07/15/2026
Clevelanders Attend Opening Ceremony of 22nd Maccabiah Games in Israel
J. David Heller, Michael Siegal, Anita Siegal, Erika B. Rudin-Luria and Lyida Yomtovian Frankel pose at the opening ceremony of the Maccabiah Games on July 1 at Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem. Submitted photo
Article reprinted with permission from Cleveland Jewish News
by Jimmy Oswald
As Lydia Yomtovian Frankel watched thousands of athletes march into Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem sporting their country’s colors, listened to several Israeli artists perform on stage and was dazzled by the fireworks and pyrotechnics that accompanied the opening of the Maccabiah Games on July 1, she felt a variety of emotions coursing through her.
Excitement. Pride. Hope, she said.
“At the end of the day, we were there united,” Frankel told the Cleveland Jewish News. “No matter what your affiliation politically is, we were there to celebrate the Maccabiah Games. We were there to say that we are here and we will continue to be. We are determined to get back to normality as much as possible. That’s what left me with the hope that we will be okay,”
The opening ceremony saw tens of thousands of athletes, coaches, chaperones and spectators pack Teddy Stadium for the kick off of the 22nd Maccabiah Games, aka the Jewish Olympics, where Jewish athletes from around the world and Israeli citizens compete in an array of sporting competitions. The competition ran July 1 to July 13.
It was the first edition of the games since July 2022, and it was the first Maccabiah since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel. The event was originally scheduled for 2025 but was postponed due to the war against Iran, which made it even more special for Frankel, a national board member of Israeli-American Council, to be there in-person.
“It was especially emotional because it started with a video commemorating all those people who were murdered on Oct. 7 and during the terrible war that is still going on,” she said. “It was very touching. It’s very Jewish and very Israeli that right after that, we move on to celebrate as one. I felt so united getting to see young Jewish people from so many different parts of the world, proud to be Jewish and to be in Israel. It was a sign of hope and a sign of the future of our people.”
Frankel wasn’t the only Cleveland Jewish community leader in Jerusalem for the start of the games. J. David Heller, CEO and co-founder of Cleveland-based NRP Group who previously served as chair of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland and national campaign chair of Jewish Federations of North America; Erika B. Rudin-Luria, president of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland; and Michael Siegal, president of the Maccabi World Union, and his wife, Anita Siegal, both philanthropists for the area, were all present for the ceremony.
“That’s the thing about Cleveland: we show up,” Siegal, a Beachwood resident, told the CJN. “We show up everywhere. We are the strongest Jewish community in the world, and we will continue to be in the forefront of Jewish activity around the world.”
Frankel said meeting up with her Cleveland partners was exciting and made the experience even more emotional. While they didn’t sit together for the ceremony, they were able to meet up in the VIP reception.
“Leaders of Cleveland in Israel have a special meaning, especially because Cleveland has a special touch,” she said. “We are very proud to have Michael Siegal as the chair of Maccabi World Union. And my two worlds collided where I was able to introduce high-level leaders from the Israeli American Council to my Clevelanders, and my Clevelanders to them. These are leaders doing everything possible for our Jewish country, backing it up and being proud Jewish people in the world.”
Rudin-Luria called the games a “powerful reminder of Jewish peoplehood at its very best.”
“It was an incredible honor to be present as athletes, families and supporters from around the world came together in celebration,” she told the CJN. “We are especially proud that past Jewish Federation of Cleveland Board Chair Michael Siegal is serving as President of the Maccabi World Union, providing inspiring leadership for these Games and the global Maccabi movement. We witnessed extraordinary resilience from those who persevered through uncertainty and travel challenges because representing their communities and being together in Israel mattered so deeply. These beautiful moments of unity, pride and connection are a testament to the enduring strength of the Jewish people and the unbreakable bond that unites us.”
Siegal said that several of the Clevelanders had been attending the Jewish Agency Board of Governors meeting, held June 28 to June 30 with discussions centered on combating global antisemitism, strengthening Jewish identity and rebuilding communities in Israel, and took advantage of the good timing to see the start of the games.
Frankel was in Israel for an IAC event celebrating America’s 250th Birthday, an event that Siegal and his wife, Anita, also attended.
Siegal said normalcy in Israel is abnormal these days, so the Maccabiah Games being able to go on and bring a sense of joy and fun on a global basis is important to Israelis and Jews.
“The opening ceremony was glorious and really uplifting,” he said. “Before we left, there was a 3-on-3 basketball exhibition where they had five returned hostages play basketball interspersed with celebrities with the Jewish Agency and others. To see returned hostages, whose faces you’ve seen on posters playing basketball – we say only in Israel, but that’s only in Israel.”
Over 5,000 athletes competed in this year’s games, 2,000 Israelis and 3,000 from communities around the globe. Taiwan and the Philippines sent players for the first time, and the United States had over 900 athletes participate.
“There’s a story everywhere, but the big one is that 5,000 people showed up to show Israel that we are one community,” Siegal said. “We weren’t there on a solidarity mission. We were there to say we stand together and we’re here to be normal. We made this enormous statement that we are strong and resilient.”
