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The 14th European Maccabi Games (EMG) are taking place in Berlin from 27 July until 5 August 2015. More than 2,000 Jewish athletes from 36 countries will compete in 19 sports from football to fencing to chess. To accompany the games Tamar Lewinsky and Theresia Ziehe are producing a series of portraits with interviews, introducing a new member of the German delegation from Berlin every day here on the blog. They conducted the interviews on the grounds of the TuS Maccabi in Berlin’s Grunewald where Stephan Pramme also shot the portraits.

Tom Meshulam (23), futsal

Tom (23) futsal © Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Stephan Pramme

Tom, was does it mean to you that the European Maccabi Games are coming for the first time to Berlin?

For me personally, it’s very special. It’s a ‘home game’ because I’m from Berlin. I grew up here and celebrated my bar mitzvah here. Now more than 2,000 athletes will travel here from around the world. It’s going to be a great experience. I think it’s time that, after Vienna and Rome, this event happens in Berlin. One doesn’t always need to put the past in the foreground – it’s important to look forward.

What are the requirements for participation in the EMG?

You have to be good at your sport and make it onto the team. → continue reading

The 14th European Maccabi Games (EMG) are taking place in Berlin from 27 July until 5 August 2015. More than 2,000 Jewish athletes from 36 countries will compete in 19 sports from football to fencing to chess. To accompany the games Tamar Lewinsky and Theresia Ziehe are producing a series of portraits with interviews, introducing a new member of the German delegation from Berlin every day here on the blog. They conducted the interviews on the grounds of the TuS Maccabi in Berlin’s Grunewald where Stephan Pramme also shot the portraits.

Dr. Daniel Hoffmann (54), half marathon

Daniel, what does it mean to you that the European Maccabi Games are taking place this year not only in Berlin but on the grounds built for the 1936 Olympics?

Daniel (54) half marathon © Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Stephan Pramme

It’s a really nice feeling to demonstrate that Jews still live in Germany – and live active lives that they can show outwardly. That’s important and beneficial. And being in the Olympic Stadium is also a wonderful thing – out on the field in front of the enormous bleachers. It’s really something special, in addition to the historical aspect. It’s simply overwhelming, every time. It certainly makes it easier that the games are happening in my hometown. (He laughs.) I can sleep at home and go straight from there to the tournaments. Though I would have also participated, had they taken place somewhere else. And I hope to join in the next Maccabi Games in Israel.

What role does Judaism play for you personally?

That has changed in recent years. → continue reading

The 14th European Maccabi Games (EMG) are taking place in Berlin from 27 July until 5 August 2015. More than 2,000 Jewish athletes from 36 countries will compete in 19 sports from football to fencing to chess. To accompany the games Tamar Lewinsky and Theresia Ziehe are producing a series of portraits with interviews, introducing a new member of the German delegation from Berlin every day here on the blog. They conducted the interviews on the grounds of the TuS Maccabi in Berlin’s Grunewald where Stephan Pramme also shot the portraits.

Alex (25), table tennis

Alex (25), table tennis © Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Stephan Pramme

Alex, why are you participating in the European Maccabi Games?

The first time I went to a Maccabi training course, I got a little closer to my own identity. I grew up in Goslar, a small town where we were the only Jewish family. That’s why the Maccabi program offered a kind of self-discovery, and I found something like a new family there: there was a lot of Russian spoken, which especially gave me a feeling of home because I can’t travel to Russia anymore. (I have duel citizenship so I could be drafted into military service there.) And of course the competition played a role since I was very achievement-minded at the time.

The EMG are taking place in part at a place heavy with symbolism: the Olympic grounds that were erected for the 1936 games, from which Jewish athletes were barred. Does it have a special significance for you that the EMG are happening in Berlin and in particular at the Olympic stadium? → continue reading