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Israel, Summer 2026

Medal of Honor

Dan Kurtz

Click below to visit “Kurtz’s Corner” – a weekly journal entry started by Dan Kurtz, Maccabi USA’s Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives, immediately after the October 7th terrorist attack in Israel.

Be sure to check out “Shlicha Stories” featuring weekly insights, perspectives and heartfelt thoughts from Maccabi USA’s Shlicha (“Emissary”) Lior Witlin. 

Lior Witlin pix
OUR MISSION

Maccabi USA builds Jewish pride through sports and promotes support for Israel, Zionism, and Jewish continuity through athletic, educational, and cultural experiences for participants of all ages.

OUR VISION

Maccabi USA envisions a world where sports serve as a galvanizing force in strengthening Jewish pride, connection, and community.

OUR VALUES
OUR IMPACT

In Their Own Words

Maccabi USA strengthens connections to Jewish identity, community, and Israel. But don’t just take our word for it. Let our athletes, coaches, and staff tell you how the Maccabiah impacted their journeys.

2025 YEAR IN REVIEW

Enjoy a look back at the impactful events, programming and celebrations enjoyed by Maccabi USA members in 2025.

STUART WEITZMAN
SCHOLARSHIP FUND

Generations of young Jewish athletes in financial need can now enjoy a life-changing Maccabiah experience thanks to iconic shoe designer and 4-time Maccabi USA Table Tennis alum, Stuart Weitzman. Maccabi USA’s flag bearer at the 21st Maccabiah provided a matching gift of $4.5M that spurred $2.5M in additional donations and is the largest gift in the organization’s history. Please enjoy our tribute to Stuart!

Stay Up To Date With Our Social Media

Congrats to 2026 Maccabiah U17 soccer player and Maccabi Cup participant @nessimjena32 on making his professional debut with @intermiamicfii

A true reflection of the work athletes put in beyond the Games. We had a front row seat this past winter at Maccabi Cup watching him and other ...rising talent compete.

The Maccabi community is behind you all the way, Nessim!

Fraternal twins, Eliana and Alexandra, 18, often joke that between the two of them, they could be an entire track team.

Eliana’s primary focus is on mid-distance running, while Alexandra recently completed a pentathlon, an event composed of high jump, long jump, shot put, 100-meter ...hurdles, and an 800-meter run.

Maccabi Media’s Ari Wohl’s article focuses on this powerful duo and how they stay so in sync on and off the track!

Read the full article via our bio ⤴️

At 80 years young, Carol Klenfner holds more than 50 medals in Ping Pong, including a gold from the 2023 National Senior Games.

Her inspiration? A documentary on Ping Pong, and a harbored competitive streak.

Maccabi Media’s @michaelliebermann01 talks to carolklenfner_ about ...what keeps her young in mind, body and spirit.

Read the article via our link in bio 🏓 ⤴️

Meet Jacquie Pierri @jpierri, a defenseman for the Open Women’s Ice Hockey team and first-generation American.

With a rich family legacy with roots in Sudan, Israel, Italy (and now in New Jersey), Pierri reflects on her time at the Milan Olympics and now gearing up for Israel, both in ...honor of her heritage, and in memory of her dad, who also played hockey.  

Maccabi Team's Will Hopkins and Pierri talk hockey, Zionism, and carrying on a loved one’s legacy.

“Sometimes I feel like sports are like the one thing left that can bring people together,” says Pierri.

Read the full article via our link in bio ⤴️

Maccabi Team Member Will Hopkins is the play-by-play voice for several sports at Division III @emoryuniversity in Atlanta. He also helps out behind the scenes for radio station @680thefan, the flagship station of the @braves.

This Yom Ha’atzmaut, we celebrate more than Israel’s independence. We celebrate connection, identity, and pride that spans generations and borders. 🇮🇱

At Maccabi USA, every game played, every athlete united, and every moment shared strengthens the bond between Jewish communities ...around the world and the State of Israel. Through sport, we don’t just compete, we connect. We build Jewish pride and ensure Jewish continuity for generations to come.

Today, we honor Israel and promise to keep building its future, together.

What happens when the game you’ve built your life around suddenly ends?

Olivia Gott’s transition out of collegiate softball at the University of Virginia @uva was abrupt and disorienting, leaving her grappling with a loss of identity, routine, and purpose.

From the highs of ...winning gold with Team Israel to the quiet struggle of losing her athletic identity, her journey didn’t stop when she left the field...it evolved.

Now a mental health therapist for athletes, Gott is helping others face the same pressures, doubts, and transitions she once did.

With Mental Health Awareness Month right around the corner (May) Gott’s story is a powerful reminder that life after sports isn’t the end of a story, but the start of a new chapter.

Head to our link in bio to read the article by Maccabi Media Team’s @matthewgoodmann covering this great story.

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