1950 Maccabiah Games
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The 3rd Maccabiah () took place during
Sukkot Sukkot, also known as the Feast of Tabernacles or Feast of Booths, is a Torah-commanded Jewish holiday celebrated for seven days, beginning on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei. It is one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals on which Israelite ...
from September 27 to October 8, 1950, with 17 countries competing. It was the third edition of the
Maccabiah Games The Maccabiah Games (, or משחקי המכביה העולמית; sometimes referred to as the "Jewish Olympics") is an international multi-sport event with summer and winter sports competitions featuring Jews and Israelis regardless of religion ...
and the first held since the independence of the
State of Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
; 15 years after the previous Maccabiah. Israel won the 1950 Maccabiah Games, Great Britain was second, South Africa third, the United States fourth, Canada fifth, and Austria sixth.


History

The 3rd Maccabiah was originally scheduled to take place three years after the
2nd Maccabiah The 2nd Maccabiah (), aka the Aliyah Olympics, which was held in April 1935, was the second edition of the Maccabiah Games. The Games were held despite official opposition by the Mandatory Palestine, British Mandatory government. A total of 28 coun ...
in Spring of 1931. Preparations began; posters were created; and distinguished guests such as the Chief Rabbi of Romanian Jewry, Jacob Itzhak Niemirower came to Eretz Yisrael. However, for a number of reasons, such as the British Authorities' refusal to approve the games (due to illegal immigration concerns) and the
Arab revolt The Arab Revolt ( ), also known as the Great Arab Revolt ( ), was an armed uprising by the Hashemite-led Arabs of the Hejaz against the Ottoman Empire amidst the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I. On the basis of the McMahon–Hussein Co ...
, the games were postponed indefinitely. The Maccabiah was further delayed due to
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
and the
1947–1949 Palestine war The 1948 Palestine war was fought in the territory of what had been, at the start of the war, British-ruled Mandatory Palestine. During the war, the British withdrew from Palestine, Zionism, Zionist forces conquered territory and established ...
. The final date for the third Maccabiah was decided upon at the ''Third World Congress of Maccabi'' in December 1948, during the
war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...
. At the same meeting it was also agreed that games will not be held on Saturdays and holidays. The 16-day Games opened at a new stadium in
Ramat Gan Ramat Gan (, ) is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel, located east of the municipality of Tel Aviv, and is part of the Gush Dan, Gush Dan metropolitan area. It is home to a Diamond Exchange District (one of the world's major diamond exch ...
, with the ceremony attended by a crowd of 30,000, and athletes parading before Acting President
Yosef Sprinzak Yosef Sprinzak (; ) was a leading Zionist activist in the first half of the 20th century, an Israeli politician, and the first Speaker of the Knesset, a role he held from 1949 until his death in 1959. Biography Yosef Sprinzak was born in Moscow, ...
and other dignitaries.


Notable competitors

Gold medals were earned by Americans
Henry Wittenberg Henry Wittenberg (September 18, 1918 – March 9, 2010) was an American New York police officer, coach, competitor and Olympic champion in freestyle wrestling.Obituary ''Los Angeles Times'', March 12, 2010. He won two Olympic medals in freestyl ...
(an Olympic light heavyweight champion) in heavyweight freestyle wrestling, and
Frank Spellman Frank Isaac Spellman (September 17, 1922 – January 12, 2017) was an American machinist and photographer and a middleweight Olympic champion weightlifter. He won a gold medal at the 1948 Olympics, and a bronze medal and a silver medal at the W ...
(who two years earlier had won a gold medal at the Olympics) in weightlifting. Former world champion
Fred Oberlander Fred Oberlander (23 May 1911 – 6 July 1996) was an Austrian, British, and Canadian wrestler. He was born in Vienna, Austria. He won the World Championships in 1935. Oberlander was offered a chance to compete for Austria at the 1936 Summ ...
of Canada won the silver medal in heavyweight wrestling, unable to compete in the finals due to illness.
León Genuth León Genuth Hejt (5 August 1931 – 10 March 2022) was an Argentine amateur wrestling, wrestler. He competed in the Wrestling at the 1952 Summer Olympics – Men's freestyle middleweight, men's freestyle middleweight at the 1952 Summer Olym ...
of Argentina, who competed in the Olympics two years later, won the middleweight wrestling gold medal. Max Ordman of South Africa, a future Olympian, won the light heavyweight wrestling gold medal. Olympian
Henry Laskau Helmut ("Henry") Laskau (September 12, 1916 – May 7, 2000) has been called the greatest racewalker in U.S. track and field history. Born in Berlin, Germany Laskau was a top distance runner in his native Germany, before being forced to leav ...
(national champion and world record holder) won a gold medal for the U.S. in racewalking at 3,000 m, as former Olympian Irving Mondschein coached the U.S. track and field team. In swimming, Olympian
Zsuzsa Nádor Zsuzsa Nádor (19 September 1927 – 14 April 2015) was a Hungarian swimmer. She competed in the women's 100 metre freestyle at the 1948 Summer Olympics. At the 1950 Maccabiah Games, representing Great Britain, she won gold medals in the ...
representing Great Britain (whereas she had represented Hungary at the Olympics) won gold medals in the 100 m back, the 100 m crawl, and the 400 m freestyle. In fencing, Great Britain's
Allan Jay Allan Louis Neville Jay MBE (30 June 1931 – 5 March 2023) was a British five-time-Olympian foil and épée fencer, and world champion. Early life Jay was born in London, England, and was Jewish. His father died fighting in World War II in ...
, future Olympic silver medalist, won the epee gold medal. Three-time
Pan American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...
gold medalists
Allan Kwartler Allan S. Kwartler (nicknamed "Doc"; September 10, 1917 – November 11, 1998), born in New York City, was an American sabre and foil fencer. He was Pan-American sabre champion, 3-time Olympian, and twice a member of sabre teams that earned ...
(in sabre) and
Daniel Bukantz Daniel Bukantz (December 4, 1917 – July 26, 2008) was an American four-time individual United States national foil fencing champion, Maccabiah Games individual foil champion, four-time Olympic fencer, fencing referee, and a dentist. He has bee ...
(foil) won medals in fencing, with Bukantz defeating Kwartler for the foil championship in a score of 5-4.
Ralph Cooperman Arnold Ralph Cooperman (16 November 1927 – 22 March 2009) was a British three-time Olympic foil and sabre fencing, fencer. Personal life Cooperman was born in Stoke Newington, England, and was Jewish. Fencing career He won the British ju ...
was a medalist for Great Britain in fencing. Kwartler won the gold medal in sabre. Canada earned 14 medals in its first Games.
Ben Helfgott Sir Benjamin Helfgott (22 November 1929 – 16 June 2023) was a Polish-born British Holocaust survivor, Olympian and champion weightlifter. He was one of two Jewish athletes known to have competed in the Olympics after surviving the Holocaust, ...
, a
concentration camp A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...
survivor and later an Olympian, won the weightlifting gold medal in the lightweight class for
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
. U.S. table tennis champion, and world championships bronze medalist, Reba Monness competed. American Olympian
Alex Treves Alessandro Emanuele "Alex" Treves (January 14, 1929 – December 12, 2020) was an Italian-born American Olympic fencer. Treves was born in Torino, Italy, and was Jewish.Bob Wechsler''Day by Day in Jewish Sports History,''/ref>
also competed in fencing.


Participating nations

Israel won the 1950 Maccabiah Games, Great Britain was second, South Africa third, the United States fourth, Canada fifth, and Austria sixth. Seventeen countries competed. Eight countries entered the competition for the first time, among them
Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
and
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
. The number in parentheses indicates the number of participants that country contributed: * * * * * * (1) * * * * * * * (240) * * * (54) * * * * (94) * (43)


References


External links


Summaries of each of the Games
{{Maccabiah Games
Maccabiah Games The Maccabiah Games (, or משחקי המכביה העולמית; sometimes referred to as the "Jewish Olympics") is an international multi-sport event with summer and winter sports competitions featuring Jews and Israelis regardless of religion ...
Maccabiah Games The Maccabiah Games (, or משחקי המכביה העולמית; sometimes referred to as the "Jewish Olympics") is an international multi-sport event with summer and winter sports competitions featuring Jews and Israelis regardless of religion ...
Maccabiah Games Maccabiah Games, 1950
Maccabiah Games The Maccabiah Games (, or משחקי המכביה העולמית; sometimes referred to as the "Jewish Olympics") is an international multi-sport event with summer and winter sports competitions featuring Jews and Israelis regardless of religion ...
Maccabiah Games The Maccabiah Games (, or משחקי המכביה העולמית; sometimes referred to as the "Jewish Olympics") is an international multi-sport event with summer and winter sports competitions featuring Jews and Israelis regardless of religion ...