ISRAEL BANNED FROM THE INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIAD IN INFORMATICS

Due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the international chess federation FIDE recently decided to continue the sanctions imposed on Russia. However, the other countries have remained with impunity (the US - for the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, Israel - for the Gaza massacres of civilians).

I have repeatedly argued that international sports sanctions should be avoided. However, if such sports sanctions are unfortunately applied, it must be done consistently.

Recently, the International Olympiad in Informatics (the IOI) banned Israel. However, I do not see they have banned Russia or the US.

Here is the full text of the IOI's decision:

IOI response to the conflict in Gaza

"Members of the community requested that the IOI respond to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza caused by the ongoing conflict. During IOI 2024, the General Assembly debated many options at length. The question about what action to take, if any, was not taken lightly. The result was a vote to sanction Israel for its role in the crisis. Over two thirds of the delegations voted in favour of this action. Specifically, the action means that beginning in 2025, Israel will not be recognized as a participating delegation at IOI, but four contestants from Israel may still participate under the IOI flag."

While Israel was banned from the IOE with a voting majority of 67%, Russia received a "crushing defeat" - the proposal to annul FIDE sanctions on Russia was rejected with a voting majority of 54%.