A Week of Unity Ends with a Ribbon of Hope: Yellow Ribbon Ceremony Concludes 2025 JCC Maccabi Games in Tucson
The 2025 JCC Maccabi Games and Access in Tucson came to a powerful and emotional close with a moving Yellow Ribbon Ceremony that honored the hostages still held in Gaza and highlighted the Games’ spirit of unity, resilience, and global Jewish peoplehood.
This year’s Games were especially meaningful as the J welcomed the largest-ever delegation of Israeli athletes and coaches—100 strong—from communities across Israel. This included teens and adult chaperones from the Gaza Envelope and northern Israel, many of whom were directly impacted by or displaced following the October 7th attacks. Athletes from Bat Yam, Ramat Gan, and Kiryat Ono, areas recently affected by Iranian missile strikes, also proudly represented their communities.
Several North American JCC delegations integrated members of their Israeli sister cities into their teams, a beautiful reflection of the Games’ mission to build lasting connections and shared experiences for teens across the globe.
On the final day of the Games, the Tucson J community hosted a Yellow Ribbon Ceremony with special guest, Yael Eini, Consul for Public Diplomacy and Culture for the Consulate of Israel. The ceremony brought together the international athletes from Israel and Ukraine, their host families, and community members for a heartfelt tribute to the hostages still held in Gaza and reminder of the strength of Jewish solidarity.
Tucson J President and CEO, Todd Rockoff, opened the evening with words of welcome, sharing the broader purpose and impact of the Games. Yuval Malka, the Sr. Israel Community of Tucson, also addressed the audience, warmly welcoming the athletes and thanking all the families and volunteers who helped make the week so meaningful.
The introduction was followed by a video about the JCC Maccabi Yellow Ribbon Campaign to set the tone, then three Israeli athletes—Shira Oren, Ariel Cohen, and Lihi Sabag—shared the campaign’s pledge with the audience:
"It is such an honor to win a JCC Maccabi medal. While we’ve been in Tucson all week celebrating our Jewish peoplehood and our love of sports, it’s important that we acknowledge those members of the Jewish people that are not free to do so, kept from their families as hostages still in Gaza. At JCC Maccabi, we turn anguish into action—driven by our values, our midot. Each yellow-ribbon medal is more than a symbol. It’s a vow. A cry for the return of those taken. A dedication to all the hostages who remain in Gaza. We are thinking of them every day and we pray that they are returned home soon."
Following the reading, athlete Ela Simtov had the honor of awarding the yellow ribbon gold medal to Consul Eini, symbolizing our collective remembrance, hope, and action, and our enduring commitment to those who remain captive.
Yellow Ribbons were also awarded throughout the Games; as teen athletes took gold medals in their sports, many of them had the opportunity to recite the campaign’s pledge, with the hope that at next year’s Games, the hostages will have been safely returned.
As the sun set on an unforgettable week of competition, connection, and community, the Yellow Ribbon Ceremony served as a poignant reminder: The JCC Maccabi Games are not only about medals and sportsmanship, but about the values, history, and stories, that unite us across place and time.
