| Games of the III Maccabiah | |
|---|---|
| Opening city | Ramat Gan, Israel |
| Nations participating | 20 |
| Athletes participating | 800 |
| Stadium | Ramat Gan Stadium |
| Debuting countries | Argentina Australia Belgium Canada Finland India Ireland Sweden |
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 cancellation of the Games.
In 1950, the Maccabiah Games resumed with the 3rd Maccabiah Games, this time in the independent State of Israel. Nineteen countries sent 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.”
Eight countries entered the competition for the first time, among them:Argentina, Canada, India and Sweden were first-time entries.
Gold medals were earned by Americans Henry Wittenberg in wrestling, Frank Spellman (who two years earlier had won a silver medal at the Olympics) in weightlifting, and 3-time Pan American Games gold medalist Allan Kwartler in fencing.[1]
Ben Helfgott, a concentration camp survivor, won the weightlifting gold medal in the lightweight class for Great Britain.
Canada earned 14 medals in its first Games.
Not all Jewish communities participated in the 1950 Maccabiah. Jewish communities in Arab countries (Morocco, Tunisia, etc.) did not send delegations. The number in parentheses indicates the number of participants that community contributed.
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