Maccabiah Games

From Hoopedia

The Maccabiah Games are quadrennial Jewish Olympics, held in Israel the year following the Olympic Games. Every four years, the best Jewish athletes from throughout the world compete in Open, Masters, Juniors, and Disabled competitions.

The Maccabiah is staged under the auspices of the Maccabi World Union (MWU), a worldwide youth and sports organization devoted to furthering Jewish identity and traditions through cultural, social, and educational activities. The MWU is headquartered in Israel.

History

The concept of the Maccabiah Games was the brainchild of 15-year old Russian-born Yosef Yekutieli. The Eretz Yisroel teenager so energized by news of the 1912 Olympic Games that he conceived the fanciful notion of a worldwide Olympics for Jewish athletes in Palestine. With little encouragement, and not a small amount of ridicule, Yekutieli spent the next ten years developing details of his unique idea.

In 1928, Yekutieli presented his far-fetched proposal to the Jewish National Fund, with the notion that the Maccabiah Games be organized to commemorate the 1800th anniversary of the Bar Kochba Rebellion (Jewish revolt against the Romans). Coincidentally, the Maccabi organization was, at the same time, formulating ideas to provide a means of participation by athletes living in the British Mandate of Palestine in important international sporting events; one that would also act as a form of international recognition of Palestine as the Jewish National Home.

Yekutieli’s Maccabiada. as the Games were originally called, was the right idea at the right time. With the hechture of the Eretz Israel Soccer Association, other Holy Land sports groups fell in line to give the proposed Games their blessings. But approval of the ruling British Palestine High Commissioner was the final hurdle to realization.

In the Fall of 1931, Great Britain appointed Sir Arthur “Andy” Wauchope High Commissioner of Palestine. Contrary to previous High Commissioners, Sir Arthur admired the achievements of Zionist Palestine, including the burgeoning Jewish sports movement. The new High Commissioner gladly extended his patronage to the Maccabiada, on condition that it host Arab and official British Mandate athletes, as well as Jewish sportsmen. The Maccabiada was scheduled for March 1932.

The original Maccabiah was held March 28 to April 6, 1932. Its overwhelming success guaranteed its permanent future. Originally conceived as a quadrennial event, Maccabiah II was moved up a year to 1935 because of the rising tide of Nazism in Europe. The rumblings of World War II forced postponement of the third Maccabiah. The delay was 15 years. The Games were reborn in 1950 in the new State of Israel, and Maccabiah #4 was held in 1953. Thereafter, the Maccabiah established its current quadrennial formula, held the year following the Summer Olympic Games.

The Games today are organized by an International Maccabiah Committee and are sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee and World Federation of Sports. The Maccabiah Games, ranking among the five largest sports gatherings in the world (in number of participants), are considered Regional Games by the International Olympic Committee.

For each participant, the Maccabiah Games are “two weeks to experience and a lifetime to remember.” For many, the Maccabiah is the athlete’s most significant connection to the State of Israel and for some, Judaism itself. For the young Open athlete, generally 16 to 23 years old and immersed in the machinations of high-level competition, connection with Jewish contemporaries from the far reaches of the world, in the land of Jewish roots, inspires an awakening of heritage.

While all Maccabiah matches, games, and races are keenly competitive, some events measure up to world-class competition. Numerous Olympic and national champions have sought Maccabiah gold, silver, and bronze medals. Among the Olympic gold medalists and world champions who have competed in the Maccabiah Games in basketball are players Larry Brown, Ernie Grunfeld, and Danny Schayes, and coaches Nat Holman and Dolph Schayes.

Results

1932
2005