The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) has barred Israel from its world championships to ensure the "safety and well-being" of all participants, including Israelis.
"The IIHF Council took this decision after careful consideration and based on a risk assessment, discussions with the participating countries and discussions with the hosts," the federation said in a statement.
Israel will remain excluded "for the time being", the IIHF said.
The Israeli men's team were scheduled to play a Division II-A world championship tournament in Serbia in April against teams including Australia and the United Arab Emirates.
The Israeli Ice Hockey Association said it will lodge a protest over the IIHF decision with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
"The discriminative decision to exclude Israel is an unusual and very serious step that does not meet any international sporting standard and stands in complete contradiction to Olympic values," said a statement from the Israeli federation released by the country's embassy in Paris.
Yael Arad, the chairman of Olympic Committee of Israel, described the ban as a "precedent-setting and dangerous decision".
He said it reflected "a strong undercurrent of discrimination...disguised under the pretext of athlete safety."
The international federation's move comes with Israel locked in a war in the Gaza Strip.
Meanwhile hosts South Africa have stripped skipper David Teeger of the captaincy for the Under-19 Cricket World Cup amid fears he could be a target for anti-war protesters, but he will remain part of the squad, officials confirmed on Friday.
Teeger was cleared of wrong-doing by an independent inquiry established by Cricket South Africa (CSA) last month following comments he made in support of Israeli soldiers at an awards ceremony in October.
The teenager was recognised at the Jewish Achiever Awards and said: "I'm now the rising star, but the true rising stars are the young soldiers in Israel. And I’d like to dedicate it to the state of Israel and every single soldier fighting so that we can live and thrive in the diaspora."
The comments drew the ire of the Palestine Solidarity Alliance (PSA), who lodged a complaint with the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC).
Teeger was cleared by the inquiry, but his demotion comes as the South African government has levelled an accusation of genocide against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and CSA say they fear keeping the 19-year-old as captain could inflame tensions during the tournament.
