The 11th Maccabiah Games brought 3,450 athletes to Israel from 35 nations. The Opening Ceremony was held on July 7, 1981, before a crowd of 53,000 and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin in Ramat Gan Stadium, with 3,500 Jewish athletes parading past him. Representative Jack Kemp and a supporter of Israel, marched with the United States team. Israel won the most medals (199), with 65 gold. The United States won 188 medals, 85 gold. South Africa, Britain, and Canada had the next-most total medals.
1981 Maccabiah Games
Israeli high jumping champion Gideon Harmat at the Games.
The Maccabiah Games, first held in 1932, are an international Jewish and Israeli multi-sport event held quadrennially in Israel. The Maccabiah Games are open to Jewish athletes from around the world, and to all Israeli citizens regardless of their religion. It is the third-largest sporting event in the world by number of competitors, with 10,000 athletes competing. The Maccabiah Games were declared a "Regional Sports Event" by, and under the auspices and supervision of, the International Olympic Committee in 1961.
First Maccabiah Games
Delegations in the streets of Tel Aviv during the parade of the 1st Maccabiah.
US President Joe Biden, together with President Issac Herzog and Prime Minister Yair Lapid, at the Opening Ceremonies of the 2022 Maccabiah Games.
Bronze medal from the winter games in Banska Bystrica, 1936, in the Jewish Museum of Switzerland's collection.
