Maccabiah Games
The Maccabiah Games, held in Israel every four years, is a sports competition with cultural and educational activities for Jewish athletes. While other all-Jewish games-gymnastic tournaments in Europe as early as 1903-preceded the Maccabiah Games, these games remain the only exclusively Jewish global sporting festival. Regional Maccabiah Games, organized by the MWU, are also held throughout the world.
History
The Maccabiah Games were proposed at the Maccabi World Congress of 1929 as an in-gathering, or Aliyah, of Jewish athletes every three years in what is now Israel (then the British Mandate of Palestine). The first Maccabiah Games, held in 1932, were founded by the Maccabi World Union (MWU). In the face of immense obstacles-no facilities or funding-money was found to build Israel’s first sports stadium. Three hundred and ninety athletes from 14 countries took part in the games. The second Maccabiah, held in 1935,was also in Tel Aviv. One hundred and thirty-four German athletes
defied the Nazi ban on sending a delegation, managed to obtain visas, then registered their protest against the Nazi government by refusing to hoist their country’s flag in the opening ceremonies. The games took place when Jewish immigration was greatly restricted, causing many athletes to remain in the country. The worsening political situation in Europe prevented the third Maccabiah Games, scheduled for 1938, from taking place.
When the games resumed in 1950, they were the first major sporting event to be held in the sovereign state of Israel. The Holocaust had reduced the number of participants to 800 athletes from 19 countries. The fourth Maccabiah (1953) introduced the torch run from Modi’in, the burial place of Judah Maccabiah, to the stadium.
Subsequent games saw increased participation and expanded facilities.By the 14th Maccabiah of 1993,delegations from Eastern Europe took part for first time since the end of World War II. A South African delegation also participated for the first time in 20 years after an international boycott (prompted by apartheid racial policies) was lifted.
Events and Sports
The events at both the Maccabiah Games and the regional games are track and field, badminton, basketball, cricket, football, mini-football, gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, golf, handball, field hockey, ice hockey, judo, karate, half marathon, lawnbowls, netball, rowing, rugby, rugby 7, sailing, shooting, softball, sports aerobics, squash, swimming, tae kwon do, table tennis, tennis, triathlon, volleyball, beach volleyball, water polo, wrestling, and weightlifting. Also included in the games are chess, bridge, and backgammon.
The MWU has also sponsored many games throughout the world. The Maccabiah Winter Games were held in Banska Bystrica, Zakopane, in 1933 and the Baltic Maccabi Games in Lita in 1937. Permanent
regional games are flourishing, including the European Maccabi Games and the Pan American Maccabi Games staged in Montevideo, Uruguay, both held in 1990; the North American Maccabi Youth Games in Detroit in 1990, the Maccabi Sports Carnivals in Australia and South Africa; and the Maccabi Games in Colombia.
