competition, it was tough, it was hard because we were watching the competition because we wanted to be there and wanted to compete,” she said.
Indig found solace in rooting for Team USA’s Donnell Whittenburg, who became the first American to win gold in the men’s rings at the meet after suffering an injury last year.
“I broke both my elbows in an accident a year and a half ago and I had two operations to try to get back into gymnastics,” he said. “So for me it was amazing to see Donnell Whittenburg tear his Achilles just a year ago.”
Indig also said he received private support from other competitors who were at the event.
MYKAYLA SHINES OPENS UP ON JOINING ‘SAVE WOMEN’S SPORTS’ MOVEMENT AFTER SIMONE BILES FEUD
Still, both Raz and Indig wonder if the podium results would have been different if their teams were allowed in the country.
Raz went so far as to say she is “certain” the results would have been different if Israeli star and Olympic gold medalist in men’s floor exercise Artem Dolgopyat was there.
“The podium picture, we’re sure it would have looked different if he had competed on the floor,” Raz said.
Artem Dolgopyat of Team Israel competes during the artistic gymnastics men’s floor exercise final on day eight of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at Bercy Arena on August 3, 2024 in Paris, France. (Tom Weller/VOIGT/GettyImages)
The two gymnasts had planned a holiday after the championships, as a reprieve from the intensity of the competition. They decided to still go on holiday despite the incident. They traveled across Africa, stopping in Zanzibar before going on safari in Kenya.
“Emotionally, we were so drained,” Raz said, as both gymnasts said the trip was needed after the stress of the situation.
And now they have returned to training, now more motivated for their next competitions leading up to the World Championships in 2026, 27 and potentially the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
They do not expect to see similar problems to what happened in Indonesia to play at other competitions again, as they claim to have received some assurance from their federation and Israel’s Olympic Committee that steps are being taken to prevent it.
“Our federation did and continues to do everything so that this will not happen, and also the Israeli Olympic Committee,” said Raz. “Everyone is on board with this situation and trying to prevent another one.”
Indig added: “We are on high alert, everyone is on high alert and doing everything to make sure this doesn’t happen.”
Indonesia’s sanction is just the latest example of restrictions placed on Israel’s sports teams and fans in recent months.
The Prime Minister of Israel The Tech cycling team has been banned from an upcoming race in Italy, the Giro dell’Emilia, scheduled for October 4 due to potentially disruptive pro-Palestinian protests.
The UEFA Europa League, Europe’s biggest soccer body, was reportedly heading for a vote to suspend Israel over the war in Gaza in September. FIFA president Gianni Infantino later announced that no action would be taken against the team on 3 October.
Fans of the Israeli one Maccabi Tel Aviv soccer team is banned from a Europa League match in Birmingham, England, on Nov. 6 over security concerns after the team’s fans were attacked in Amsterdam at a game against Ajax last fall.
