The NHL is the latest entity around the hockey world to criticize a decision from the International Ice Hockey Federation to ban Israel from competition over safety concerns.
The league released a statement in opposition of the decision on Saturday.
“The NHL has significant concerns with the announcement from the IIHF on Wednesday regarding the Israeli National Team’s eligibility for, and participation in, upcoming IIHF events. We expressed those concerns to the IIHF and have attempted to get a better understanding of both the scope and underlying rationale for the decision that was made,” the league said in a statement.
Israel has obviously been in the news a lot recently for its invasion of Gaza following the Hamas terrorist attacks back in October. However, the IIHF’s statement in announcing Israel’s ban made no mention of the Israel-Hamas war.
“The IIHF Council took this decision after careful consideration and based on a risk assessment, discussions with the participating countries and discussions with the hosts,” the federation said in its statement.
“(We) decided to restrict the Israeli National Team from participating in IIHF Championships until the safety and well-being of all participants [including Israeli participants] can be assured,” the federation explained.
The IIHF had previously used similar language when deciding to disclude Russia and Belarus from international competition after Russia invaded Ukraine last year.
“We urge the IIHF to take whatever steps necessary to address its concerns as expeditiously as possible so that Israeli National Teams are not unfairly excluded from future events for which they are eligible and have qualified,” the NHL said in its statement.