Maccabiah to Honor 18 Fallen Israelis With Memorial Pins
Next month’s Maccabiah will include a major remembrance initiative for 18 people who were killed in the October 7 attack or in combat, most of them alumni of the Maccabi Young movement. The central project is a set of memorial pins designed together with bereaved families and designer Itai Blais, and the pins will join a long Maccabiah tradition in which delegations from around the world bring distinctive pins as part of the games’ culture.
Several of the pins reflect the lives of the fallen. One commemorates Staff Sgt. Guy Shimchi, a Maccabi Young Gadera graduate and accomplished athlete, with a bouncing-ball motif that reflects his love of sport. Another honors Capt. Eden Nimri, a gifted swimmer and commander who fell in battle at Nahal Oz, and features a swimmer figure. A third remembers Staff Sgt. Shai Gramai, a Border Police fighter killed during an operation in Jenin, and includes a cake in reference to her love of baking.
A separate pin was created for Staff Sgt. Adi Leon, from Nili and a Maccabi Young alumnus, who served in the Tzabar Battalion of the Givati Brigade and was killed in the Namer armored vehicle disaster in northern Gaza on October 31, 2023. His mother, Nurit, said he was called up to Kibbutz Reim on October 7 and fought there for three days. She recalled that before entering Gaza he asked for a commando knife, and that the family later found the inspiration for the pin in a cat he drew in a farewell letter to his younger sister.
The Leon family will also present an educational kit called “The Lights of Adi,” based on eight values taken from his personal notebook. During the Maccabiah, teenagers will lead activities with the kit so his memory continues to be passed on. Nurit said the family wanted to honor a generation that could be both athletic and brave, and said, “I will wear Adi’s pin with pride.”
Maccabiah 2026 will take place from July 1 to 14, bringing together thousands of athletes, families and fans from around the world. Under the slogan “MORE THAN EVER,” it will feature the opening ceremony at Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem, a volunteer and activity day in the Tekuma region with the KKL, and Maccabiah City, a sports festival at Expo Tel Aviv. Maccabiah chairman Assaf Goren said the pin project was meant to connect personal grief with the collective memory of the Maccabi community.
