The global governing board of the annual International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics (IOAA) hosted by India this week has decided to suspend Israel from participation in the event, but allow Israeli students to take part as individuals.
The decision of the IOAA board on August 18 follows a written petition to the board signed by over 530 faculty, scientists and students from across the world, citing Israel’s atrocities in Gaza. They urged the board to prevent the country from participating in the Olympiad.
The 118-member board with representatives from 64 countries took the decision after a “significant majority” of the members endorsed the proposal to suspend Israel, Aniket Sule, president of the IOAA board’s executive council, told The Telegraph. Fewer than 10 membersvoted against the proposal, he said.
The IOAA, launched in 2007, brings together senior school students from around the world to tackle challenging tests in astronomy and astrophysics. The Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education and the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Mumbai are hosting the 2025 edition from August 12-21. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had addressed the opening ceremony.
While Israel has never fielded a team at the IOAA, the new suspension means the country cannot join as a participant nation or have itsflag displayed at future Olympiads.
“This action concerns possible future participation,” Sule said, declining to reveal countries that backed the proposal to “protect the board members”. The suspension will remain until the board votes to reverse it.
The International Olympic Committee had similarly suspended Russia and Belarus in 2022 over their military actions in Ukraine.
Students from Israel, however, may still compete at the IOAA as individuals, without representing their countries, Sule said.
The August 1 petition to the IOAA board had argued that the Olympiad’s spirit requires member nations to follow international law and respect students’ rights.
“We regret to note Israel’s repeated violations of these norms. Israel’s protracted campaign in Gaza has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, including thousands of children,” the petition said.
“A UN-appointed commission found that Israel has damaged or destroyed ‘more than 90 per cent of schools and university buildings across Gaza’.
UN experts have declared that a ‘famine has spread throughout the Gaza Strip’ and Israel has killed hundreds of people who were merely trying to find food.”
The petition also said Israel had forcibly prevented Palestine from fielding a full team for this year’s Olympiad.
“We also understand that the sole participating Palestinian student is from Jenin, which has been subjected to Israeli raids and where thousands of people have been displaced.”
The petition’s signatories included Alok Laddha and Ronak Soni of the Chennai Mathematical Institute, Sandip Trivedi of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Ahmed Abbes of France’s National Centre for Scientific Research, Ravinder Banyal of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Nissim Kanekar of the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics, Suvrat Raju of the International Centre for Theoretical Sciences, and Pierre Vanhove of the Institute of Theoretical Physics, France.
Raju said the IOAA board’s decision was significant because the Olympiads carried prestige and were seen as important by Israeli society.