Ahead of the 21st Maccabiah Games, scenes from ‘Jewish Olympics’ history
The latest Maccabiah Games begin on Wednesday in Tel Aviv
Chanukah isn’t the only time Jews around the world celebrate the legacy of Hasmonean hero Judah Maccabee.
Every four years, 10,000 or so athletes — mostly Jews, plus Israelis of any religion — descend upon Israel for the Maccabiah Games, the world’s largest Jewish athletic competition, sometimes called the Jewish Olympics.
Run by the World Maccabi Union, the competition began in 1932 and includes athletes from roughly 80 countries.
In 1938, the third iteration of the competition was postponed until 1950 due to World War II and Israel’s War of Independence.
The competition then took place every four years from 1953 through 2017. The 21st Maccabiah Games, scheduled for the summer of 2021, was pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Games are split into four divisions based on age and ability — open, juniors, masters, and paralympics — and feature dozens of sports.
Jewish sports legends like Mark Spitz, Agnes Keleti, Kerri Strug, Isaac Berger and others have participated over the years.
The 21st Maccabiah Games open Wednesday, July 12, and will run through July 26.
Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael – Jewish National Fund, a Maccabiah partner, has shared with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency some images from its Maccabiah photo archive. It’s quite a trip down Jewish sports memory lane.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
