New Delhi: The International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics (IOAA), currently underway in Mumbai, has become the center of a geopolitical controversy after its international board voted to suspend Israel from participation as an official national team in the future.
Reacting to the decision, Kobbi Shoshani, the Consul General of Israel in Mumbai, condemned the move, calling it “ridiculous”.
“It is ridiculous that in Mumbai, #IOAA2025 decided to suspend Israel from participating as a team at future events. Science and tech are the building blocks of Indo-Israel relations, where physics and knowledge have brought remarkable achievements to the world,” Shoshani wrote on X.
The consul further criticised what he saw as political interference in a scientific forum, saying, “They might want to change Einstein’s relativity theory and take Hamas’ political theories, which carried out the 7th October terror attack?”
This year’s IOAA, the 18th edition of the global science competition, was hosted by the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education in Mumbai from 11-21 August. Earlier, at an 18 August board meeting, representatives from 64 participating countries voted by a significant majority to revoke Israel’s status as a recognised delegation. While Israeli students will still be allowed to compete individually, the country will no longer have any representation as a national team in upcoming IOAA events.
With over 300 students and 140 mentors from around the world, the Olympiad is one of the most prestigious events for high-school students in the fields of astronomy and astrophysics. The inauguration of the event saw Prime Minister Narendra Modi deliver a virtual address.
The decision to suspend Israel follows a call by members of the international scientific community to take action over the country’s ongoing activities in Palestine. A letter circulated before the meeting, signed by numerous national and international scientists, urged the IOAA to suspend Israel’s official participation, citing violations of international law and human rights.
“The Olympic spirit requires all member nations to follow international law and respect the human rights of students from other countries. We regret to note Israel’s repeated violations of these norms,” the letter stated. It further accused Israel of blocking Palestinian students, particularly those from Gaza, from participating in the IOAA. According to the letter, only one Palestinian student, from Jenin, was able to attend this year’s competition, a city impacted by Israeli military operations.
Although Israel pre-registered for IOAA 2025, it ultimately did not send a team to Mumbai. The letter drew parallels to similar actions taken in other international forums, such as the Olympic Games, where Russia and Belarus faced suspension over their roles in the conflict in Ukraine.
The letter demanded that Israel remain suspended “until it has ceased to place obstacles in the participation of Palestinian students in the Olympiad and complied with its obligations under international law”.
According to reports, IOAA President Aniket Sule said that while students from Israel will still be allowed to compete as individuals, the country will no longer be permitted to participate as an official national delegation.
Israel has never participated in any edition of the IOAA since the competition began in 2007, including the current 2025 Olympiad in Mumbai. According to a circular issued by the IOAA in May, Israel was among the pre-registered countries for this year’s event.
“They had initially expressed interest in participating,” Sule added. “However, they were ultimately unable to secure the necessary permissions from their government and did not attend.”
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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