On July 8, 2025, a new class featuring the likes of basketball’s Amar’e Stoudemire, judoka Oren Smadja, Paralympian Moran Samuel, swimmers Sarah Poewe and Helen Plaschinski Farca de Finkler, sports commentator Chris Berman and tennis legend Shahar Pe’er was to be inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.
Following Maccabi World Union’s postponement of the 2025 Maccabiah Games for a year, due to the war, the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame (known as “the Hall”) followed suit and delayed its induction ceremony this year.
“Our board agreed to follow MWU’s lead and will also postpone the IJSHOF Induction Ceremony originally scheduled for July 8 to next summer,” it said in a statement.
The ceremony was destined to be a big event, not just for the inductees but also for the Hall itself. If you haven’t heard about the Hall, you could be excused for thinking it’s a brand new venture, but this isn’t the case. It’s a well-kept secret that has been around for more than four decades, during which it has inducted more than 500 Jewish athletes and sports personalities hailing from more than 30 countries.
The Hall’s vision is to recognize and celebrate Jewish contributions to sports through storytelling, advocacy and education. Some of the legends in Jewish sports already in the Hall include swimmers Mark Spitz and Lenny Krayzelburg, basketball’s Red Auerbach and Tal Brody, baseball star Sandy Koufax, windsurfer Gal Fridman and gymnasts Agnes Keleti and Aly Raisman.
Margolis and Silberman: The next generation
Founded in 1981 by Joe Siegman and Alan Sherman, the two held the reins until they both died. In need of fresh blood and new leadership, the torch was passed on to Jed Margolis and Lenny Silberman, who are reinvigorating the Hall as well as public awareness of it.
The founder and CEO of Lost Tribe and with a lifetime of service devoted to JCC Maccabi and Jewish summer camps, Silberman is considered the right person to bring the Hall into the 21st century and connect with the next generations of Jewish kids in search of Jewish heroes.
Not only that, he’s in the Hall himself as the recipient of the Chairman’s Award of Excellence. Thanks to Silberman, the Hall now has a new website and revitalized social media presence.
“The Hall has all of these amazing stories, but very few people know about them, so I’m here to help it rebrand, reposition, remarket and relaunch,” Silberman told JNS.
The induction ceremony was due to kickstart the Hall’s efforts but instead it will cap off a busy 12 months. “We will begin planning our virtual museum and also have an event in South Florida to celebrate past honorees,” Silberman said. “We will also begin the process of selecting a new class for 2026. And finally, we are looking to do a virtual celebration early this fall for the classes of ’23, ’24 and ’25.”
Margolis has a similarly storied career and worked for more than 40 years professionally in JCCs and Maccabi USA, where he served as executive director for 17 years, before retiring in 2017.
“What we’re trying to do here is to educate, motivate, celebrate, and inspire Jewish athletes around the world,” Margolis told JNS. “While we are often called the ‘People of the Book,’ we are equally the ‘People of the Story’—and the stories of Jewish athletes are powerful, courageous and deeply moving. From world champions to record breakers and pioneers who changed the game, their legacies speak volumes.”
He added, “Our work also plays a vital role in confronting antisemitism by highlighting the enduring strength and contributions of the Jewish community through sport.”
Making the Hall global and accessible
Part of the vision of Silberman, Margolis and their new board of directors is to make the Hall truly international and less “American/Israeli-centric.” In this, they are succeeding and recent inductees have come from Denmark, Scotland, Argentina, New Zealand and a first-ever from Mexico.
The Hall’s physical presence will move from the Wingate Institute in Netanya to Kfar Maccabiah in Ramat Gan, but more than that, it will have a strong online presence so that people all over the world can visit it whenever they want.
“There will be a virtual museum that is open 24/7 every day of the year,” Silberman promised. “We want people to come and visit it and gain access to the exciting and incredibly inspiring stories our inductees tell.”
Margolis and Silberman said they want everyone who is Jewish to feel invested in the Hall, noting that anyone is able to nominate someone.
The Hall’s think tank
A think tank to discuss the future of the Hall was scheduled to take place the day after the induction ceremony. The aim was to find new ways to collaborate, especially in light of events following the Hamas massacre on Oct. 7, 2023. It too has been postponed due to the Israel-Iran war.
“We plan to continue with the think tank, most likely sometime next month (July),” Silberman said.
A critical agenda item for the think tank will be tackling antisemitism and Jew-hatred, emphasizing sports’ ability to foster Jewish pride and counter these challenges, Silberman and Margolis said.
“We envision using sports as a platform to educate and inspire Generations Z and Alpha,” Silberman said. “By leveraging social media, we aim to highlight our rich history and promote strength within the Jewish community in sports and leadership roles.”
Silberman and Margolis have a range of impressive ideas and have already mapped out a strategic vision related to the development and future growth of the Hall.
“We’d love to have something like regional ceremonies all over the world so people can enjoy this once-in-a-lifetime experience in front of their family and friends without having to travel,” they said.
Additionally, they are looking to enhance the global board they have assembled to oversee the Hall.
If the duo can get to the finish line with its ambitious plans, the Hall will be far more than just a stagnant museum honoring the past. Rather, it could inspire the Jewish sporting superstars of tomorrow to join them in the pantheon of the greatest Jewish athletes of all times.