Becoming a Maccabi

- Benjamin Futoriansky, Excel Business 2016

Sports are a beautiful thing. A few weeks ago I had the privilege and opportunity to be dressed up in red and white, holding my flag high above me, and walk out with the Canadian delegation to a sold-out crowd of 30,000 people at the Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem, for the opening ceremonies of the 20th Maccabiah (aka the Jewish Olympics). Growing up playing competitive soccer all of my life, I never imagined I’d get to represent my country with the sport I love, in the country I love most. For the games themselves, we beat Peru, tied Uruguay, and in a do-or-die match against Brazil, we unfortunately lost (we were actually better than them!). We then played a consolation game for 9th place against Colombia and were victorious, finishing 9th out of 16 teams. Yes, the U.S ended up winning the tournament…

Despite our loss and surprising early exit, participating in this Maccabiah was one of the greatest experiences of my life. One of the most memorable moments were the closing ceremonies held at the Latrun Tank Museum, where (apart from Bar Rafaeli hosting), I had chills all over my body listening to all 10,000 athletes sing along to the Hatikva. Throughout the games we were treated like real Olympic athletes. Little kids ran around to follow us, take selfies, ask for autographs (I tried to tell them it wouldn’t be worth much), but it was truly something special. In Israel I got to see how sports brought together individuals from all over the world as part of a community. Language was no longer a barrier as we expressed our mutual respect and feelings through sport — despite a few cleat marks on my shins.

Although playing in the Maccabi Games was always an aspiration, it wasn’t something I had considered when I stopped playing soccer after my varsity season at York University, winning a second straight National Championship. What brought me back to Israel and encouraged me to come out of “retirement” wasn’t the sport or the games, but it was my connection with Israel — shaped together by Excel.

Last summer I was fortunate enough to take part in the Birthright Israel Excel program with an internship at Start-Up Nation Central. The summer changed a lot of things for me. It opened my eyes to the Start-Up Nation itself, learning about all of the innovation, start-ups, acquisitions, and overall tech-infused lifestyle, making me realize my passion and interests around these fields. Having attended various conferences, meetups, and speaker talks throughout the program, I was inspired to go and build my own start-up, which a year later has launched! Apart from tech, the experience also made me come home more proud and aware of my heritage, understanding not only the country’s history, but my own family’s as well, and what Israel means to me. In addition to learning about my roots, the summer wouldn’t have been the same without all of the amazing friendships forged with the individuals on the program and the memories made that will last a lifetime.

Israel had become my second home thanks to Excel and this is what had brought me back and will continue to do so for years to come.

What’s next?

While my aspirations to play for FC Barcelona may be behind me, I’ll definitely be making a comeback for the next games in 4 years, and will be back to Israel as soon as I can. Now that I’m home, I’m very excited to be a leader for sport and find other ways to give back to the Excel community. I can’t wait to see everyone at the Summit in November!

Cheers,

Ben

Benjamin Futoriansky is a Consulting Analyst at Accenture in Toronto. He is a member of the Birthright Israel Excel 2016 cohort. He graduated from the Schulich School of Business at York University with specializations in Strategy and Finance. He has also recently launched his start-up, DestaPlan, which is a Travel Social Networking platform oriented around making traveling easy.

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Birthright Israel Excel

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Birthright Israel Excel Blog

Birthright Israel Excel is a lifelong fellowship that engages talented, creative Jewish young adults interested in business and entrepreneurship. Following their professional summer experience in Israel, Fellows join a vast network of rising leaders. Follow us for their stories!

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