1950 Maccabiah Games

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Scheduled to be staged in 1938, political events in Europe, Arab violence in Palestine, and British Mandate authorities’ concern that a Maccabiah Games would create huge illegal immigration resulted in cancelation of the Games.

In 1950, the Maccabiah Games resumed with the 3rd Maccabiah Games, this time in the independent State of Israel. Nineteen countries send a total of 800 athletes. The opening parade and track and field events were held in the new 50,000-spectator stadium in Ramat Gan, a suburb of Tel Aviv.

Israeli President Chaim Weizmann opened the Games, and Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion told the competitors: “Existence in our ancestral home requires physical might no less than intellectual excellence.”

Argentina, Canada, India, Libya, and Sweden were first-time entries.