Maccabiah Games

The Maccabiah Games (Hebrew: משחקי המכביה, or משחקי המכביה העולמית; sometimes referred to as the "Jewish Olympics") is an international multi-sport event with summer and winter sports competitions featuring Jews and Israeli regardless of religion. Held every four years in Israel, the Maccabiah Games is considered the foremost sports competition for global Jewry.

With over 10,000 competing athletes, the Maccabiah Games is the third-largest sporting event in the world by number of competitors, behind the Olympics and the FIFA World Cup.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] The Maccabiah Games were declared a "Regional Sports Event" by, and under the auspices and supervision of, the International Olympic Committee in 1961.[8][9][10]

Organized by the Maccabi World Union the first games were held in 1932.[11][12][13]

  1. ^ "Levine inducted into Jewish sports hall as Maccabiah athletes feted at JC," Archived July 29, 2017, at the Wayback Machine Ottawa Sun.
  2. ^ "80 N.J. athletes head to Maccabiah Games in Israel, world's third-largest sporting event". NJ.com. July 16, 2013. Archived from the original on March 27, 2015.
  3. ^ Aharoni, Oren (July 16, 2013). "Biggest Maccabiah ever begins Thursday". Ynet News. Archived from the original on February 25, 2014. Retrieved February 20, 2014.
  4. ^ Silverman, Anav (July 22, 2013). "Maccabiah Games: Uniting Jewish Athletes Across the World". The Huffington Post. Archived from the original on October 25, 2013. Retrieved February 20, 2014.
  5. ^ "Amar'e Stoudemire to Revisit Israel as a Maccabi Coach," Archived December 20, 2016, at the Wayback Machine The New York Times.
  6. ^ "Records Fall Before Maccabiah Games Even Begin; U.S. squad is largest ever in what officials say is 'a life-changing experience'," Archived July 2, 2017, at the Wayback Machine Jewish Week.
  7. ^ "Maccabiah Games Welcome 9,000 Athletes – Christian News 24–7 – CBN.com". cbn.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved May 4, 2018.
  8. ^ Helen Jefferson Lenskyj (2012). Gender Politics and the Olympic Industry. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 9781137291158.
  9. ^ Bard and Schwartz, p. 84.
  10. ^ "History of the Maccabiah Games". Maccabi Australia. Archived from the original on February 24, 2014. Retrieved February 16, 2014.
  11. ^ "About Us – Maccabiah". Maccabiah. Archived from the original on March 29, 2014. Retrieved February 16, 2014.
  12. ^ Nauright, p. 364.
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference Haaretz1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).