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We are very proud to announce that the European Maccabi Games 2011 will take place under the auspices of Dr. Heinz Fischer, President of the Federal Republic of Austria.

How are preparations for next year's European Maccabi Games coming along? A four-member delegation from Maccabi Great Britain recently visited the Austrian capital to see how preparations for the Games are going.  Martin Berliner said that they were very impressed with what they were shown and gave a very positive summary of the delegations' two-day tour.

JLTV, "America's Chosen Network", will be broadcasting the European Maccabi Games next summer from Vienna. "JLTV is committed to this important project for several reasons including the rise of anti-Semitism in Europe, the historic roots of American and Canadian Jews in Europe, and the need to support the multitude of Jewish communities across Europe," stated Phil Blazer, President and CEO of JLTV.

Over 35 nations from Europe - including host country Austria - are set to take part in the EMG2011. We are happy to report that the United States, Australia and Israel will also send delegations. The first entry deadline has passed and a review of the response suggests that the Vienna Games is of great interest to Maccabi athletes. Around 2,000 will come to Vienna, accompanied by another 200 persons, among them coaches, officials, family and friends. 

Elisabetta Hartl enjoys the suspense of competition and even more so the thrill of winning. She was an avid tennis player with Hakoah (http://www.hakoah.at/), won many tennis championships and turned her second passion, the world of music, into her job. The big EMG opening event, featuring a rich musical programme, is being organized by her. It could be in no better hands than those of a fan of both sports and music.

The Maccabi Games are the biggest Jewish sports events and are organized in a similar way to the Olympic Games. The Games are one of the five biggest international sporting events worldwide.

The Israel Maccabiah is organized by the Maccabi World Union (MWU), which is the umbrella organization overseeing all regional Maccabi unions.

The speech of Dr. Ariel Muzicant, the president of the Viennese Jewish community, about the European Maccabi Games 2011 in Vienna.

A little tour through our sports venues.

On May 27th 2010 the European Maccabi Football/Footsal Trophy 2010 took place in Malaga. For more impressions please click here.

EMG Chairman Oskar Deutsch, Secretary General Julius Dem and Elisa Gregor, PR lady and spokesperson for the Vienna Games, presented the concept of the European Maccabi Games 2011 to the Austrian media. The press briefing went far beyond talking about "facts & figures."

Chairman Deutsch stressed the historic dimension of the event, namely the fact that the Vienna Games will be the first European Maccabi Games ever to be held on a territory of former Nazi Germany; he also referred to the active Jewish Community of Vienna, a prerequisite for the successful bid.

Check the Maccabiah 2009 Video out and get an impression of the spirit of Maccabiah and Maccabi Games!

For more impressions please visit the official photo gallery of Maccabiah 2009.

About 100 guests from Israel and Austria gathered on 1 April 2010 in Modi'in (Israel) for the EMG2011 Torch Lighting Ceremony. Among the dignitaries gathered at the Tombs of Maccabeans were Eyal Tiberger, Director General of Maccabi World Union, Zvika Warshaviak, Chairman of the Israeli Olympic Committee and of Maccabi Israel, Ariel Muzicant, President of the Jewish Community of Austria and Vienna, Orit Lerer, Head of International Banking, Bank Hapoalim and Gabriela Feigl, Austrian Embassy in Israel.

Eyal Tiberger, Director General of Maccabi World Union, delivered the opening speech of the Torch Lighting Ceremony for the EMG2011 in Modi'in (Israel). At the Tombs of Maccabeans, "in the heartland of the glorious Maccabee rebellion for the freedom of the Hebrew people", the Maccabi spirit for the Games in Vienna (Austria) was realised.

The legend is alive: The Vienna Sporting Club Hakoah (meaning "strength" in Hebrew) has moved into a new home and boasts state of the art training equipment while historians and writers are still busy exploring the club's role in the Austrian history of civilization. For anyone who wants to find out why this club is so special, Friedrich Torberg's "Tante Jolesch or The Decline of the West in Anecdotes" is a "must read". The Austrian writer (1908-1979) goes far beyond the common record and medal count and draws a colourful picture of Jewish sports and Jewish Vienna including somewhat eccentric figures.

What is the secret of a successful co-operation between two quite different institutions?  Silvia Kucera, the Dean of the Vienna Lauder Business School (LBS), and Julius Dem, the Secretary General of the European Maccabi Games (EMG) 2011, have found the answer to that.

In 1968 the young US swimmer Mark Spitz won two gold medals, as well as one silver and one bronze medal at the Olympic Games in Mexico City. A few weeks after this great success, he decided to take part in the 1969 Maccabiah in Israel. And suddenly young Jewish athletes from all over the world had the opportunity to compete with "Mark the Shark", a superstar in the world of sports in 1969. Ivan Holler, then a member of the Austrian Maccabiah water polo and swimming team, recalls that everyone was hoping to end up in the water with Mark.