Israel Gymnastics Federation

The Israel Gymnastics Federation encompasses six disciplines: artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, acrobatics, trampoline, tumbling, and aerobic gymnastics.[2] In early 2021, its executive board comprised eleven members, nine of whom were women, and Kinneret Tzedef served as chair.[2] After Tzedef's departure, the federation operated without a permanent chair until Avi Sagui was elected in November 2021.[4] Sagui continued to be identified as chair in 2026, when he accompanied the Israeli delegation to the World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships in Frankfurt.[5] Sarit Shenar has served as chief executive officer and was also identified as federation secretary during the 2025 Jakarta dispute.[1][3]

Following Sagui's election, the executive board presented an ethical code for safeguarding in sport. The code was intended to address nutritional problems, verbal or physical violence, and sexual harassment.[4] The federation is affiliated with both the International Gymnastics Federation and the Olympic Committee of Israel.[1]

Founded in 1950, the federation developed an international presence across several gymnastics disciplines.[1] Israel hosted the 2019 European Acrobatic Gymnastics Championships and was due to host the 2024 Acrobatic Gymnastics World Championships, but the later event was canceled because of the war.[2][6] By 2024, the federation said it had worked to bring three major events to Israel: the acrobatics world championships, an Artistic Gymnastics Challenge Cup, and the European Artistic Gymnastics Championships. All three plans were disrupted by war-related security concerns.[7]

Israeli athletes competed under the Israeli flag at the 2018 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Qatar, one of two occasions that year on which Israeli athletes openly competed under their national flag in an Arab country.[8] In July 2025, the federation confirmed that its delegation had been registered for the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Jakarta after Indonesian officials indicated that Israeli athletes would be welcomed.[9] That assurance was reversed in October, when Indonesia denied visas to the Israeli team, which consequently did not participate.[3]

The federation's national rhythmic-gymnastics program has operated with a professional staff led by head coach Ayelet Zussman.[10] At the 2022 European Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships in Tel Aviv, Daria Atamanov won the individual all-around title with 136.900 points, while Israel's group won the team all-around with 69.950 points.[11]

At the 2023 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships in Valencia, Israel won its first group all-around world title. Ofir Shaham, Diana Svertzov, Hader Friedman, Liza Benchuk, Romi Pritzki, and Shani Bakanov scored 70.800 points to claim the gold medal.[12] During all-around qualification, Israel placed first in the hoops exercise with 38.150 points. The group's hoops difficulty score rose from 17.500 at the 2022 world championships to 21.400 in 2023, with the report attributing the increased difficulty and risk to Zussman's decision to push the group toward its performance ceiling.[12]

At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Israel's rhythmic-gymnastics group—Adar Friedmann, Diana Svertsov, Ofir Shaham, Romi Paritzky, and Shani Bakanov—won silver in the group all-around.[3] Artistic gymnast Artem Dolgopyat won Olympic floor-exercise gold at the Tokyo Games in 2021 and silver at the 2024 Paris Games with a score of 14.966. In August 2026, he won floor-exercise gold at the European Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Zagreb with 14.466 points, securing his third European title.[3] Federation chairman Avi Sagui publicly congratulated him following the victory.[13]

Beyond competition, the federation has invested in national-team development. In March 2022, it offered Olympic rhythmic-gymnastics champion Linoy Ashram a position on the national coaching staff alongside her longtime coach, Ayelet Zussman.[14] In November 2023, it announced a planned video call in which Simone Biles would speak with Israeli gymnasts from youth and senior squads and answer their questions before the Olympic year.[15] The federation also organizes domestic championships. At the 2024 Israeli apparatus-gymnastics championships in Holon, Olympic representative Lihie Raz won the senior all-around title with 49.950 points and took gold on vault, balance beam, and floor exercise.[16]

The federation's acrobatics branch is divided into league and international tracks. As of 2025, the international track had approximately 400 athletes, while the league track had nearly twice as many. Acrobatics includes pairs, trios, and fours and requires coordination, flexibility, muscular endurance, teamwork, and precision.[6] At the 2025 European championship in Luxembourg, Israel fielded the largest delegation at the competition, with more than 40 senior athletes and approximately 60 younger athletes. The team reportedly won 32 medals across four age categories and finished first in the combined medal table.[6]

The federation's significance within Israeli sport reflects both its organizational breadth and its international results. It administers six disciplines and has been associated with Israel's first rhythmic group all-around world title in 2023, an Olympic group silver medal in 2024, and a leading European acrobatics medal performance in 2025.[3][2]

In a 2021 interview, then-chair Kinneret Tzedef reported that athlete participation in the federation had grown by more than 35 percent and its budget by about 40 percent in preceding years. She also cited the development of gymnastics halls, equipment, and a national home for the federation.[2] Its hosting of the 2019 European Acrobatic Gymnastics Championships and efforts to secure later international events further reflected its institutional ambitions, although war-related cancellations interrupted those plans.[7][6]

In October 2025, Indonesian authorities denied entry visas to Israeli athletes scheduled to compete at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Jakarta, held from October 19 through October 25.[17] The federation called the decision "shocking and heartbreaking."[3] Together with the Olympic Committee of Israel and Israel's Ministry of Culture and Sports, it announced plans to challenge the decision through legal channels and seek an injunction permitting the delegation to compete.[18] It separately called the move an "outrageous decision" and said it would pursue every legal means available.[18]

Sarit Shenar said the exclusion marked "the end of the road" for Israeli gymnasts that year and urged the Court of Arbitration for Sport to issue a decisive ruling against future discrimination in sport.[3] The federation characterized Indonesia's action as a violation of competition rules and argued that barring a nation from a world championship undermined the foundations of sport and fair competition.[1]

UK Lawyers for Israel cited Article 26.4 of the FIG Statutes 2025, which states that entry visas must be granted to gymnasts, athletes, and officials of all member federations. The provision further states that failure to meet this requirement requires the FIG Executive Committee to cancel the event allocation immediately.[17] CAS dismissed Israel's initial appeal for lack of jurisdiction and later denied urgent measures in a second case seeking to compel FIG to permit Israeli participation or relocate the event. Israel consequently did not compete in Jakarta.[3]