2026 Maccabiah Games Stifled by Ongoing War

For the second time this decade, the Maccabiah Games (aka, the Jewish Olympic Games) have not proceeded as originally planned.

In 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic prompted a one-year postponement of the Maccabiah Games. Four years later, in summer 2025, nearly 8,000 Jewish athletes across 55 nations were readying to partake in the “Jewish Olympics” when Israel and Iran suddenly became embroiled in a conflict. Within days, Israeli airspace was essentially closed and Maccabiah organizers, upon concluding that it wasn’t possible to welcome thousands of Jewish athletes to Israel under a state of emergency, quickly pivoted to summer 2026.

Indeed, the 22nd edition of the Maccabiah Games did unfold in Israel earlier this month, representing the largest gathering of the international Jewish community in Israel since the Oct. 7 attacks. Notably, however, this year’s Maccabiah Games, whose slogan is — “Same values. Same vision. Just a little more time,” — only involves approximately 5,000 participants — a sharp decrease from the aforementioned expected turnout last summer as well as the 2022 attendance figure, which eclipsed 10,000. Surely, the ongoing fragile geopolitical situation in the Middle East factored into the lower-than-expected attendance with some countries hesitating to send their respective delegations, including Australia, which had initially canceled its delegation before reversing its decision.

“We were sure that things would be much better by now,” Roy Hessing, Maccabiah’s chief executive, said before the games got underway. “The only really good thing that has happened since then is that all the hostages are back.”

Nevertheless, the U.S. and Israel, per tradition, still had robust representations at the quadrennial sporting festival that first came into existence in Tel Aviv in March 1932. Nearly 2,000 Israelis and 900 Americans — athletes ranging from young teens to seniors in their late eighties and Paralympians — competed in more than a couple dozen different sports at gymnasiums and athletic centers throughout Tel Aviv, Herzliya, Ramat Gan, and Jerusalem. Meanwhile, the 2026 Maccabiah Games transcended athletics as there were ample opportunities to engage in Judaic culture, including an Olympic Village-style festival in Tel Aviv, visits to the Western Wall, and tours to the sites of the Oct. 7 massacre where many survivors still reside.

“I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say these games are the most meaningful in a generation,” remarked Marshall Einhorn, CEO of the U.S. delegation to the Maccabiah Games, just before all the action started. “After everything that Israel and the global Jewish community have gone through since Oct. 7, 2023, this will be the largest gathering of world Jewry since then, and it is going to be very special.”

Team USA was brimming with geographic diversity as major metropolitan areas such as New York City and Los Angeles were naturally well represented, but so, too, were far lesser-known rural communities like Marfa, Texas, and Laramie, Wyo. Perhaps one reason that there was exceptional geographic diversity was the newly created Under-15 division, which Maccabi World Union initiated after the postponement of last summer’s Games.

Atlanta, of course, also made its presence known with a sizable contingent of talented and dedicated amateur athletes, including Roswell’s Danya Naturman, who just graduated from The Weber School (U19 Boys’ Baseball); Midtown High’s Gevah Schwartz (U15 Boys’ Basketball); Pace Academy’s Jill Agami (U17 Girls’ Basketball); and Riverwood High’s Maya Nebel (U17 Girls’ Soccer).

As is tradition, this year’s Maccabiah Games were truly a global showcase of Jewish athletic talents. Austria, which has been represented at every single Maccabiah Games, was once again in attendance. Hungary’s team was highlighted by a remarkable 87-year-old Holocaust survivor. Cuba had a 51-member strong outfit present. India, despite having a microscopic Jewish population (approximately 4,000 out of 1.4 billion citizens) was represented, as was Mexico, which sent a whopping 353 athletes. And for the first time in Maccabiah history, Taiwan was on hand.

The vibrant international flavor of the Games was on full display at the sold-out opening ceremony at Jerusalem’s Teddy Stadium on July 1. The artistically stunning spectacle showcased performances by Israeli pop star Anna Zak, Israeli musician Idan Raichel, and American singer, actress, and influencer Montana Tucker, who debuted her new tune, “We’re Not Strangers.” One of the ceremony’s finest moments was the Maccabiah flame being lit jointly by Paralympic taekwondo champion Asaf Yasur and Olympic judo silver medalist Inbar Lanir.

The evening, however, also took on a more somber tone when a pre-recorded video message from former hostage Edan Alexander, who recently resumed his IDF service, was broadcast. There was also the powerful Maccabiah flag-toting procession of relatives of the 12 Druze children murdered in the 2024 Hezbollah rocket attack on Majdal Shams and a torch procession spearheaded by Evyatar Zeituni, an IDF Paratroopers Brigade officer who was gravely injured on Oct. 7.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion gave brief speeches designed to resonate with both their countrymen and the legions of visitors from abroad.

“Through this difficult war, we have proven that despite the pain, we can find the challenge in every crisis,” Herzog said. “This sports celebration is a demonstration of Jewish power that conveys an unequivocal message of joint responsibility and determination to the people of Israel and the entire world.”