Written By Sam Prince and Kayla Levine
Day 2 of the European Youth Maccabi Games was about education.
Tuesday morning, the U.S and the Great Britain delegations took a sightseeing tour of London.
In the afternoon, they stopped at the JW3, a Jewish community center, to focus on the core of the Maccabi mission and values. Yvie Feldman of Maccabi Great Britain gave a moving speech about what it means to be Jewish in 2024.
“For the young people, they’re about to have this week of experiences. The social element, it’s going to shape their Jewish identity,” Feldman said.
The delegations broke into small groups and participated in several bonding activities, ranging from simple icebreakers to discussions of moments connecting them as Jewish athletes.
“I hope these games are impactful on them and more than just a sporting event,” said U18 Girls’ Field Hockey coach Danielle Altersitz, who led one of the breakout sessions.
Considering these games are taking place during the war initiated by the Oct. 7 attacks, they are much more than just a competition. For U18 Boys’ Basketball player Aaron Weiss, the games provide a level of solace.
“It kinda felt like a unity of what other teams feel in times like this after such a serious event happened,” Weiss said. “It made me feel comfortable and feel like I’m not alone in this situation.”
Tuesday night, the athletes gathered for the Opening Celebration. Comedian Zach Margs hosted the event, which was highlighted by Jewish speaker Lord-Lieutenant Robert Voss, who read a message from King Charles lll, and Molly Lane’s beautiful rendition of Hatikvah.
The teams representing the 14 participating countries walked out with each other to represent not only their country but Judaism as a whole. They each walked to different music, had different celebrations, and had a flag bearer waving their nation’s flag.
The games begin Wednesday morning, but the competition started before the Opening Celebration, as the athletes joined together for an impromptu riff off of sorts, each trying to top the other with patriotic chants and anthems.
‘I’m very excited for the chase for gold,” U18 Boys’ Tennis player Joshua Marx said.
Sam Prince lives outside of New York City and is currently a rising Junior at Rowan University with a dual major studying Journalism and Sports Communications and Media. You can follow his work @samtheprince14 on Instagram and here at maccabiusa.com
Kayla Levine is a native of Bucks County Pennsylvania, and is currently a rising junior at Temple University studying Journalism, you can follow her work @kaylalevine_ on instagram and here at maccabiusa.com