Dear Chaverim,
About 2 months ago, on the 18th of July the 20th Maccabiah ended. 10,000 participants from 80 countries gathered in Jerusalem and all over Israel. They truly got “two weeks to experience, a lifetime to remember”! It was a great Maccabiah, very well prepared and executed. A BIG TODA RABA to the organizing committee so professionally led by chairman Amir Peled, the team did an outstanding job! An equally BIG TODA RABA to the team from Maccabi World Union offices led by Executive Director Eyal Tiberger, working endless hours to “put everything together”! Thank you so much to the leadership of all the delegations and to all members and friends of Maccabi around the world. Without all of You there would not be a Maccabiah!
It was a special moment when in Jerusalem, the eternal capital of Israel, we had the pleasure to greet all the participants at the Opening ceremony in the presence of both President Rivlin and
Prime Minister Netanyahu. The enthusiasm of the athletes marching spread to all of us in the audience as well as to those watching the broadcast on Israeli TV or over the internet around the world! I hope that all the members of the delegations will bring the enthusiasm and the great feeling of camaraderie with them back home. May these seeds of togetherness, belonging and love for Israel be planted in your Maccabi clubs and may they grow so that in four years you will come together again in the 21st Maccabiah with a stronger and bigger delegation than ever before!
Last year I wrote about hope. I want to repeat that message this year :
The national anthem of Israel is called ” Hatikvah” ! Hatikvah means hope.
I hope that in the New Year to commence the world will be a better place. I hope that the leaders of the world will be firm in their actions to prevent terrorist attacks. That they will open their eyes to the growing wave of antisemitism and do everything in their power to stop this phenomenon! That these leaders will do their utmost to stop all the anti-Israel propaganda that is flourishing in Israel´s neighboring countries as well as all over the world. I hope that the people of Israel will be able to go to sleep in the evening without the ongoing anxiety of ever repeated attacks by rockets or terrorists!
Chaverim, I hope that you all feel it important to participate in the fight against antisemitism and in the fight for Israel´s right to exist! Our solidarity with our Jewish brothers and sisters around the world and with the people of Israel is of utmost importance, together we will be strong and brave!
Within our movement the work, the dedication and commitment to our ideals has continued in all areas of our responsibilities, carrying our Jewish-Zionist flag in 64 countries on 5 continents.
AM ISRAEL CHAI!
The extraordinary efforts and ongoing work in the Maccabi Clubs all over in the T.O.´s with the volunteers and professional teams; these are the cornerstones in the success of our movement.
I send my personal best wishes to all of you, Maccabim, to your families and to the organizations you lead with so much dedication and love. May 5778 bring us all a sweet year filled with love and success and let us all hope for peace and prosperity in the State of Israel and for its People!
I hope to see as many as possible of you at our very important MWU Congress in Israel in May 2018!
Leshana Tovah tikatevu Vetechatemu !
ותחתמותכתבו טובה לשנה
“May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year”.
Chazak Veématz
Leo-Dan Bensky
PRESIDENT; MACCABI WORLD UNION