PHILADELPHIA, Penn. – The Maccabi World Union (MWU), the world’s only International Jewish & Sports organization, announced that the 21st Maccabiah Games have been officially moved to Summer 2022 due to the pandemic-related postponement of the Olympic Games in Tokyo to Summer 2021. The 21st Maccabiah Games will now be held in July 12-26, 2022 in Israel. Maccabi USA’s experiential Israel education program, Israel Connect, will begin July 6, 2022 and lead into the official start of the Maccabiah. 

The first Maccabiah was held in in Ramat Gan, Israel in 1932 with 390 athletes from 18 countries taking part. Traditionally held every four years, interrupted only by the Second World War, by 2017 the Games had grown to include nearly 10,000 Jewish athletes from more than 75 countries competing in 40 sports. The Maccabiah Games are now the third largest international sporting event in the world following only the Olympics and the FIFA World Cup. The Maccabi USA delegation to the 20th Maccabiah in the summer of 2017 numbered 1,131 members, the largest traveling delegation in the history of international multi-sport competitions.  

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