Maccabiah Games In Israel Postponed To 2026

The signature sporting event for Jewish athletes around the world is being postponed a year.

The Maccabiah Games, held every four years, will now be staged in 2026 instead of this summer due to the conflict between Israel and Iran.

Known commonly as the “Jewish Olympics,” the Maccabiah Games bring together Jewish and Israeli athletes from countries around the world for a sporting event held throughout Israel.

It is the second-largest international multi-sport event.

This year’s event was supposed to officially start on July 8, with preliminary events scheduled earlier in July. Roughly 10,000 athletes from 80 countries were expected to participate.

“Despite our strong desire to hold the Maccabiah in the summer of 2025 as a symbol of hope, we are forced to postpone it due to the complex security situation created by the attack on Iran, the instructions of the Home Front Command, the continued suspension of flights to Israel, and the necessary security measures required of all of us,” Maccabiah’s chair, Assaf Goren, said in a statement. “Together with the Ministry of Culture and Sports, and after considering several alternatives, we realized that although we are almost at the starting line, the most prudent step from a security, safety, and logistical perspective is to postpone the event by a year to a quieter and safer time.”

The Games were also postponed from 2021 to 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

There are Junior, Open and Masters swimming competitions at the Games.

The United States U16 swimming team was supposed to be led by head coach Zachary Lebovic, an assistant coach at Princeton University, and assistant coach Marlene Bruten, a former Olympic swimmer for Mexico.

The Open Swimming team was going to be led by head coach Adam Epstein, the head coach at Keiser University, and assistant coach Kelly Fertel,  an assistant coach at the University of South Carolina. The Masters team was going to be led by team chair and captain, Miriam Leitko.