Maccabi Games: Intersecting Judaism & Athletics
Through my participation on the the Maccabi Media Team in Buenos Aires, Argentina for the 2023 Pan American Maccabi Games and as the USA delegation photographer for the 2024 Maccabi European Youth Games, I helped document the intersection of Judaism and sports. The Maccabi Games bring together Jews of all ages from around the world to compete in athletic competitions and connect through Jewish values. As a Jew myself, the Maccabi Games have been an incredible opportunity to meet people and contemplate my place in the world. I contributed journalistic coverage of the Games, most notably from October 7 survivors and professionals in the world of sports.
Maccabi USA's girls' soccer team warm up on the field, just outside of Buenos Aires.
Maccabi USA's Pan American boys' soccer team put their hands together just before a game.
Argentina President Javier Milei attends the Pan American Maccabi Games' opening ceremony in downtown Buenos Aires.
USA Women's soccer takes the team gold medal at the 2023 Pan American Maccabi Games.
Maccabi USA boys' volleyball coach, Greg Spector, gives his team an encouraging locker room talk, just before they take the court against Israel. Many of the Israeli players lived through the October 7, 2023 attacks in the kibbutzim targeted by Hamas.
“We're hoping that the kids are really going to understand the magnitude of having a team from Israel here in this moment with everything that’s going on," Spector said. "Their homes have been destroyed, and they’ve managed to find their way here in this human moment. They get to come out, and participate, and play a game that they love, in a place that they’ve never been to, and hopefully get to understand that they have this global community that surrounds them, and cares about them, and loves them.”
The oldest USA boys' volleyball player, Ryan Kelly, 18, is a freshman and setter at Carthage College. He greets his Israeli opponents on the court with a hand shake and open arms.
Kelly explained the importance of the Pan American Maccabi Games, and the significance of playing against Israel. “There’s a wide range of experiences and it’s interesting playing against people from other countries,” he said. “This is different from what I’m used to.”
Even though the USA team swept in straight sets, Israeli and American players still both found meaning in coming together to play.
Youngest player on the USA team, Daniel Kaplanovich, 14, was a late add to the roster.
Even though he is a very thoughtful and coachable player, according to Kelly and their coach, Kaplanovich still appreciates advice from his teammates. “With my nerves, they tell me to take deep breaths. Calm it down, slow it down, and don’t get caught up," he said.
Israeli players and coaches found relief from their lives in Israel by playing in the Pan American Games. Just 2 months after the October 7, for many Israelis, this was their first time leaving the country after the attacks.
Israeli boys' volleyball player and October 7 survivor Topaz Kemeny is from Kibbutz Kfar Aza. "I lost everything," he said. He escaped his home with no physical belongings, and along with losing many of his friends, he watched the murder of his girlfriend as it was livestreamed on Facebook.
American Ambassador to Argentina Marc R. Stanley welcomes the Maccabi USA delegation to the embassy in Buenos Aires. As a Jewish leader himself, Stanley spoke to the delegation about the influence of the Jewish community in Argentina and their connection to the United States.
As a part of Maccabi's programming to connect Jews from around the world, the USA delegation invited Sharon Cohen to speak. Cohen is a survivor of the October 7 attacks, losing family, friends, and neighbors in her small community of Kibbutz Be’Eri.
Cohen points to names of those murdered on October 7 written in Hebrew on a memorial in the Buenos Aires Convention Center. Some of which, Cohen knew personally.
Cohen stands in front of a poster identifying the hostages kept in Gaza as of December 2023.
The USA delegation's girls' soccer team dominated their games, going undefeated in the 2024 European Maccabi Youth Games in London.
The USA girls' soccer team celebrates a win in London.
USA tennis player Jacob Solomon slices the ball with his backhand shot during the Youth Games.
The 2024 European Youth Games invited delegations from around the world, including Austria, to celebrate their Judaism and love for sports.
Some teams meet for the first time during the Maccabi Games, but still form lasting connections through playing together on the field, and fostering friendship after games.
