Blitz and Rivera named to hockey team for 20th World Maccabiah Games
The Maccabi USA Ice Hockey Co-Chairs, Steven Cohen, Devra Schorr Pulley, and Philip Pulley, along with Head Coach Greg Gardner and Assistant Coach Casey Fratkin announced that two Fredonians have been named to the Open Men’s Ice Hockey Team for the 20th World Maccabiah Games, which will take place July 4-18, in Israel.
Fredonia athletes are defenseman Max Blitz of Chino Hills, Calif., a Business Finance major, and forward Luke Rivera of Pacific Palisades, Calif., a Business Management major. They join Joshua Beck of Scituate, Mass., Babson College; Sammy Bernard-Boymel of Lafayette, Colo., Sacred Heart University; Ethan Cohen of Brooklyn, Middlebury College; Joshua Dickman of Kapaa, Hawaii, St. Michael’s College; Zachary Feldman of San Diego, Calif., Lake Forest College; Chad Goldberg of Agoura Hills, Calif., Tufts University; Carter Horwitz of Tustin, Calif., Endicott College; Eric Israel of Huntington Woods, Mich., Robert Morris University; David Jacobson of Calabasas, Calif., State University of New York at Oswego; Max Kalter of Highland Park, Ill., University of Connecticut; Jonathan Lazarus of Syosset, University of Massachusetts-Amherst; Max Lerman of South Bend, Ind., Culver Academy Prep; Tyler Levine of Laguna Beach, Calif., Philips Andover Academy; Matthew Mendelson of Pittsburgh, Pa., Pennsylvania State University; Benjamin Pulley of Huntington Valley, Pa., University of Connecticut; Jacob Rivera of Pacific Palisades, Calif., State University of New York at Potsdam (’16); Nick Rivera of Pacific Palisades, Calif., Minnesota State University-Mankato; Jacob Schechter of Naples, Fla., Northeastern University; Benjamin Sharf of Williamsville, Colgate University; and Joseph Shecter of Farmington Hills, Mich., United States Military Academy-West Point.
Maccabi USA will bring a team of 1,100+ athletes who will join the 8,750 Jewish athletes from 80 countries, participating in 43 different sports. Since 1932, over 62,000 athletes have participated in the Maccabiah Games, in a celebration of Jewish Strength and Solidarity. Team USA’s success is not only measured by the medals won, but by the impact that the Maccabiah experience had on their lives as well as the friendships they formed.
Maccabi USA builds Jewish pride through sports, generating the emotional intensity, high ideals, and powerful camaraderie of competition. We connect athletes, volunteers, and supporters with the global Jewish community. Our athletic, educational, and cultural experiences build Jewish identity, perpetuate Jewish continuity worldwide, and strengthen support for the State of Israel.
Maccabi USA (MUSA) is a federally-recognized not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization with an extensive history of enriching Jewish lives through athletic, cultural and educational programs. The organization is the official sponsor of the United States Team to the World Maccabiah Games, and the Pan American and European Maccabi Games, as well as a sponsor of the JCC Maccabi Games for teens in North America. As the official Maccabi representative in the U.S., Maccabi USA supports Jewish athletic endeavors, enhanced by cultural and educational activities in the United States, Israel and throughout the Diaspora.
MUSA develops, promotes and supports international, national and regional athletic-based activities and facilities It strives to provide Jewish athletes all over the world the opportunity to share their heritage and customs in competitive athletic settings. MUSA supports programs that embody the Maccabi ideals of Jewish Continuity, Zionism and Excellence in Sport. Maccabi USA Builds Jewish Pride Through Sports.
Maccabi USA has been selected by the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) as a Multi-Sport Organization (MSO). The nonprofit organization becomes one of 35 MSOs nationwide to be recognized by the USOC for its ability to cultivate a national interest in sport and increase opportunities for participation internationally, nationally and at the grassroots level.
