EDITORIAL: The Maccabiah is a straw man for the real problem: Diaspora-Israel relations

Rather than using the Maccabiah Games to prop up tired Zionist slogans, we should see it as a model for changing the relationship between Israel and the Diaspora.

Australian supporters of the Maccabiah Games were understandably upset by a recent The Jewish Independent article arguing that the Maccabiah is an anachronism that should be given a dignified farewell.

Israeli writer Ido Rakovsky offered an analysis of the original reasons for the “Jewish Games” and concluded that the founding purpose of building the Zionist movement and developing Israel’s physical culture are no longer valid. He dismissed the Maccabiah Games “a sort of Birthright program with a sporty touch”.

Sportswriter Ashley Browne responded with a spirited defence of the popular festival of sport, particularly well-loved and supported by Australian Jews.

Both are right.

The old Zionist paradigm on which the Maccabiah was founded has gone the way of pointed kibbutz hats and politicians in sandals. Israel clearly does not need a special event to boost its physical culture or reshape the intellectualised ghetto Jew. That battle is long since won.

But it is also true that the Maccabiah offers Diaspora Jews an opportunity to connect with Israel in a non-political, non-religious framework and provides a communal bonding experience that is greatly valued. 

If that is what Rakovsky means by a "Birthright program with a sporty touch", he may be right about the descriptor but not the value. If, as a world community, we consider connecting Jews with Israel to be a good thing, then a sporty Birthright – if not the highest level of Jewish endeavour – is certainly not a bad option to have in the kit bag.

Whether bringing Jews to Israel for Maccabiah has value for Israel is more disputed. Incoming CEO of the Maccabi World Union Amir Gissin characterises the Maccabiah Games as a Zionist success story, arguing the emotional and cultural value of a world Jewish event with Israel at its centre. More tangibly, he also points to the practical value of the tourism dollars, which are certainly not to be sniffed at.

But neither Browne’s description of the genuine value of the Maccabiah to Diaspora Jews nor Gissin’s more self-serving attempts to give it an Israeli raison d’etre address the real nerve that Rakovsky has touched.

The relationship between Israel and the Diaspora has changed. Relationships always change as the parties mature and when they do, they need to be renegotiated. If change is not recognised or addressed, the result can be an unbridgeable divide.

Rather than shouting at each other over the value of the Maccabiah, it would be wise to consider the differences that underly these perspectives and use them as an opportunity to talk through our relationship.

Bringing Diaspora Jews to Israel as a way of building the country looks, frankly, silly to modern Israelis, who have their own thriving culture, economy, and identity, increasingly divergent from the culture of Diaspora Jews.

Economically, Israel no longer needs Diaspora donations or even the tourist dollars. It won’t say no to the money, of course, but it ranks in the Top 20 world economies for GDP per capita. New Zealand, Canada and the UK are worse off.

Despite its messy democracy, the existential threat posed by Iran and the tragic ongoing failure of the Occupation, Israel as a country is doing well – and needs little from the Diaspora.

On the other hand, many Diaspora communities are struggling. In the US, the largest Diaspora community, the Jewish population is ageing, synagogue memberships are declining, and three quarters of American Jews think there is more antisemitism than there was five years ago. Intermarriage is up to 42% and the question of how many children of mixed marriages will remain Jewish is the most vexed of all identity issues.

Seventy-four years after the founding of the State, it is not Israel that needs the support of the Diaspora but the other way around. The Jewish State is in the position of a grown child with an ageing parent. In adolescence, the child claims their independence and asserts, “I don’t need you”. But when the parent is frail, the once dependent becomes the carer.

Zionism is no longer about the Diaspora building Israel. There may be some value to Israel in the lobbying and diplomatic space, though probably less than is widely believed. But increasingly the Diaspora’s relationship with Israel is really about leveraging the country as a centre of Jewish culture and history, often as a way to build Jewish attachment in an increasingly secular age. 

The best argument for Israel to support the Maccabiah is not that it is good for Israel, but that Israel can and should support Diaspora Jewry in building a connected world community.

Jews are good at finding new reasons to retain old practices. Our ancestors lit Shabbat candles so they could stay up late and celebrate one night a week, even when they could not afford tallow for the other six evenings. We find value in the beauty, tradition, or religious significance of Shabbat candles in homes ablaze with electricity.

We can admit that the reasons the Maccabiah was invented are no longer valid and still find good reasons to light that flame.  

For all the angst Rakovsky’s attack on the Games caused, the Maccabiah is one of the easier problems on the agenda for the renegotiation of the Israel-Diaspora relationship. Israel only needs to keep hosting the party.

More difficult questions are before us: How should we rebalance fundraising towards supporting Diaspora communities? What should be the agenda of Diaspora Zionist education? How can the Orthodox hegemony in Israel co-exist with the dominance of Progressive Judaism in much of the Diaspora?

Addressing these issues will make the energy expended over the Maccabiah Games feel like a walk in the park.

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Photo: Poster of the first Maccabiah from 1930, two years before the opening date of the games in 1932 (Maccabi Archive)