Members of Maccabi GB’s medal-winning Delegation came together for the
first time since the 19th Maccabiah Games last night during a special reception hosted by Israel’s Ambassador to Britain, Daniel Taub, and his wife Zahava.
The evening, which was held at the Ambassador’s residence, was in celebration of all of Team GB’s achievements over this past summer in Israel where the Delegation won 31 medals. 80 select members of the Junior Squad were asked to attend – specifically Gold Medal-winning athletes, squads and some multiple-medal winners - plus the Maccabi GB Management Team. The athletes attended in full Maccabi GB 19th Maccabiah Games kit, sporting their respective medals.
Speaking about Maccabi GB’s performance in Israel and his reasons for hosting the event, Ambassador Taub said, “The Maccabiah Games has been a remarkable celebration of Jewish sporting achievement for 81 years. Following the Olympics in London [in 2012] was always going to be difficult, but Team GB's achievements were truly something for the whole of the UK’s Jewish Community to be proud of.”
Maccabi GB Chairman, Michael Ziff, added, “Our athletes did an incredible job representing British Jewry in Israel this summer so to have the Ambassador invite them to this reception shows how proud they have made everyone. Maccabi GB strives for members of our Community – and in this instance, Team GB - to identify with their Jewishness and to play a pivotal part in that review process. It does not mean everyone has to be religious, but it does mean we should be able to stand proud as Jews and understand the importance of our peoples’ continuity. As Maccabi GB, we acknowledge and accept that we have a critical part to play in spreading the message of how special it is to be Jewish in the UK and in Israel”
He continued, “The Maccabi Movement uses Sport to reach out to almost a half a million Jews worldwide many who would not be engaged in anything Jewish and, once inside our events, we aim to informally educate about what it means to be Jewish and how important it is to stay inside our Jewish world. The medals we won, the lifelong friendships and the thousands of memories we all made at the19th Maccabiah Games are a vital cog in our Jewish Journey. I would like to thank the Ambassador for inviting us and for their continued help and support of Maccabi Great Britain.”
For more information on the Maccabi GB please visit www.maccabigb.org or call 0208 457 2333.