March 28, 1932
The first Maccabiah Games, an international Jewish Olympics, begin in Tel Aviv. A total of 390 Jewish athletes from 18 countries (some sources say 14 or 21) participate.
The mayor of Tel Aviv, Meir Dizengoff, opens the games by riding through the streets on a white horse. At the opening ceremony, 120 carrier pigeons (10 for each of the 12 tribes of Israel) are released to send the world news of the Maccabiah Games.
The games are the culmination of a growing movement of Zionist sports clubs that began in the late 19th century in Europe and spread after the Fifth Zionist Congress, where Max Nordau coined the phrase Muskle Judentum (“Muscle Judaism”). By the Sixth Zionist Congress in 1903, an international federation of Zionist sports clubs was established; it would become the Maccabi World Organization. In 1930 the organization had approximately 40,000 members in 24 countries. An emphasis on physical education became a key motivator for many young Jews to become involved in the Zionist cause.
Like the Olympics, the games are held every four years in Israel. In the summer of 2013, the 19th Maccabiah Games involve 9,000 athletes. The Maccabiah Games are the third-largest sporting event in the world, after the Olympics and the FIFA World Cup.
