Youth Education and Sport as an Arena of Political Rivalry: The Maccabi Movement in 1930s Palestine

In the 1930s, two youth movements were established under the same name, ‘Maccabi Hatzair’: one in central Europe and the other in Mandatory Palestine. The movements were founded by the Maccabi sports federation, but they had different aims. The European movement, nicknamed Maccabi Hatzair Ha’oleh, adopted a clear Zionist-pioneering agenda and objected to its activity being limited to sports, while Maccabi Hatzair Eretz-Israel was intended to serve mainly as an athletic reserve for the adult organization. A dispute arose within Maccabi regarding its relationship with Maccabi Hatzair Ha’oleh. To a large extent, this conflict reflected the disparate realities in Palestine and Europe. The surging antisemitism in Europe and the politicization of sports in Palestine exacerbated the disagreements, leading to the radicalization of all sides. Maccabi Hatzair Ha’oleh left Maccabi and joined Hever Hakvutzot, a Labour Zionist settlement movement. This decision had profound political significance, contributing to Maccabi Eretz-Israel’s split and pushing it into partisan politics, and it ceased to be the national sports organization. A discussion of the training of Maccabi’s next generation contributes to understanding the societal conflicts plaguing Palestinian society in the 1930s and 40s and illuminates the complex relationship between politics and sports from a new angle.