served as an assistant coach for Israel’s
senior netball team for players between
19 and 35. In both events, Benaim’s
teams earned silver medals. She now
has a bronze medal and three silvers in
her Maccabiah Games career.

Benaim, who lives in Ra’anana with
her two daughters, would love to win
gold in the future, but that’s not why
she keeps playing in the games.

“To walk into an opening ceremony,
wearing the jersey of Israel and to see
the entire world, basically, it doesn’t
get old,” she said. “You have that wow
eff ect. You feel like you’re a part of
something important.”
Aviva Menche
Menche, whose story about realizing
her dream of making aliyah was fea-
tured in the Jewish Exponent in July,
played in her fi rst Maccabiah Games
on that Israeli senior netball team that
Benaim helped coach. Th e Northeast
Philadelphia native, who moved to
Israel with her husband and daughter
in 2020, picked up the sport as a college
student studying abroad in Australia.

Th en, years later, she rediscovered it
in Tel Aviv as a way to meet people
in her new home. Th at led to a look
from Team Israel’s head coach, Shan
Aiden Abrams plays in the 21st Maccabiah Games.

Photo by Yael Amsili
Berman, and a spot on the national
team. In the Maccabiah tournament,
Menche, a former point guard in bas-
ketball at Stern Hebrew High School
in Philadelphia, played wing defender,
wing attacker and center, a position
Danny Rosenblum helped lead the United States to a
gold medal in the Maccabiah Games’ U18 fi ve-on-fi ve
basketball tournament.

Photo by Bonita Eldeman
much like point guard. Her assists
helped swing the momentum toward
Israel in two games leading up to the
championship. But in the title matchup
against Australia, Israel fell a little
short. Still, a silver medal wasn’t bad.

Neither was playing for the Jewish
home of her dreams.

“It was great to represent Israel,” she
said. “It was cool to be around Jewish
athletes from all over the world.” JE
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