Opening Ceremony
Pre-Show
Welcome and Introduction of Emcees
Parade of Athletes
Partnership Video
National Anthems Commemorations
Midot Value Video
Oath
Lighting of the Torch
The 2024 Deroit JCC Maccabi Games® is hosted by the Jewish Community Center of Metropolitan Detroit
The Games are sponsored by the JCC Association of North America, Maccabi Canada, Maccabi USA Sports of Israel and Maccabi World Union.
Shalom Chaverim,
Welcome to Detroit! We are so proud to host the JCC Maccabi Games® for the seventh time in our extraordinary city. This year, we are thrilled to welcome delegations from around the world, including athletes from Israel, Mexico, Ukraine, Canada, and Hungary. What a moment in time to come together as a Jewish community! It has never been more important for us to share in our Jewish joy and demonstrate our collective pride.
In the moment, our overwhelming emotion is gratitude:
To the athletes, coaches, and delegation heads: We know how much time and commitment is required to participate in the Games. We’re grateful at the highest level for your dedication to bringing the highest spirit of competition to our community.
To our host families: Anyone who has been involved in the local production of the JCC Maccabi Games® knows that the most difficult mountain to climb and one of the most critical elements of the experience is finding loving homes for our athletes during their stay in Detroit. With that in mind, we need to give a huge shout out to our Host Committee, and all our host families who bring the n’shamah (“Jewish Soul”) to the Games.
To the volunteers: We are blessed with an exceptional Maccabi volunteer culture in Detroit headed by our incomparable chairs Karen Gordon, and Franci Silver and supported by a tremendous group of committee chairs and members. The JCC Maccabi Games® are significantly a volunteer-driven production, and no one does it better than our team!
To our staff and Board of Directors: We are exceedingly proud of our team at The J. In our most important moment, you have all stepped up to meet this extraordinary challenge. Kol ha kavod to our super talented Games Director, Maya Gurfinkel, and Chief Development Officer, Julie Yaker who were stars among stars for The J.
To our Sponsors: The generosity of the Detroit Jewish Community is well known, and The J is a grateful beneficiary of the same. These Games would not be possible without the exceptional support of Marshall and Rhoda Tobin, The William Davidson Foundation, The Gilbert Family Foundation, The D. Dan and Betty Kahn Foundation, The Andrea L. and Lawrence A. Wolfe Family Foundation, an anonymous donor, Nicole and Matthew Lester, and so many other sponsors who believe in the impact of bringing our local and national Jewish Community together at this critical moment.
To our Maccabi Partners: The JCC Maccabi Games® in Detroit are a partnership between The J and the Jewish Community Center Association (JCCA). We are deeply grateful to our partners at JCCA including the Director of JCC Maccabi Games®, Samantha Cohen, and Deputy Director, Jordan Lanczycki who we collaborate so wonderfully with.
To our Community Partners: The J is proud to be a constituent agency of the Jewish Federation of Detroit (JFD) and we consider our friends there to be partners in everything that we do. We are so grateful for this relationship and want to thank Steve Ingber, CEO of JFD, Gary Torgow, President of JFD and Michael Berger, President of the United Jewish Foundation of Detroit for being there for us every step of the way.
We also want to provide a special thank you to Gary Sikorski and his team at Jewish Community Security Inc. along with the West Bloomfield Police Department and all of the local PDs who generously assisted us in ensuring the Games are safe for everyone.
To the Detroit Jewish Community: Lastly, The J exists to build a stronger Jewish Community in Detroit and our efforts would be for naught if you didn’t join us on this journey towards greater connection. We believe that magic happens when we come together. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
JCC
AM YISRAEL CHAI AND LET THE GAMES BEGIN!
Adam
Kessler, President of the Board of Directors
Maccabi Games® the Adam Kessler, President of the Board of Directors
Brian
D. Siegel, Chief Executive Officer
Brian D. Siegel,
Chief Executive Officer
Welcome to Detroit!
We are delighted to extend a warm welcome to all athletes, coaches, delegation heads, families, and friends joining us for the 2024 JCC Maccabi Games in Detroit. We look forward to sharing in the spirit of sports, camaraderie, and Jewish values throughout the week.
Participants from cities across the United States, Canada, Hungary, Israel, Mexico, Panama, and Ukraine will come together for athletic competition, community service, social events and the opportunity to forge new friendships. Whether you’re a returning athlete or a first-time participant, we’re thrilled to have you here and look forward to sharing our rich JCC Maccabi tradition.
As proud hosts for a record-setting seventh time, the Jewish Community Center of Metro Detroit is honored to continue the tradition of the Games in our city. Detroit has a storied history with the JCC Maccabi Games, dating back to our participation in the inaugural event in Memphis in 1982. Since then, Detroit has opened our doors to athletes in 1984, 1990, 1998, 2008, 2014, and 2019, providing thousands of teens with the wonderful experience of JCC Maccabi.
This year, we’re excited to pilot The Village, a new initiative designed to accommodate more participants by utilizing a local hotel and creating a fun, unique, and welcoming JCC Maccabi environment. This innovative approach will enable a greater number of visiting athletes to enjoy the connections and bonds shared among their fellow athletes, all while alleviating the logistical challenges of host family accommodations that many communities face.
None of this would be possible without the dedication of our incredible volunteers, Steering Committee and JCC professional staff, including Maya Gurfinkel, 2024 JCC Maccabi Games director and her dedicated JCC Maccabi staff: Rachel Devries, Melissa Gedrich, Tessa Hewitson, and Lezlie Light. Their tireless efforts have brought the Detroit 2024 JCC Maccabi Games to fruition, and we are immensely grateful for their contributions.
The week ahead promises to be nothing short of spectacular. To all participants, we wish you a week filled with success, lasting memories, and meaningful connections.
Karen Gordon and Franci Silver
2024 Co-Chairs JCC Maccabi Games®
Karen Gordon & Franci Silver 2024 Co-Chairs,
Jewish Community Center of Metropolitan Detroit
D. Dan & Betty Kahn Building
Eugene & Marcia Applebaum Jewish Community Campus
6600 W. Maple Road, West Bloomfield, MI 48322
Jewish Community Center of Metropolitan Detroit
D. Dan & Betty Kahn Building
Eugene & Marcia Applebaum Jewish Community Campus
6600 W. Maple Road, West Bloomfield, MI 48322
Dear JCC Maccabi Games Participant:
Shalom and mazel tov! On behalf of Maccabi USA, it is our pleasure to welcome you to the 2024 JCC Maccabi Games in Detroit. As the organization responsible for recruiting and selecting the USA delegation to participate in the World Maccabiah Games in Israel every four years, Maccabi USA congratulates you on representing your local community at these Games and wishes you the best of luck on the playing field.
This week you join more than 150,000 Jewish teens who have participated over the past 42 years, among them future Olympians, professional athletes, and World Maccabiah Games alumni. The Maccabi Movement brings together Jewish teens, adults, seniors, and para athletes from around the world to build connections with Israel and the Jewish Diaspora through their love of sports. You and your teammates are embarking on a very special journey that connects you to the proud tradition of Jewish athletes past, present, and future. Maccabi USA is proud to be a founding sponsor of the JCC Maccabi Games, and we look forward to many of you one day representing the U.S. in the World Maccabiah Games in Israel.
To that end, for those of you interested in trying out for the national U16 or U18 teams representing the USA on the global Jewish sports stage, applications are currently open, and tryouts have begun for the Maccabiah in Israel next summer (July 1-22, 2025). And, for the first time, we will be sending a second team in certain U16 and U18 sports so there will be even more opportunities to compete! These will be among the most meaningful Maccabiah Games ever held, and we invite you to join us. Please visit our website (www.maccabiusa.com) for details about which sports remain open and upcoming tryout dates and locations.
We commend JCC Association of North America for creating Jewish connection and memories via the JCC Maccabi Games for thousands of Jewish teens. We applaud the JCC professionals, volunteers, hosts, and everyone at the Detroit JCC for their tireless efforts to make this a memorable week. Kol ha’kavod well done to all!
We wish you the best of luck in your athletic pursuits this week and congratulate you for all your accomplishments to date and in the years ahead!
Be sure to follow us on social media @MaccabiUSA to learn about opportunities to connect in the future!
Chazak v’amatz | Be strong and courageous!
Jeff Bukantz
Marshall Einhorn President CEO
AMIR PELED
AMIR GISSIN Chairman, MWU CEO, MWU
Shalom and welcome to the JCC Maccabi Games ® in Detroit!
We are thrilled and proud to bring the Games back to the Motor City for the 7 th time in JCC Maccabi’s 42-year history. As the largest organized Jewish sports platform in North America, JCC Maccabi is also among the most powerful Jewish peoplehood initiatives of our time and this summer will reach a combined total of more than 12,000 athletes, parents, coaches, delegation heads, spectators, and volunteers here in Detroit and at next week’s Games in Houston.
So much more than sports, JCC Maccabi ignites a deep sense of Jewish pride, peoplehood, and identity for thousands of Jewish teens every year. For 69% of JCC Maccabi athletes, the Games serve as their only touchpoint with a Jewish youth organization, sparking an indelible connection to Jewish life and community that feels as important as ever especially now. This summer, over 2,600 Jewish teens from 80 delegations across the U.S., Canada, and around the world will experience the magic of JCC Maccabi with international delegations from Argentina, Great Britain, Hungary, Mexico, Ukraine, and an expanded Israeli delegation, including athletes from Sderot who will represent Gaza envelope communities affected by the October 7 attacks.
To the Detroit Jewish community, which has been a stalwart partner to the Games, we express deep thanks, especially to our partners at the J without whom these Games would not be possible , and most notably to our colleagues and dear friends Brian D. Siegel, chief executive officer, and Adam Kessler, board president. Additional and special thanks to JCC Maccabi co -chairs, Karen Gordon and Franci Silver, and Games director, Maya Gurfinkel, for their tireless leadership and the coordination of literally thousands of staff, volunteers, host families, local partners, and coaches . We gratefully recognize the generous support of The Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit and all of the Games’ local donors led by Detroit’s presenting sponsors, Marshall and Rhoda Tobin. Together, you have devoted countless hours and resources over these last many months to put the pieces in place to make these 2024 JCC Maccabi Games in Detroit possible. Thank you, all!
The JCC Maccabi Games would not be what they are without our continental leadership team, led by the incomparable Samantha Cohen, senior vice president and the director of JCC Maccabi , and Lisa Brill, JCC Association board member and committee c hair. On their behalf and that of our continental donors including our lead sponsor, The Marcus Foundation, we proudly link arms with the Detroit Jewish community to deliver this transformative Jewish experience to a new generation of JCC Maccabi athletes and guests. Thank you for being with us and for your tremendous support.
Let the Games begin!
David Wax
Jennifer Mamlet Board Chair Acting President and CEO
M azel Tov
Established in April 2022, Shufuni creates events and platforms to promote young artists, musicians, and performers from Sderot and other communities around the Gaza envelope. Ohad Peretz, a musician born and raised in Sderot, leads the group’s efforts, including monthly events in his hometown, which demonstrate tremendous cooperation among singers, songwriters, and artists from other fields. On October 7, 2023, Shufuni lost performers and audience members during the horrific attacks by Hamas. Since then, the group’s members have been visiting JCC communities in North America, sharing their stories and delivering messages of hope. JCC Maccabi® is honored to welcome them to Detroit to share their music and powerful message with us.
Daniel Weiss
Daniel Weiss, a gifted folksinger and songwriter from Kibbutz Be’eri, is a member of Shufuni. On October 7, he and his girlfriend were hiding from the Hamas terrorists in their safe room on the kibbutz. Later that day, he learned that his father, Shmulik, had been murdered and his mom had been kidnapped to Gaza. On November 15, his mother, Yehudit, was found dead by IDF soldiers outside Shifa Hospital in Gaza.
Linor Ein Gedi
Linor Ein Gedi, a soul-folk singer, performs original music and cover versions of other artists’ music. She lives on Kibbutz Miflasim. On October 7, as she hid in her home, the kibbutz was saved because heroes stationed themselves at the gate, preventing an attack by Hamas.
Mira Semandoyev
Mira Semandoyev was born and raised in Sderot. Two years ago at age 21, she was a finalist on “HaKochav HaBa,” the Israeli Idol show. Semandoyev performs in Hebrew and English, and although she is shy, she transforms into a superstar on stage. On October 7, she hid with her family in their safe room. Following the Hamas attacks, they were evacuated from Sderot and currently are living in a hotel in Eilat with other families from Sderot.
Rotem Meir Levi
Rotem Meir Levi, a guitarist, drummer, and music teacher for at-risk youth, was born and raised in Sderot. He was in Sderot on October 7, and hid in his home for hours until it was safe to leave. Levi is waiting to return home and hopes that will happen soon.
Karen Gordon | Franci Silver
THANK
The Steering Committee AND The J Staff for their passion, support and commitment to the Games.