Maccabi organizations throughout the world look to America to set the pace in quality of performance at the second Maccabiad, to be held in Palestine in 1935, it was stated at the first annual “Honor the Athlete” dinner of the United States Maccabi Association last night at the Town Hall Club.
This function was the first step in a campaign to promote the Maccabi movement in America. dinner also served as the initial move to raise funds for a minimum team of twenty-five outstanding Jewish-American athletes in track, tennis; swimming, boxing and wrestling, to represent the United States Maccabi at the World Jewish Athletic Games in Palestine next April.
Speakers, including Judge Julian W. Mack, Nathan Strauss Jr., Charles A. Cowen and A. Ralph Steinberg, stressed the aims and ideals of the Maccabi movement and its relation to the growing Jewish youth of America.
Lord Melchett, president of the World Maccabi Union, sent the following radiogram: “On the eve of the second Maccabiad we look forward to America’s share in the enormous effort of building up our inspiring movement in the States. Lehitraot Bemaccabiah Hashniyah Bearsenu.”
Other cables from leaders of the French and English Maccabi organizations included messages from Jacobowitz, Pernikoff of England, and Baron Ginsburg of France. Professor Albert Einstein sent a congratulatory wire with an original poem eulogizing the Maccabi movement.
Men and women who have made athletic history in this country attended. Among them were many present-day sport stars, comprising the sports advisory board of this organization. Benny Leonard, chairman of the board, Miss Charlotte Epstein, Irving Jaffe, Nat Holman, Harry Newman and Hank Greenberg were present.
Several members of the first Maccabi team that took second place in the international competition at Tel Aviv in 1932 came as guests of the organization. They included Miss Sybil C. Koff, Harold Kramer, Leslie Flaksman, at present serving on the administrative board, and Martin Feiden.
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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.
