A final decision has been made by Maccabi GB about the presence of their junior delegation at this summer’s Maccabiah Games.
Despite the change in travel guidance last week for Brits visiting Israel, the organisation has “reviewed and reconfirmed” its decision, which was originally made on May 21, to withdraw the Juniors from the Games.
A spokesperson for Maccabi GB said that “while the change in FCDO advice gave trustees the opportunity to review the previous decision, the board concluded that the key principles behind the 21st May deadline remained valid”.
Their review of the decision came at the same time as Iran fired their first missiles aimed at Israel since the latest ceasefire on April 8, to which Israel responded on Monday.
Maccabi GB continued: “The subsequent increase in hostility between Israel and Iran underlined that the issue was not simply whether the logistics of taking a delegation could be made to work. The Board also had to consider its safeguarding, security and governance responsibilities in relation to taking children to Israel at short notice and did not believe that reinstating the Junior delegation was the correct decision.”
Their statement also confirmed that the green FCDO advice means that they will take delegations of Open and Masters athletes to the Games, from those who still wish to compete despite the circumstances.
The Maccabiah Games are taking place in Israel between June 28 and July 14.
And it says that for the Juniors, and for any adult athletes who have withdrawn, a “two-part refund process is underway”.
“This reflects unrecoverable costs incurred by the charity over the course of the Maccabiah process,” they said.
This is the second time that the games have been disrupted by regional conflict. They were supposed to take place last summer but were postponed to this year due to the Twelve-Day War with Iran.
Maccabi World Union has confirmed that the Maccabiah Games will take place this summer unless it is required to cancel by the Israeli government. The sporting event takes place in Israel every four years.
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