When the opportunity arose to involve four young Jewish South Africans in a youth leadership programme in Israel last year, Maccabi SA took quick action in order to make strides in this previously lacking area of the organisation.

Riley Freeman, Romy Unterslak, Danica Schlome and Daniel Singer (all university students) were identified and attended the Maccabi Future Leadership Forum in Israel during the 2017 Maccabiah Games and were an official part of the SA  delegation. The young leaders learnt about leadership skills and styles; life in Israel as a typical Israeli, exchanging of ideas and knowledge with Maccabi Organisations from every corner of the globe as well as personal growth and dedication to the Maccabi movement on a global scale. Three of the young leaders stayed on after the forum was concluded to assist team SA in managerial positions with the South African Junior delegation.

Since returning home and forming the Maccabi SA Youth Committee, the youngsters have had numerous meetings and idea exchanges and have already begun making a difference in the community. They identified that engaging with the Jewish Day Schools; boosting Maccabi’s outreach projects and engaging the community through mass participation events are the key focus areas of the committee.

As a result, Maccabi now has representation among the youth movements on the Zionist Youth Council. The committee helped arrange and execute an excellent outreach day with Afrika Tikkun in March involving over 40 underprivileged children. The youth committees most challenging task will be the Maccabi Fun Run which will take place in June 2018.

The Maccabi Youth Committee is looking forward to continuing to contribute the Jewish Community of SA and bring a young and relevant vibe to the brand and philosophy of Maccabi in South Africa.

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