Officials from World Bowls Tour have revoked the ban which would have stopped three bowlers from Israel taking part in next week’s Word Indoor Championships at Potters Resorts in Hopton-on-Sea.
The tournament organisers had withdrawn an invitation to bowlers Daniel Alomin, Amnon Amar and Itai Rigbi after pressure from pro-Palestinian campaigners, including Norfolk Palestine Solidarity Campaign and Show Israeli Genocide The Red Card.
Those campaigners, who encouraged more than 1,500 people to email their opposition to the Israeli bowler’s participation, as the war in Gaza continues, had said the bowlers belonged “to the apartheid and genocidal state”.
World Bowls Tour had said they had made the “difficult decision” to withdraw the invitation in the light of a “significant escalation in related political concerns”.
But, on New Year’s Eve – and after criticism and accusations of anti-semitism from MPs, Lords and The Board of Deputies of British Jews – World Bowls Tour announced its u-turn.
The tournament organisers said the Israeli bowlers would be allowed to compete after “significant additional security measures” had been put in place for the Hopton competition.
In a statement, they said: “The World Bowls Tour, in conjunction with their event partners, is delighted to advise that significant additional security measures have been put in place for the forthcoming World Indoor Bowls Championships.
“This means that we will now be able to welcome as competitors, Daniel Alomin in the World Open Singles and Amnon Amar and Itai Rigbi in the World Open Pairs.
“The WBT acknowledges that this has been a difficult time for all involved and we are pleased that we have been able to achieve an outcome that includes players for all supporting countries.”
The decision was condemned as “regrettable” by Show Israeli Genocide The Red Card.
The Scotland-based group, said: “WBT have shown they have no moral fibre by reversing their decision to withdraw the invitation to three Israeli bowlers.
“We are extremely disappointed in their rejection of the Gleneagles Agreement and ICJ (International Court of Justice) findings.
“We reject all claims that isolating Israeli competitors is discriminatory.
“Instead, we stand by our fight against the normalisation of apartheid and genocide through sport participation. Our fight continues.”
However, Reform UK MP Rupert Lowe, whose Great Yarmouth constituency includes Hopton-on-Sea, said the ban’s revocation was “fantastic news to finish the year.”
He said: “The Israeli team will be welcomed in Great Yarmouth, and I wish them well for the event.
“The World Bowls Tour have made the right decision. I thank them for that and their apology to the individuals involved.”
READ MORE: Plans to expand Potters Resorts in Hopton approved
The World Indoor Championships tournament – at Potters Resorts for the 27th year – starts on Friday, January 10 and continues until Sunday, January 26.
The war in Gaza is now entering its 15th month, having started in October 2023, when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people and abducting around 250.
Israel’s air and ground offensive has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. It says women and children make up more than half the fatalities.
The Israeli military says it only targets militants and blames Hamas for civilian deaths because its fighters operate in dense residential areas. It says it has killed 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.
The war has caused widespread destruction and displaced some 90pc of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million, many of them multiple times.
American and Arab mediators have spent nearly a year trying to broker a ceasefire and hostage release, but those efforts have repeatedly stalled as Hamas demands a lasting ceasefire and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanayhu vows to keep fighting until “total victory” over the militants.
