| Games of the III Maccabiah | |
|---|---|
| Teams participating | 20 |
| Debuting countries |  Argentina Australia Belgium Canada Finland India Ireland Sweden |
| Athletes participating | 800 |
| Main venue | Ramat Gan Stadium |
Scheduled to be staged in 1938, political events in Europe, Arab violence in Palestine, and British Mandate authorities’ concern that a Maccabiah Games would create huge illegal immigration resulted in cancellation of the Games.
In 1950, the Maccabiah Games resumed with the 3rd Maccabiah Games, this time in the independent State of Israel. Nineteen countries sent a total of 800 athletes. The opening parade and track and field events were held in the new 50,000-spectator stadium in Ramat Gan, a suburb of Tel Aviv.
Israeli President Chaim Weizmann opened the Games, and Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion told the competitors: “Existence in our ancestral home requires physical might no less than intellectual excellence.”
Eight countries entered the competition for the first time, among them:Argentina, Canada, India and Sweden were first-time entries.
Gold medals were earned by Americans Henry Wittenberg in wrestling, Frank Spellman (who two years earlier had won a silver medal at the Olympics) in weightlifting, and 3-time Pan American Games gold medalist Allan Kwartler in fencing.[1]
Ben Helfgott, a concentration camp survivor, won the weightlifting gold medal in the lightweight class for Great Britain.
Canada earned 14 medals in its first Games.
Participating Communities [link]
Not all Jewish communities participated in the 1950 Maccabiah. Jewish communities in Arab countries (Morocco, Tunisia, etc.) did not send delegations. The number in parentheses indicates the number of participants that community contributed.
Link [link]
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https://wn.com/1950_Maccabiah_Games
1993 Maccabiah Games
The 1993 Maccabiah Games was the 14th installment of the Maccabiah Games and brought 5,100 athletes to Israel from 48 nations.
Jewish athletes from Poland, Bulgaria, and Czechoslovakia participated for the first time after World War II, after the fall of the Iron Curtain. Athletes from the eight Republics of the former Soviet Union also participated.
A giant torch has been fixed in the National Stadium for this games and on.
Yael Arad, who had won a silver medal for Israel in judo at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992, lit the Maccabiah torch.
Participating communities
The number in parentheses indicates the number of participants that community contributed.
External links
2005 Maccabiah Games
The 2005 Maccabiah Games (Hebrew: המכביה ה-17 ישראל תשס"ה), held in Israel, were the 17th incarnation of the 'Jewish Olympics.' They attracted the largest attendance of any Maccabiah Games, including more than 900 representatives from the United States, almost 500 from Australia, and more than 2,000 from Israel, bringing the total participants to more than 7,700 from 55 countries.
Israel ended the games at the top of the medal count with 228 gold medals. The United States was second with 71 gold medals, while Russia came in third with 15.
Selected results
Vadim Gutzeit of Ukraine, an Olympic gold medal winner in team sabre, won gold medals in individual and team sabre. Two-time Olympic gold medal winner Sergey Sharikov of Russia won the silver medal in sabre. In fencing, two-time Pan American Games gold medalist Dan Kellner won the silver medal in foil for the US.
In women's tennis, Sharon Fichman of Canada won the gold medal at the age of 14, and also won a bronze medal in the women’s doubles, and a silver medal in mixed doubles.
2013 Maccabiah Games
The 19th Maccabiah (Hebrew: המכביה התשע-עשרה) took place July 18 to 30, 2013. The 19th Maccabiah games brought together 7500 athletes, making it the third largest international sporting event in the world after the Olympic Games and FIFA World Cup. The Maccabiah held competitions in 42 disciplines in 34 sports. A number of new sports were introduced or brought back including Archery, Equestrian and Handball; Ice Hockey was brought back for the first time since 1997.
Opening ceremony
The opening ceremonies for the 19th Maccabiah took place for the second time at the Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem. The games officially opened by Shimon Peres. US President Barack Obama greeted the Maccabiah through a prerecorded video. Prime Minister David Cameron also greeted the Maccabiah and team GB. During the parade of nations, giant helium balloons with the country the delegation represented accommodated each delegation. Coincidentally, the opening ceremony took place on Nelson Mandela's birthday. The South African delegation carried with them a large banner reading: "Celebrating our legacy – Mandela Day".
