A spokesperson for Guinness World Records confirmed Wednesday that the company is not accepting record submissions from Israel, the West Bank or Gaza, citing the current “sensitive” situation amid the war with Hamas.
Confirming the policy after a report about the company refusing to consider a submission by an Israeli charity, the spokesperson told The Times of Israel that Guinness has had a policy not to accept new record submissions from the region since November 2023, the month after Hamas launched its war against Israel on October 7.
“We are aware of just how sensitive this is at the moment,” the spokesperson said. “We truly do believe in record breaking for everyone, everywhere, but unfortunately, in the current climate, we are not generally processing record applications from the Palestinian Territories or Israel, or where either is given as the attempt location, with the exception of those done in cooperation with a UN humanitarian aid relief agency.”
A request for clarification as to why a record broken in cooperation with a UN humanitarian aid relief agency would be acceptable was not answered.
On Tuesday, Channel 12 reported that the “Matnat Chaim” charity, which helps people make voluntary kidney donations, had approached Guinness World Records to discuss an event it is planning to bring together 2,000 donors in one place in Jerusalem. The UK body replied that it was no longer accepting submissions from Israel or the Palestinian-ruled territories.
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“The fact that Guinness refuses to include the Israeli achievement that astonished the entire medical world is unacceptable,” Matnat Chaim president Rachel Heber told the network.
Guinness, which is world-renowned for its annual book and website documenting record-breaking facts and achievements, reviews its policy about Israel monthly, the spokesperson said.
“We hope to be in a position to receive new enquiries soon,” the spokesperson added.
The revelation comes as Israel faces deepening isolation following its two-year war in Gaza, which has included academic, cultural and sports boycotts along with large political opposition.
Screen capture from video of a strawberry grown in Israel and confirmed as the heaviest ever by the Guinness World Records group, February 15, 2022, before the same person broke the record again a month later. (YouTube)
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar was quick to condemn Guiness’s decision as “inexcusable.”
“2,000 Israeli kidney donors are making the largest donation ever, yet they are being denied the Guinness World Record simply because they are from Israel,” Sa’ar wrote on X. “We expect and demand that this twisted decision be revoked immediately.”
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee also reacted to the decision made by Guinness, inquiring on X: “How can people be so filled with hate & bigotry?”
“Did the people at Guinness World Record drink a full vat of the Guinness beer?” he quipped, thanking Sa’ar for calling attention to “the outrageous insanity.”
Pro-Israel hedge fund manager Bill Ackman suggested that, in the wake of Guinness’s decision, someone should “set up a legitimate worlds records competitor that does not tip the scales based on their political views.”
“How can Guinness World Records claim to recognize world records when they exclude submissions from certain counties [sic.]?” he queried.
The Guinness website currently lists dozens of records set in Israel. Among these are the world’s heaviest strawberry (322 grams/11.35 ounces), largest mezuzah (1.15 square meters), longest wheelchair tennis match (4 hours 25 minutes-), and fastest time to type the first 100 pi decimal places (11.56 seconds).
Jews have also set records for largest Lego menorahs, longest challah, and most dreidels spinning at a time.
Records set by Palestinians include the largest qatayef pastry (104.75 kg/230 pounds), most people dribbling a soccer ball simultaneously (2,068), and longest chain of scarves/neckerchiefs (6,552 meters/21,498 feet).
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