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International hockey federation reverses ban on Israel ahead of youth world championships
(JTA) — The International Ice Hockey Federation has reversed its decision to ban Israel from a world championship in Bulgaria.
In a statement Wednesday, the federation announced that it will have “the safety and security support needed” to allow Israel to take part in the tournament, which brings together the under-20 teams of six countries and begins on Jan. 22.
The ban was not the first time Jewish or Israeli athletes had been penalized as fallout from the Israel-Hamas war — and it sparked international backlash.
Israel won the silver medal in its division at last year’s tournament and was originally supposed to host a portion of the competition this year. But following Hamas’ invasion of Israel on Oct. 7 and the ensuing war, the games were moved to Bulgaria.
Last week, the federation took matters a step further, announcing that due to “concerns over the safety and security of all participants in the Championships,” Israel would be excluded from the federation’s competitions “for the time being.”
The NHL weighed into the controversy, saying in a statement that it had “significant concerns” about the IIHF’s decision, adding that “we also have been assured that the decision is not intended to be a sanction against the Israeli Federation.”
But that did not assuage Israelis’ concerns. Mikhael Horowitz, the CEO of the Ice Hockey Federation of Israel, told the Canadian Jewish News earlier this week that his association was informed of the ban only 24 hours before the announcement. Horowitz said Israel had accepted the IIHF’s decision to move part of the tournament out of Israel due to the war, but that its removal of Israel from the tournament altogether was unacceptable.
“We see this as discriminatory and against the Olympic Charter and it will not be accepted by Israel,” Horowitz said. “There was no attempt to take the risk assessment, and together with us or on their part, find solutions.”
Paul Shindman, a Canadian-Israeli and the Israeli hockey federation’s founder, also slammed the removal of Israel from the tournament. He said that the ban, on the heels of the Oct. 7 attack, makes Israelis “victims twice over.”
“Israel’s sportsmen and women deserve the support and embrace of their friends in the international hockey world, not to be excluded,” he told the Canadian Jewish News.
Israeli officials weren’t the only ones protesting.
An editorial in the Toronto Sun on Jan. 12 called the ban “spineless” and “a shameful act of cowardice.” The piece argued that the decision set a dangerous precedent for Israel’s participation in future international sports tournaments, including the 2024 Paris Olympics, and referenced the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre, when 11 members of Israel’s Olympic delegation were murdered by terrorists at the Munich Games.
“Fast forward to 2024, and Israelis are being punished — for defending themselves once again against Palestinian terrorists,” the editorial said.
Five days later, the International Ice Hockey Federation reversed course, lifting the ban on Israel. In its reversal, the federation said it would continue to review Israel’s participation in upcoming international tournaments on a case-by-case basis.
Yael Arad, chairwoman of Israel’s Olympic committee, told the Jerusalem Post that the country was “very excited” to participate in the tournament.
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The post International hockey federation reverses ban on Israel ahead of youth world championships appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.