On Monday night, as Maccabi Tel Aviv hosted Hapoel Ra'anana, the Jewish people celebrated the sixth night of the festival of Hanukkah. Before the match, the club conducted, together with the spectators, a representative of the Israeli rabbinate and first team manager Benny Tabak, a ceremony for the lighting of the six festival candles on the pitch at Bloomfield Stadium. Special guests were invited by the club to join in lighting each one of the six candles:
Dan Morgenstern and Ilan Eichner from Mexico, participants in the Maccabi World Union's "Bekeff Hadracha" programme, which through Union centres in Jewish communities throughout Latin America brings secondary school leavers to Israel for half a year to make acquaintance with Israeli society and culture. During the course of their stay these young people have the opportunity to try out life in various sectors of Israeli society: By staying on kibbutz, by living in the cities, by volunteering in the community and for the emergency medical services of the Magen David Adom and by participating in a special two-month youth educational course specially designed by the Israeli army for young Jewish people from abroad.
Sisters Limor and Eliana Newmark from England, representatives of the independent not-for-profit organisation "Nefesh B'Nefesh", established in 2002 to breathe new life into efforts to encourage Jews from Western countries to come to live in Israel. In partnership with the government of Israel and the Jewish Agency, "Nefesh B'Nefesh" have succeeded in the ten years of their activity in attracting more than 35,000 Jews from Britain, Canada and the U.S.A. to move to Israel.
Maccabi fan Ben Birenbaum, who just this week celebrated his birthday and attends every one of Maccabi Tel Aviv's home matches.
And last but not least, the Atias family from Kfar Saba, winners of the club's "My Maccabi Family" competition conducted by the club on their official Facebook and Instagram pages.
