Milwaukee will get a rare glimpse of an international Jewish sports tradition when the official Maccabiah torch visits the Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center on April 26, to help celebrate Israel’s Independence Day right here, in Wisconsin.
The day, also known as Yom HaAtzmaut, is to include a Walk for Israel and activities, with support from the JCC and Milwaukee Jewish Federation.
The flame is tied to the Maccabiah, a massive gathering of Jewish athletes from around the world held every four years in Israel. The games were postponed from last summer because of the war and are now scheduled for this summer.
“The Maccabiah is a big, huge event that happens every four years in Israel, where Jewish athletes from all over the world come to compete,” said Noa Gerassi, the Milwaukee community shlicha. “It’s an amazing event of Jewish peoplehood and pride.”
The event will center on that sense of global Jewish connection. Gerassi said planners are drawing on a broader theme, imagining the Jewish people as “one living organism” in which communities across the world are linked — “if something happens in Australia, it affects people in Milwaukee, people in Israel, people in France.”
To bring that idea to life in a joyful way, Milwaukee’s Yom HaAtzmaut is leaning into the spirit of the Maccabiah. The April 26 program will feature an opening ceremony with the official torch, a community walk and then a carnival-like afternoon back at the JCC, with sports activities for children and sports competitions for adults.
Organizers plan to divide participants into two large groups, white and blue, echoing Israel’s colors. The slogan will be “Team Jewish,” Gerassi said, to emphasize that “it doesn’t matter for what team, as long as you’re Team Jewish — you’re on our team.”
The torch itself has a life beyond Milwaukee. Gerassi said there is one torch being used in the United States ahead of the games, traveling to different communities as a way to build awareness and excitement. At the Maccabiah opening ceremony in Israel, multiple torches are used, and delegations of athletes march in a scene that Gerassi compared to the Olympics.
At the JCC, the torch will be lit only during the opening ceremony. It will not be carried on the walk, but when participants return to the JCC they will be able to take pictures with it. Organizers are planning a photo station where community members can pose with the torch once it is no longer lit.
The event is scheduled to start at 2 p.m., with the opening ceremony expected to run roughly from 2:15 to 2:30 p.m. at the JCC. It is part of the trio of events held around April of every year in the Milwaukee area, called Yamim.
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Yamim events
Mark your calendar! These events are brought to you by Milwaukee Jewish Federation, the JCC, and others in the community.
Yom HaShoah
What: Holocaust Remembrance Day event featuring Esther Safran Foer on lessons survivors pass to the next generation.
When: Sunday, April 12 at 3 p.m.
Where: Harry & Rose Samson Family JCC, Daniel M. Soref Community Hall, 6255 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Whitefish Bay
Yom HaZikaron
What: Israel’s Day of Remembrance honoring victims of terror and fallen soldiers of the IDF and Israeli security services.
When: Monday, April 20 at 6:30 p.m.
Where: Harry & Rose Samson Family JCC, Daniel M. Soref Community Hall, 6255 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Whitefish Bay
Yom HaAtzmaut — with the torch!
What: Celebration of Israel’s independence, achievements, and community spirit.
When: Sunday, April 26 at 2 p.m.
Where: Harry & Rose Samson Family JCC, 6255 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Whitefish Bay
More info: https://www.milwaukeejewish.org/yamim
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