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15th European Maccabi Games opened in Budapest
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President János Áder on Tuesday welcomed contestants participating in the 15th European Maccabi Games, a championship of Jewish athletes.
“We Hungarians are always ready to root for our athletes … We are proud of the many identities thriving in the Hungarian team, under the Hungarian flag. We are proud of our Jewish compatriots whose achievements boost our shared confidence,” Ader said in his speech opening the event.
Hungarian Jews have been present in Hungarian sports history from the start, he said:
Ferenc Kemény contributed to organising the first modern-day Olympics and another Hungarian Jew, the swimmer Alfred Hajós, won the country’s first gold medal there.
The Maccabi Games were conceived in the same spirit, Áder said: to celebrate performance and to create a community through games.
Áder wished the participants “noble fights and memorable moments”.
