Israel protests marathon body’s exclusion of West Bank race
JERUSALEM — Israel on Thursday said the international marathon body was injecting politics into sports by excluding an Israeli race because it passes through West Bank territory the Palestinians and most of the world considers to be occupied.
The Israel Marathon Association said the Association of International Marathons and Distances Races had displayed a “discriminatory nature” against the Bible Marathon that “will certainly result in great anger” among runners around the world.
Next month’s Bible Marathon stretches from central Israel to the settlement of Shiloh, tracing a path described in the Book of Samuel. Organizers call the route the oldest recorded marathon in history.
The Greek-based organization said it had to exclude the Israeli marathon to comply with “international public law.”