EXCLUSIVE: Russia to play Ukraine in Maccabiah Games beach volleyball
Draw for next month's tournament in Israel has Russian team competing against Germany, Ukraine, the home nation and USA, in women's open beach volleyball tournament.
Lee Harpin is the Jewish News's political editor
Russia has been drawn to play in the same group as Ukraine in the women’s beach volleyball competition at next month’s Maccabiah Games, Jewish News can reveal.
The draw for the international Jewish sports tournament, dubbed the third biggest sports event in the world, took place last month with Russian teams still allowed to take part despite Vladimir Putin’s brutal invasion of Ukraine.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February, it has been banned from competing in any sporting event.
It is understood that discussions about Russia’s participation in the Maccabiah Games, which run from July 12-26th, have been on-going among tournament organisers
In March one Maccabiah source justified Russia’s inclusion by insisting the Jewish sporting organisation was not political.
The beach volleyball open women’s group is shown to contain Germany, Russia, USA, Ukraine, Israel 1 and Israel 2 teams.
Russia does not appear to have any other teams listed as competing in other sports.
In March the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) banned the Russian and Belarussian teams from the Beijing Winter Olympics, despite initially insisted they could compete under a neutral flag.
The Maccabiah is believed to be the third-biggest international sporting event in the world, with over 10,000 athletes participating in 2017, the most recent edition.
Jewish News has approached Maccabiah representatives for further clarification on Russia’s involvement in Maccabiah 2022.
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.