Written By Tyler Jacobson
According to the schedule, the U18 U.S. Boys’ basketball team was facing Israel on Sunday.
No big thing. It read like just another ordinary game.
But it wasn’t.
The Maccabi Israel squad is extraordinary. Of the 12 players on Israel’s squad, eight have special needs.
“One of our objectives coming here was to show that the special needs children can participate just like everybody else,” Israel coach Daniel Zelenko said. “And not only in the specialized categories, but as part of a tournament like this, and I think it’s just been an amazing experience. It’s worked fantastically.”
This inclusive approach by the Israeli team has earned admiration from its opponents.
“The team knew that Israel came here for a noble cause, right? And when we say, ‘Am Yisrael Chai,’ we really mean it. We want to include everybody. We are one people,” USA head coach Marc Skelton said. “And they’re actually going to push us to rethink who we bring to these games, right? And so I really appreciated what they did, and I’m thankful.”
At the European Maccabi Youth Games, teams typically line up and shake hands before a match. The handshake between the U18 teams at Sunday’s game was a moment that exemplified the spirit of the EMYG. The athletes embraced with hugs as the Israeli team each gifted a player on the USA team a yellow ribbon and a yellow wristband marked “Bring Them Home.”
“It meant a lot to me because it symbolized how we’re competing in these sports. But it’s about something bigger,” USA guard Jonah Drezner said. “And it’s about coming together as a community, and I’m glad that everyone who was on the court today understood that. I was just really happy to be part of it.”
Tom from Haifa, one of the Israeli players with special needs, rated his experience a “10 out of 10.”
“This is [great] to reunite Jews around the world,” he said. “I’ve never [experienced] this activity before and I hope I [get] a second chance to have this beautiful experience.”
Josh Rajunov contributed to this story.
Tyler Jacobson lives outside Philadelphia and recently graduated from the University of Delaware with a Degree in Communications and Media Production. You can follow his work @Tylersj26 on Instagram and here at maccabiusa.com.
Josh Rajunov is from Dallas, Texas, and just completed his freshman year at Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Public Communications. You can follow Josh on all of his socials @Josh_Rajunov32 and connect with him on LinkedIn here.