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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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Iran’s Supreme Leader Says Trump Is Lying When He Speaks of Peace
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a meeting with government officials in Tehran, Iran, April 15, 2025. Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused Donald Trump on Saturday of lying when the US president said during his Gulf tour this week that he wanted peace in the region.
On the contrary, said Khamenei, the United States uses its power to give “10-ton bombs to the Zionist (Israeli) regime to drop on the heads of Gaza’s children.”
Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One after departing the United Arab Emirates on Friday that Iran had to move quickly on a US proposal for its nuclear program or “something bad’s going to happen.”
His remarks, said Khamenei, “aren’t even worth responding to.” They are an “embarrassment to the speaker and the American people,” Khamenei added.
“Undoubtedly, the source of corruption, war, and conflict in this region is the Zionist regime — a dangerous, deadly cancerous tumor that must be uprooted; it will be uprooted,” he said at an event at a religious center in Tehran, according to state media.
Earlier on Saturday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Trump speaks about peace while simultaneously making threats.
“Which should we believe?” Pezeshkian said at a naval event in Tehran. “On the one hand, he speaks of peace and on the other, he threatens with the most advanced tools of mass killing.”
Tehran would continue Iran-US nuclear talks but is not afraid of threats. “We are not seeking war,” Pezeshkian said.
While Trump said on Friday that Iran had a US proposal about its nuclear program, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in a post on X said Tehran had not received any such proposal. “There is no scenario in which Iran abandons its hard-earned right to (uranium) enrichment for peaceful purposes…” he said.
Araqchi warned on Saturday that Washington’s constant change of stance prolongs nuclear talks, state TV reported.
“It is absolutely unacceptable that America repeatedly defines a new framework for negotiations that prolongs the process,” the broadcast quoted Araqchi as saying.
Pezeshkian said Iran would not “back down from our legitimate rights”.
“Because we refuse to bow to bullying, they say we are source of instability in the region,” he said.
A fourth round of Iran-U.S. talks ended in Oman last Sunday. A new round has not been scheduled yet.
The post Iran’s Supreme Leader Says Trump Is Lying When He Speaks of Peace first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Hamas Confirms New Gaza Ceasefire Talks with Israel in Qatar on Saturday
Doha, Qatar. Photo: StellarD via Wikimedia Commons.
A new round of Gaza ceasefire negotiations between Hamas and Israel is underway in Qatar’s Doha, Hamas official Taher al-Nono told Reuters on Saturday.
He said the two sides were discussing all issues without “pre-conditions.”
Nono said Hamas was “keen to exert all the effort needed” to help mediators make the negotiations a success, adding there was “no certain offer on the table.”
The negotiations come despite Israel preparing to expand operations in the Gaza Strip as they seek “operational control” in some areas of the war-torn enclave.
The return to negotiations also comes after US President Donald Trump ended a Middle East tour on Friday with no apparent progress towards a new ceasefire, although he acknowledged Gaza’s growing hunger crisis and the need for aid deliveries.
The post Hamas Confirms New Gaza Ceasefire Talks with Israel in Qatar on Saturday first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Report: ICC’s Khan Goes on Administrative Leave Amid Sexual Misconduct Probe
International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan speaks during an interview with Reuters in The Hague, Netherlands, Feb. 12, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw
i24 News – Chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Karim Khan has stepped down temporarily as an investigation into his alleged sexual misconduct by United Nations investigators is nearing its final phase, Reuters reported on Friday citing sources from the international court.
Khan allegedly forced sexual intercourse upon a member of staff on multiple occasions, the Wall Street Journal reported last week, linking the allegations to Khan’s decision to issue arrest warrants for Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then-defense minister Yoav Gallant.
A statement is expected later today announcing that Khan is going on administrative leave, according to a source in the prosecutor’s office.
The post Report: ICC’s Khan Goes on Administrative Leave Amid Sexual Misconduct Probe first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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