A month ago, a collective of 30 NGOs and trade unions from Slovenia called
European Athletics Federation, Athletics Federation of Slovenia, Municipality of Maribor and company Sport Maribor to withdraw the invitation to the Israeli Athletics Federation to the Championships in Maribor, taking place in June 2025. We have asked them to respond and take action by 20th March 2025, otherwise we will extend the appeal to the sponsors and supporters of the Championships.
The organisers did not respond to the call, only the Athletics Federation of Slovenia (AZS) and the Municipality of Maribor responded on social media or in a press release. In the press release, AZS stated that they are only the host and organiser of the competition and that they do not have the power to decide which teams can compete. They added that the organiser of the competition is European Athletics (EA), which has not imposed any sanctions against Israel, so there is nothing to prevent Israeli athletes from taking part in the championships. The municipality of Maribor reacted almost identically. The European Athletics Federation and Sport Maribor did not respond.
We would therefore like to remind the organisers of the Championships once again that they are obliged to respect the legal order, including international law. This means that they must do everything they can to ensure that Israel’s serious violations of international law are neither normalised nor supported through sporting participation.
The ICJ ruling on Israeli violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories of 19/7/2024 clearly imposes a duty on all states to immediately scrutinise their ties with Israel, including business and finance, pension funds, academia and charities. Any cooperation by a UN Member State, its entities or international organisations with Israeli institutions, be they political, academic, cultural or economic, involved in the implementation of the occupation or apartheid, constitutes cooperation, support and assistance in violation of international law.
European Athletics and the Athletics Federation of Slovenia are clearly not following the principles of impartiality and equality, as both federations have imposed sanctions and disqualifications against Russian and Belarusian athletes and national teams. It is also not true that local authorities cannot do anything, since, for example, all Belgian municipalities have cancelled their hospitality to Israeli football clubs and the Israeli national team in September 2024 during the UEFA National Leagues competitions.
We reiterate our attention to the fact that Israeli athletes are subject to compulsory military service and, in the light of the decisions of the International Court of Justice, are possible, if not probable, perpetrators of war crimes. A responsible, sovereign state must verify and ensure that it does not host individuals who have participated in international crimes. Sports federations and international organisations likewise.
We therefore call on the Municipality of Maribor to immediately withdraw its hospitality to the competitors of the Israeli Athletics Federation, following the example of the Belgian municipalities.
We call on the Athletics Federation of Slovenia to lodge a complaint with the European Athletics Committee regarding the participation of the Israeli Athletics Federation in competitions and Israel’s membership of the EA despite continuous violations of international law.
We stand by our initial warnings and predictions. Genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity must not be normalised. Israel must be handed a “red card” until it starts respecting the “sporting values of impartiality and equality” and the fundamental provisions of international law.
On behalf of the team of signatories:
Gibanje za pravice Palestincev
Pekarna Magdalenske mreže
Organizacija za participatorno družbo