With its emphasis on rebuilding Israel and striving for social justice, Maccabi World Union (MWU) runs a significant number of programs in Israel, from youth activities to business forums, each specifically designed with the Israeli audience in mind. Our Israel programming includes the following initiatives.

Maccabi Business Forum (MBF)

The Maccabi Business Forum brings together business leaders from a cross section of Israeli business to discuss pressing issues pertaining to Israel and the Jewish world today. In addition to regular meetings and discussions, the Forum hosts events throughout the year, such as the “Business of Sports and Leadership in Israel” cocktail party held this past spring at the home of Oudi Recanati, chairman of the MWU International Board of Trustees, an event attended by Israel’s top athletes and sports industry leadership.

Maccabi Tzair and Cooperative Living Programs

The Maccabi Tzair Youth Movement (MTZ) was founded in Palestine in 1929 as the educational arm of MWU. Today, tens of thousands of young Israelis take part in Maccabi Tzair activities. There are currently 25 MTZ chapters in Israel, spanning from Dimona in the south to Zichron Ya’akov in the north. Each chapter consists of some 400 mentors, aged 15 to 18, who organize activities for 1,000 younger community members. Activities include non-competitive sports and recreational activities, which are used to teach values and leadership skills.

MTZ also runs a number of community service programs, engaging Israeli youth as scouts and volunteers beginning in the third grade and throughout high-school. These scouts play important roles in their communities, volunteering with at-risk youth in economically distressed areas and helping to distribute MWU food packages before every Jewish holiday. MTZ also runs a number of educational units in the Israeli army, where movement members can continue their work in community service while serving their country.

In 2008, MTZ was awarded the Israel Prize for Lifetime Achievement, and its members have gone on to play prominent roles in many of Israel’s universities, businesses and cultural institutions. Notable alumni include Colonel Pinky Zoaretz of the IDF, Gabi Lest, Chief of the Tel Aviv Police Department, and famed musician Tzvika Pik. MTZ also counts several Israel Prize recipients among its alumni.

MTZ’s Cooperative Living Programs (CLP) are units set up by MTZ members who have graduated from high school and have chosen to volunteer for a year of community service before beginning their army service. These volunteers move to economically-distressed communities for a full year, where they spend 12 to 15 hours per day tutoring, mentoring and otherwise assisting at-risk youth, many of whom have left the school system and are literally living at the fringes of society. For these children, the help MTZ-CLP provides is often their last chance of obtaining the tools they need to become productive members of society.

CLP volunteers, working both with individuals and with larger groups, place a special emphasis on the value of completing high school, continuing with university studies and IDF service, a crucial stepping-stone into Israeli society. Service programs which reach out towards youth-at-risk and young immigrants are emphasized as well.

The MTZ-CLP program reaches some 600 at-risk youth each year, providing hope not only to the youth themselves but to their families and communities as well. Indeed, an additional goal of MTZ-CLP is to sustain a presence in each neighborhood in which it operates for at least two years, in order to lay the foundation for a new MTZ chapter. At the culmination of this two-year period, MWU works with local authorities to provide funding for a permanent chapter, to be established under the auspices of each individual municipality.

Tikvah

In 2003, in the midst of the second intifada, MWU launched Project Tikvah: Rehabilitation of Victims of Terror through Special Sports Programs. Working in close cooperation with organizations specializing in providing rehabilitative sports courses, the Tikvah Program provides rehabilitation services to thousands of Israelis wounded in terror attacks. As the State only covers the cost of medical care, Tikvah’s continuing assistance is critical to victims’ recovery and future well-being.

In addition to working with terror victims to regain their physical abilities, through therapy and loans of rehabilitation equipment, Tikvah also places a special focus on improving victims’ self-reliance and self-esteem, often helping them to restore levels of verve in their lives. The all-volunteer Tikvah Committee reviews each case, and authorizes therapy regimens which the applicants themselves choose from a wide range on offer including: fitness training, horseback riding, swimming, sailing, challenge sports, cycling, waterskiing and kayaking, among others. As a result, the Tikva Program has produced several world-class disabled athletes, including a blind windsurfing champion.

Food Parcel Programs

Official statistics show that 700,000 children (every fifth child) in Israel live below the official poverty line and in many cases do not receive even one hot meal a day. MWU and MTZ are working to combat this with their holiday food programs, which provide economically disadvantaged families with food packages before the Passover and Rosh Hashanah holidays. For the ninth straight year, MWU and MTZ are cooperating to expand the distribution of Passover Food Parcels to additional needy families.

Working with 18 municipalities, we raised enough to buy over 4,500 food parcels last year. We hope that this year we will collect enough for many more parcels, allowing us to assist not only those we helped last year, but additional families as well. Each 20-kilo package is sufficient for a family of five to celebrate the Passover Seder. MWU also provides many families with food throughout the holiday.

Community Uplift

MWU adjusts to address current and immediate needs of each Jewish community, including those all over Israel. In addition to the material assistance provided by the food parcels, MWU contributes significant efforts to improving social conditions in Israel. This takes many forms including sports programs to assist new immigrant athletes and enrichment lessons to combat high school drop-out rates. As with the food parcels program, MWU’s Community Uplift programs are all conducted in close conjunction with municipal welfare departments and voluntary associations like Latet.

In recent years, MWU’s Community Uplift program has taken a new direction, brought on by years of terrorism and rocket attacks. By leveraging its nationwide presence, local and international donor base and economic clout, MWU has been able to assist many of the more than 8,000 Israeli civilians who have been wounded by terror attacks in recent years. In 2003, MWU launched the Tikvah program described above, and for the past eight years has given much assistance to communities in Southern Israel who suffer from rocket attacks, most notably the children and community of Sderot.

When normal life in Northern Israel was paralyzed by rocket attacks during 2006’s Second Lebanon War, MWU dispatched daily truckloads of bottled mineral water, food, baby diapers, fans, portable air conditioners and many other goods to thousands of people in bomb shelters throughout the 34-day bombardment. In addition, thousands of mothers, children and families were brought free of charge for Fun Day breaks to the Kfar Maccabiah Sports Club.

This past winter, 50 families whose homes were severely damaged by Qassam attacks during the Gaza operation became our guests at the Kfar Maccabiah Hotel. MWU also hosted hundreds of youngsters from Ashkelon, Be’er Sheva, Sderot and Gedera at our sports club, providing them with stress-free fun. These fun days were especially important for youth from Sderot, many of whom have not played on a football field in years, due to the frequent Qassam attacks on their city.

All MWU Community Uplift projects derive from the generosity of donors and the effort of many dedicated volunteers. During Operation Cast Lead, we donated equipment to bomb shelters and community centers.

Maccabiah

The Maccabiah, commonly known as the “Jewish Olympics,” are Maccabi World Union’s largest and best-known enterprise. Held every four years in Israel, the Maccabiah is a sports and cultural extravaganza which unites thousands of Jews from across the world as they compete in sports and athletic activities. By hosting the games in Israel, MWU emphasizes the centrality of the State of Israel to the life of the Jewish people and provides hundreds of Jewish athletes with a deeper connection to the Jewish homeland. This year, MWU will be celebrating the 18th Maccabiah, which includes para-Olympics ad Special Olympics components. More information on the Maccabiah can be found here.

Museum

The Pierre Gildesgame Maccabi Sports Museum is a unique museum dedicated to the story of organized Jewish Sports in the Modern Era. Located at Kfar Maccabiah, the Museum boasts numerous sports artifacts and memorabilia as well as many multi-media exhibits on the history of Jewish sports. The Museum is also home to the Yekutieli Archive, a large, continually expanding collection of documents, photographs, films, and digital archives relating to Jews and sports. In addition to its static exhibits, the Museum hosts a number of symposia and ceremonies throughout the year. More information on the Maccabi Sports Museum can be found here.

Kfar Maccabiah

Since the founding of its campus in 1956, Kfar Maccabiah has served as the headquarters of the Maccabi movement. Located in Israel’s central Dan region, the 20-acre Kfar Maccabiah campus includes a convention center, a hotel, event venues and one of Israel’s most comprehensive complexes of sports and training facilities. More information on Kfar Maccabiah can be found here.

Second Home

Second Home is a building on the Kfar Maccabiah campus where supporters can purchase luxury one- and two-bedroom apartments, which they may then rent out to Kfar Maccabiah guests on a short-term basis for an income. Property owners also have access to all Kfar Maccabiah facilities, and housekeeping services are included in the maintenance fees.

Maccabim Educational Center

The Maccabim Educational Center is conveniently located in the ancient land of the Maccabees, in the city of Modi’in, halfway between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Founded by Dr. Yisrael Peled, the Center contains a guest house, which includes free Internet connections, and is often host to youth groups from abroad. The Center is currently in the midst of expanding to include a new lecture hall and additional classrooms.

Maccabim and its attendant Sports Center is directed by Alec Meir, who, together with his staff, maintains the Center’s reputation as a leading educational facility, serving youth groups from Israel and abroad.

Israel Programs

MWU runs a number of trips to Israel throughout the year. These include family trips, Bar and Bat Mitzvah programs, trips for teens, Birthright visits and leadership training seminars. All programs include meetings with Israelis and tours of Israel’s most prominent cultural and historic sites. More information on MWU’s Israel Programs can be found here.

IDF Patronage

MWU can trace its connection to the Israel Defense Forces back to the founding of the state. Our Maccabi Tzair members served in all three pre-State armed underground movements: the Hagana, Etzel and Lechi. During the War of Independence, six Maccabi Tzair platoons served in the Palmach, the precursor to the IDF. Maccabi Tzair currently has four units serving in the IDF’s Nachal Corps, and two more will join them in the very near future, and in partnership with the Municaplity of Ramat Gan, MWU acts as supporters of the Tzanchanim paratroopers Corps.