1957 Maccabiah Games

Twenty-one countries sent 980 athletes to compete in the 1957 5th Maccabiah Games, an international Jewish athletics competition similar to the Olympics. The opening ceremony on September 15, 1957, was held in Ramat Gan Stadium, with athletes parading before Israeli President Yitzhak Ben Zvi.

5th Maccabiah
Host cityTel Aviv, Israel
Nations21
Debuting countries Mexico
Athletes980
OpeningSeptember 15, 1957
ClosingSeptember 24, 1957
Opened byIsraeli President Yitzhak Ben Zvi
Main venueRamat Gan Stadium

The presence of many world-class Jewish athletes elevated the quality of competition. The athletes were housed in the newly built Maccabiah Village. The closing ceremony on September 24, 1957, was attended by 50,000 people, and Prime Minister David Ben Gurion addressed the crowd, saying: "Be strong. Be unified. Be proud and conscious of your Jewishness and send your youth to Israel to restore the glory and greatness of our people."

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