IIHF lifts ban to allow Israel to compete in upcoming U-20 tournament
The IIHF has announced that Israel’s men’s U-20 hockey team will be allowed to participate in the Division IIIA World Junior Championship in Sofia, Bulgaria from Jan. 22-28, 2024.
The move comes a week after the IIHF said that Israel was not going to participate in the team’s three upcoming events “due to concerns over the safety and security of all participants in the Championships” in the midst of the ongoing Israel–Hamas war.
According to the IIHF’s statement, the federation will “keep monitoring the situation and reviewing its upcoming Championships on a case-by-case basis.” Further actions regarding participation will be taken in February.
The IIHF said it received “confirmation and details from the relevant authorities regarding all security measures that will be implemented to address the identified risks associated with allowing the Israeli national team to participate in this Championship.”
Israel was set to host the Division IIIA tournament, but was moved to Bulgaria on the grounds of “safety concerns.”
The NHL released a statement on the temporary ban from the IIHF last week, saying “We urge the IIHF to take whatever steps necessary to address its concerns as expeditiously as possible so that Israeli National Teams are not unfairly excluded from future events for which they are eligible and have qualified.”
Other tournaments Israel were scheduled to participate in include the men’s Division IIB U-18 World Championship in Spain from March 17-23; the Division IIIB women’s World Championship in Estonia from March 24-29; and the Division IIA men’s World Hockey Championship in Serbia from April 21-27.
Israel is notably not part of the Olympic qualification cycle for 2026.
The Division IIIA tournament is the sixth rung on the U-20 level, the second lowest ahead of the Group B tournament. Israel is set to play against Mexico, Bulgaria, Turkey, New Zealand, and Kyrgyzstan, with the championship team going up to Division IIB in 2025. The IIB tournament is being held in Serbia right now, with Romania leading the way with five points through two games.
Israel has only participated in a handful of IIHF U-20 events over the past few years, and have played in Division III competition since 2022.
Of note, the IIHF said the temporary ban does not affect Israel’s status with the IIHF as an official member organization.