Israel's shooting federation chairman has, on paper at least, become a colleague of a Lebanese Olympic official, ONE reported on Monday — an unusual crossover for two countries with no diplomatic ties, arriving as their governments pursue a fragile new understanding.
According to the outlet, Michael Roher, chairman of the Israel Shooting Federation, was named temporary chair of the International Shooting Sport Federation's Judicial and Constitutional Committee, the body's internal legal and statutory panel.
Sitting alongside him on the same committee, ONE reports, is Boutros Jalakh, a representative of the Lebanese Olympic Committee, who was appointed a temporary member.
The reshuffle was triggered by the resignation of Biserka Vrbek, the Croatian official who had chaired the ISSF's statutes and eligibility work; Vrbek, an Olympic shooter at the 1984 Games before moving into federation administration, had been serving a term running through 2026.
ONE frames the appointments explicitly against the backdrop of the recently signed framework agreement between Israel and Lebanon, brokered by the United States, which aims to wind down decades of hostilities between the IDF and Hezbollah.
Sport has occasionally offered a rare, low-stakes channel for contact between countries that otherwise have no formal relations, since technical federations like the ISSF operate under international sporting statutes rather than bilateral diplomacy.
There is no indication in ONE's report that Roher and Jalakh have yet met or communicated directly; the appointments simply place both officials on the same committee roster within the Lausanne-based governing body for Olympic shooting sports.
The story is a small but symbolically notable footnote to the broader diplomatic track between Jerusalem and Beirut, illustrating how a state-to-state accord can filter down into corners of international sport far removed from politics.
