History

history

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The club was founded on the12th of December in 1908 as Agkouda Leitalmoud Makkavi (English: Jewish Maccabees Athletic Club), when Thessaloniki still belonged to the Ottoman Empire. The founders were H. Arditi, Frances S., I. Cohen, L. Sides, J. Alvo, L. Pinchas, A. Matarraso, M. and S. Agostaris Venezi. Maccabi outside of sports, had choir, organized excursions and instructed Hebrew lessons and Jewish History to people who were interested in judaism.

After the great fire of 1917, Maccabi experienced a period of decline. The offices, the facilities of the club and almost all of the Jewish Quarter of the city were destroyed. In 1917, Maccabi was united with other Jewish sports clubs in Thessaloniki, Max Nordaou, Kadima and Bnei Tsionas in a club by the name of Theodore Herzl. In November 1924,some members of Maccabi retired and founded another club which was named Akoach had many sport sections and was, with Maccabi, the two biggest clubs in the Jewish community who were starring in the local leagues.

In 1926, members of Maccabi leave the club Theodore Herzl and reinstated Maccabi. In 1930, Maccabi Thessalonik became a member of the international organization Maccabi clubs and took part in many Maccabiah games till today. In 1930, the organization was invited to celebrate in Sofia the 25 years of local Maccabi. After an article in the newspaper”Makedonia” in 1931, which claimed that the representative of Maccabi took part in a nationalist Bulgarian conference about Macedonia, nationalist organizations in Thessaloniki attacked and destroyed the offices of the club and the Jewish Quarter. These events are known as the Campbell Pogrom. In 1939 the statute was amended and took its current name.

During the Second World War each sporting activity was stopped. Most members of Maccabi as most of teethe city’s Jews were taken to concentration camps and perished there. In 1945, with the release of the survivors, many of them tried to reopen the club. They made it for a few months and then it was inactivated. In 1966, Maccabi resumed and continues to this day with fewer sport sections and athletes outside of the Jewish community.