The traditional Maccabee marathon took place in Palestine yesterday with hundreds of runners carrying torches from Modiin, near Lydda, where the Maccabeean rebellion against the Greek rulers of ancient Palestine began. to Tel Aviv.
The colorful marathon began at dawn at the graves of the heroes of the rebellion in Modiin, where the Zionist flag was flown at half-mast in memory of Jewish war dead and visaless immigrants who perished attempting to reach haven in Palestine. The runners were welcomed joyfully at each colony along the way and their torches were used to light new ones which were then brought to local synagogues to light Chanukah candles.
At Rishon Le Zion, Menashe Meirowicz, the only survivor of a group of Jewish students, organized in Russia as the “Lovers of Zion,” who emigrated to Palestine in 1882, addressed a large group of settlers attending the celebration. The marathon culminated when the torch bearers arrived at the Maccabee center in Tel Aviv where an impressive ceremony was held with Jewish leaders from all over the country attending.
A parchment scroll containing greetings and a message of hope and courage to the delegates at the World Zionist Congress in Basle was sent from the meeting. The parchment, which was sent by air, asked the delegates to “remember Modiin” and “to rise to the great task of redeeming the Jewish nation.”
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
