Maccabi Jerusalem B.C.

Lore & Background

Maccabi Jerusalem was founded in the 1930s, before the state of Israel, and played friendly matches against local teams like Hapoel Jerusalem. It won the Jerusalem League championship in 1941 and 1956. The team entered the top league in 1955 and remained for nine seasons. In 1959, it participated in the Martini Cup in Paris, losing all games and finishing sixth, facing criticism for including a national team player under an alias (the player's identity is disputed). Derby games against Hapoel Jerusalem were a highlight in the late 1950s and early 1960s, with one derby in 1961/62 interrupted by crowd threats. The team was called the 'Dream Team' but dropped from the top league after 1963/64 and languished in lower divisions for three decades.

Reader's Guide

Maccabi Jerusalem B.C. holds significance as an early Israeli basketball club that represented Jerusalem in the top league and international competition. Its participation in the 1959 Martini Cup marked an early foray into European tournaments, despite poor results and controversy. The team's derby rivalry with Hapoel Jerusalem defined Jerusalem basketball in the late 1950s and early 1960s. After a 30-year absence, the team returned to the Premier League in the 1994/95 season but was relegated in 1996 due to financial issues—the first such relegation in Israeli basketball. The club dissolved in 2003 but was re-established in 2024, now playing in Liga Bet. Its legacy includes Avraham Hoffman as all-time top scorer and a history of resilience through multiple relegations and revival.

Did You Know?

• The team was sometimes confused with Bar Kokhba Jerusalem, a separate club that merged with Maccabi Jerusalem at one point, but they were not the same entity.
• In the 1959 Martini Cup, a player (not Avraham Hoffman) played under an alias because he was prohibited from participating; the exact identity of that player is disputed.
• The team was relegated from the Premier League in 1996 by the Budgetary Control Authority due to financial issues, the first such case in Israeli basketball.
• The club dissolved in 2003 and was re-established in 2024 by Roni Steinitz, Sahar Rahamim, and Yossi Sharabi.