Pittsburgh teens return from Israel Maccabiah Games with new friends and appreciation
'I won't waste the chance to talk about how great of an experience it was'
Seeking competition and camaraderie, several young Pittsburghers visited Israel and participated in the Maccabiah Games, an Olympic-style event held quadrennially in the Jewish state.
Now back in Pittsburgh, the teens have repeatedly told friends and family about their travels as well as the importance of visiting Israel and connecting with other Jews.
“It was just amazing,” Kimi Smuckler, 15, said. “I won’t waste the chance to talk about how great of an experience it was.”
What made it so memorable, according to Jonny Balk, 18, was that there were two facets to the trip: sports and touring.
“Both were amazing for separate reasons,” he said.
Fellow soccer player, Benji Smuckler, 17, agreed.
Apart from competing against so many talented athletes, the June 30-July 14 experience afforded a chance to explore, he said. “Even when we had games, our coaches would find ways and time for us to just get out of the hotel, take a 30-minute bus ride, and go look at the beach or go surfing.”
Along with visiting the Dead Sea and Western Wall, meaningful time was spent introducing athletes to Israel post-Oct. 7, Jonny said.
Stops at the Nova Music Festival Memorial and T’kuma — where vehicles recovered from the Oct. 7 attacks are preserved — contextualized Oct. 7 and reinforced the “importance of remembering those affected,” according to organizers.
Kimi, a soccer player, said she was supposed to visit Israel with Community Day School two years ago as part of an eighth grade graduation trip, but the tour was canceled due to war.
The inability to travel then was part of the impetus for going now, she said. “Getting to go to Israel and seeing everything and meeting new people was just really important.”
Fellow soccer player Lital Friedman, 15, said that being in Israel last month facilitated new relationships and understandings. Making friends with fellow teens from Switzerland, Costa Rica, Brazil, Great Britain, Slovakia and “Israel, of course,” yielded an awareness that “we’re all connected, even though we observe Judaism in different ways.”
The realization is one the Squirrel Hill resident hopes more Pittsburghers achieve — even if they never kick a ball or board a plane.
“Israel connects Jews from all over the world,” Lital said. “It brings them together, especially the youth.” PJC
Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
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