Kurtz’s Corner
Welcome to “Kurtz’s Corner” – a weekly journal entry started by Dan Kurtz immediately after the October 7th terrorist attack in Israel. Dan joined Maccabi USA’s professional staff in 2016 and is now the organization’s Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives. Before joining MUSA, Dan pursued a career in education, serving as an administrator in public and charter schools in Philadelphia. He received dual Bachelor degrees from the University of Delaware in Art History and Art Conservation, a Masters degree in Art Conservation from Buffalo State College, a Masters degree in Education from Arcadia University and a School Leadership & Principal certification from the University of Pennsylvania.
December 13, 2024 – Read the full post HERE.
Jerusalem is an integral part of our identity as a People. It is ethnically, culturally, and spiritually the center of our world and following the destruction of the Second Temple and exile to the diaspora in 70 CE, returning to Jerusalem has been part of our songs, our prayers, and our ritual. No matter where we are in the world, we turn towards Jerusalem to pray and in America our religious spaces are even designed so that we face Jerusalem during devotions.
December 6, 2024 – Read the full post HERE.
Taking place in Israel on a four-year, Olympic-style cycle, the Maccabiah is the single largest gathering of Diaspora Jewry, and M25 this coming July takes on even more significance as it will also represent the largest gathering of the Global Jewish People in Israel since the horrors of October 7th.
November 22, 2024 – Read the full post HERE.
It is a tradition for many American families celebrating Thanksgiving to each express the things for which they are thankful before beginning the holiday meal. This year, for the Jewish People, it might seem difficult to find many reasons to give thanks; and yet gratitude, regardless of circumstances, is at the very core of our Jewish soul and is, in many ways, the secret to our People’s resilience and ability to overcome the tribulations of our history.
November 15, 2024 – Read the full post HERE.
Each of us has a role to play in ensuring not just the future of our People but the now for our Community. Stand tall, proud to be Jewish, resolute in our values, and dedicated to our ideals. Every act of faith, each show of strength, any deed of generosity, and all words of support is a manifestation of our commitment to rise to the moment.
November 8, 2024 – Read the full post HERE.
This week marked a somber anniversary for the State of Israel – the November 4th, 1995, assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin by a radical ultranationalist Israeli law student at the conclusion of a rally held at Tel Aviv City Hall in support of the Oslo Accords and ongoing peace process. The nation was devastated by the loss of its leader, even more so at the reality that it was the result of political disagreement and at the hands of a fellow Jew.
November 1, 2024 – Read the full post HERE.
Now, in the aftermath of October 7th and the most difficult year for the Jewish People since the end of World War II, in the face of ever-increasing rhetoric and violence against the American Jewish Community, Maccabi USA is preparing to bring the largest delegation ever to the coming Maccabiah in July 2025, all of whom will proudly represent the American Jewish community, connecting our People’s past to its bright future.
October 23, 2024 – Read the full post HERE.
Now, in the aftermath of the horrors of October 7th and, in particular the attack on the NOVA music festival where more than 380 young Israelis were murdered and dozens taken hostage, dance has again become a rallying cry for our People. In fact, the message We will Dance Again has become an expression of defiance and resilience.
October 10, 2024 – Read the full post HERE.
In this moment we are called upon to not only repent for our own sins, but to forgive those who have committed sins against us, to ensure that we are sealed in the Book of Life. In fact, our penitence cannot be complete without granting such pardon.
September 27, 2024 – Read the full post HERE.
There is truly a sense of awe and uncertainty in the coming Chagim (Holidays), and, in our observance, we have an opportunity and the responsibility to embrace hope and to recommit ourselves to be our best, to live our Jewish values, and to bring goodness to the coming year.
September 20, 2024 – Read the full post HERE.
What occurred on October 7th and its repercussions are also a clear reminder of the critical relationship between Israel and the Jews of the diaspora. In particular, the value of the importance of the synergetic connectedness between Israelis and American Jews had seemingly diminished.
September 13, 2024 – Read the full post HERE.
Today, the hope of Oslo and the vision of peace it offered seem farther away than ever. The ongoing war against Hamas, tens of thousands dead and injured, terror attacks and retaliation in the West Bank, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and other Iranian proxies attacking continuously, and a lack of ability to reach agreement to reach even a temporary ceasefire to ensure the return of 101 hostages held in tunnels below Gaza, all contribute to an understandable sense of despair for many.
September 6, 2024 – Read the full post HERE.
Today 101 hostages, 7 of them American, remain hidden in the terrorist’s tunnels. We can no longer delay and there is no time to waste. No more parents should bury children and no more families irreparably broken.
August 30, 2024 – Read the full post HERE.
Let there be a full and final end to the war in Gaza and the conflicts with Iran and its proxies. Return the brave women and men of the IDF safely and Bring Our Hostages Home. May we find rest from our enemies and let the people of Israel dwell in our land securely.
August 23, 2024 – Read the full post HERE.
For centuries, after the exile from our native land, the Jewish People lived in a diaspora, longing to return home. As the 20th Century dawned, the Zionist movement grew and the cause of a Jewish Homeland advanced. At the forefront of this movement was Theodore Herzl, Chair of the first World Zionist Congress.
August 16, 2024 – Read the full post HERE.
This past week from sundown Monday through sundown Tuesday was the observance of Tisha Ba’Av (the 9th day of the month of Av). The most solemn day of the Jewish year, Tisha Ba’Av is a day to mourn numerous significant tragedies that befell the Jewish People over the course of our existence on or about the 9th of Av.
August 9, 2024 – Read the full post HERE.
Building Jewish Pride Through Sports, the Maccabi USA tagline, reflects the sense of great joy and fulfillment in each of us when a member of the Jewish People excels athletically, especially on the global stage.
August 2, 2024 – Read the full post HERE.
The European Maccabi Youth Games have been an amazingly energetic show of national pride…It is an energizing and special environment representing the global Maccabi spirit of sports excellence!
July 25, 2024 – Read the full post HERE.
The Maccabiah is the ultimate representation of Jewish sports, with over 10,000 athletes from more than 70 countries coming together to compete under the banner of our global Maccabi Movement.
July 19, 2024 – Read the full post HERE.
Did you know that on July 18, 1290, King Edward I of England issued the ‘Edict of Expulsion’ formally expelling and permanently banning all Jews from England? … In the years since their return, the Jewish community has reestablished itself as a vibrant, thriving, and integral part of life in the United Kingdom.
July 12, 2024 – Read the full post HERE.
On Friday July 26th, in an Olympic first, the Opening Ceremony for the Paris 2024 Games will not take place inside of a stadium; instead, the celebration will be held in the heart of the city along the river Seine. When the parade of nations begins along this historic route, the Israeli delegation will be led by two flag bearers, judoka Peter Paltchik and swimmer Andrea ‘Andi’ Murez both immigrants to Israel.
July 5, 2024 – Read the full post HERE.
No matter the county you call home, as a Jew, Israel is your homeland. More than tradition and history, this was established as a matter of law for Jews living anywhere in the diaspora on July 5, 1950 – exactly 74 years ago today – when the Knesset passed the Law of Return, granting every Jew in the world the right to settle in Israel.
June 28, 2024 – Read the full post HERE.
Thursday is the 4th of July, the celebration of the ‘Birth of America’ nearly 250 years ago. On this day we commemorate the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia in 1776 with parties, parades, and fireworks. More than just a political statement, the Declaration was based on our core values and established the foundation for the United States as a thriving democracy and world leader.
June 21, 2024 – Read the full post HERE.
Maccabi USA uses sports as an entry point to build Jewish identity and connection to Israel. We celebrate the accomplishments of American Jewish athletes and have great pride in the athletic accomplishments of our Israeli brothers and sisters.
June 14, 2024 – Read the full post HERE.
June 14, 1942: “I hope I will be able to confide everything to you, as I have never been able to confide in anyone, and I hope you will be a great source of comfort and support.”
Just days after her 13th birthday, 82 years ago today, Anne Frank made this first entry in her now famous diary.
June 7, 2024 – Read the full post HERE.
Shavuot, observed seven weeks after Passover (this year beginning sundown June 11th and ending sundown June 13th), marks a seminal moment for the Jewish People – the giving of the Torah to the Israeli Nation at Mount Sinai.
Please click HERE to read Dan’s archived posts since October 2023.