The Medal of Honor is awarded to extraordinary individuals whose
commitment has shaped and strengthened our Maccabi USA community.
Our inaugural 2025 class will be honored on December 14th in Philadelphia to
celebrate their legacy and inspire future generations of volunteers and leaders.
2025 MEDAL OF HONOR RECIPIENTS
“Receiving the Medal of Honor is a great achievement. It’s a great honor to have.”
DEBBIE ADAMS
“The opportunity to be participating in Jewish activities is wonderful through Maccabi [USA] through so many people you meet and so many things it does to change athletes’ lives.”
SIMON ATLAS
“If you ask me what my favorite Maccabi USA memory is I’ll tell you I don’t have one.
I have hundreds.”
DR. MARC BACKAL
“I’d like to be remembered by the organization as someone who was sincerely devoted to our mission of bringing Jewish pride and connection using sports as the vehicle.”
LELAND FAUST
“I want the future of Maccabi USA to continue and to grow and to have a positive effect on the Jewish people. We’ve always been there when there’s a need and I think we have to continue to develop that.“
BARRY GURLAND
Joel Magerman: “My mother always had this incredibly strong Zionist mindset…and I know that it was literally a life-changing event for her to go to Israel for the first time and the first time was a result of the Maccabiah Games.
PHYLLIS MAGERMAN (Z”L)
“If there is one organization that we have devoted our efforts, our time and money to it’s Maccabi USA because I believe in it.“
TONJA MAGERMAN
“It’s not just about the sports. It’s about connecting people to one another, to the worldwide Jewish community and to Israel.“
JED MARGOLIS
“Maccabi USA does an awful lot for the Jewish youth and the Jewish adults by taking them to Israel and being part of the Games and I’m so happy that my own family has been part of that and cherishes that as well.”
LOU MOYERMAN
“I think what makes the organization so unique and special is regardless of your involvement in Judaism – as long as you have some – it brings you along in an equal way. It was a sense of connection.”
BRIAN ROBERTS
“As I came to Israel and they sang Hatikvah a wave came over me and I realized how significant and important it was to be in Maccabiah and to come to Israel to compete.”
SAM SPORN
“I’m not the guy who writes a check and disappears. If I write a check I get involved and that’s because I had been involved in seeing the benefit of such an organization like Maccabi [USA].“
STUART WEITZMAN
Maccabi USA’s ten previous Yakir Award winners will also receive the Medal of Honor
at our inaugural ceremony on December 14, 2025.