Mervyn Tankelowitz was appointed Honorary Life President of Maccabi SA, taking over from the late George Mendelsohn. Les Cohen was appointed Honorary Life Member, becoming the 8th person to share this honours list, which includes South Africans Abe Blacher, Jack Lurie, Jeanne Futeran and Raymond Hack.

Our thanks to guest speaker Adam Bacher who actually attended the 2009 Maccabiah where Mervyn was Head of Delegation and Les was Treasurer (and we won cricket gold, obviously). Adam spoke of how his incredible experiences at three Games would not have been possible without the contribution of all the volunteer leadership who have ensured that Maccabi SA has delivered sporting pride to our community for 87 years and counting.

Maccabi SA Chairman, Cliff Garrun, Chanan Emdin (Mervyn’s grandson) and Talya Fletcher (Les’s daughter) paid tribute to their colleague, grandfather and father respectively, with beautiful, moving speeches.

In another of Maccabi SA’s proud examples of generational continuity, Chanan was recently appointed as our Treasurer, much to Mervyn’s huge nachas.

Mervyn has recently been appointed to the Council of the Movement of Maccabi World Union, which provides strategic advice and guidance to the organisation. We are delighted to have someone with Mervyn’s knowledge, experience and passion represent Maccabi South Africa on the global stage.