When science becomes a casualty of politics: The IOAA's suspension of Israel

It is one of the greatest paradoxes of our times that the very people who have given so much to the world in science, medicine, technology, and philosophy are today being sidelined from a platform that was supposed to be the temple of universal knowledge.

- SIDDHARTHA DAVE

Jews, and Israelis in particular, have enriched humanity's collective treasure of scientific understanding. From Albert Einstein, whose theory of relativity changed how humanity perceives time and space, to Jonas Salk, whose polio vaccine rescued millions of children from certain paralysis, Jewish minds have been at the forefront of breakthroughs that define modern civilization.

Israeli contributions in medicine and pharmacy alone are staggering. Israeli scientists developed the revolutionary copaxone (a leading treatment for multiple sclerosis), cancer therapies like doxil, and the PillCam—the world's first ingestible video capsule for endoscopy—now used in hospitals worldwide. Emergency medical devices like the Emergency Bandage (invented by an Israeli military medic and now standard issue in NATO armies) have saved countless lives. In cybersecurity, agriculture, and renewable water technology, Israel has become a global leader whose innovations serve humanity far beyond its borders.

It is in this context that the International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics (IOAA)—an organization established to nurture the brightest high-school students across the globe—has decided to suspend Israel from participation.

THE CONTEXT OF IOAA'S DECISION This year, the IOAA was hosted in Mumbai. Israel had pre-registered but eventually did not send a team. What should have been a minor administrative footnote became, instead, the stage for a political storm. It is learnt that a group of academics, from India, submitted a letter urging the IOAA to suspend the State of Israel from participation. More than 500 academics eventually signed this appeal.

On 18 August, the IOAA board—comprising representatives of 64 countries—took up the matter. While Israel's absence this year meant the decision had no immediate effect, a majority of board members voted to suspend Israel from future Olympiads as a nation.