Indonesia risks losing World Beach Games over banning Israeli athletes
Indonesia might lose hosting the 2023 World Beach Games after an official raised concerns about Israeli athletes competing in the competition.
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Indonesians during a rally in Jakarta, Indonesia, demand the rejection of the participation of "Israel's" team in the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup, on March 20, 2023 (AFP)
On the Indonesian island of Bali, the 2023 World Beach Games will take place between August 5 and August 12. Athletes will compete in 14 different sports, including beach volleyball and surfing.
The Games were first hosted in Qatar in 2019, but the following competitions were postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak.
In the meantime, Bali's Governor Wayan Koster underlined in April that Israeli athletes are not welcome to the sporting event, citing the preamble to the Indonesian Constitution, which calls for the universal abolition of colonialism and the nation's unwavering support for the Palestinian cause against the Israeli occupation.
Read: "Israel’s" weapon of choice: Anti-Semitism
Since the occupation of Palestine in 1948, the preamble has prohibited Israeli settlers from traveling to Indonesia.
"I remain consistent in refusing the Israeli team’s participation in the 2023 World Beach Games in Bali," Koster told The Jakarta Post newspaper.
In the most populous Muslim country in the world, support for the Palestinian cause is at an all-time high due to the Israeli occupation's horrendous atrocities against Palestinians.
Read: 'Israel' demands UN investigators to quit, citing 'anti-Semitism'
Following protests over the participation of the Israeli occupation, FIFA, the world's governing body of football, revoked in March Indonesia's privilege to host the 2023 FIFA Under-20 Men's World Cup in six cities from May 20 to June 11.
Additionally, FIFA barred the Indonesian side from the Argentina-based competition and limited financial support for the Football Association of Indonesia.
Read: Could Indonesia, "Israel" normalize relations? - The Diplomat
Koster had previously objected to the Israeli football team's participation in Bali and charged FIFA with applying different standards to the war in Ukraine while turning a blind eye to "Israel's" violations against Palestinians.
"I invite the people of Bali to pray together so that FIFA will be moved to act fairly by eliminating the Israeli team in the FIFA U-20 World Cup, the same way it did when eliminating the Russian team in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar," he stated at the time.
