The heads of the Maccabi World Union and Maccabiah 2025, together with the Minister of Culture and Sports Miki Zohar and his staff, announced on Monday, June 16 that due to Operation “Am Kalavi”, it has been decided to postpone the Maccabiah by a year which was scheduled to officially open on July 8, 2025 will be held in the summer of 2026.

On Sunday, the Israeli government announced that the national state of emergency has been extended through June 30, 2025 across the country which directly affects the ability of Maccabi World Union and the Maccabiah to prepare properly for the 22nd Maccabiah scheduled for this coming July.

The 2025 Maccabiah was expected to be one of the largest and most prominent events of this upcoming summer in Israel and was intended to take place between July 8 and July 22 with over 8,000 athletes from 55 countries from around the world, who were planning to arrive in Israel by the end of June and compete in 45 different sports.

The Minister of Culture and Sports Miki Zohar said, “Following our operation in Iran and after many assessments of the situation, we have come to the conclusion that there is no choice but to postpone the Maccabiah until next year. I want to thank all of the Maccabiah organizers for their willingness and joint understanding as we came to this decision together. To the Jewish organizations around the world and the Jewish sports associations, I am confident that we will meet here together next year with an Israel that is stronger and braver than ever.”

Assaf Goren, the Maccabiah chairman added, “Despite our strong desire to hold the Maccabiah this summer as a beacon of hope, we are forced to postpone the competition due to the complex security situation created by the preemptive strike on Iran, the Home Front Command’s instructions, the continued suspension of flights to Israel and the security apparatus that is needed by us all on home front.

“Together with the Ministry of Culture and Sports and after considering several alternatives, we realized that although we are almost at the starting line, the most correct step from a security, safety and logistical perspective would be to postpone the event by a year, to quieter and safer times. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our partners and all the dedicated employees of the 2025 Maccabiah who worked day and night and demonstrated the highest amount of professionalism throughout the planing stages of the competition. I am certain that we will be able to hold a very special and significant Maccabiah in the summer of 2026.”