The second Maccabiah Game were held on from April 2 to 10, 1935 despite official opposition by the British Mandatory government. The games were held after only three years instead of four as was customary in the Olympics. They decided on three years to not make it look like they were imitating the Olympics. Additionally, the Maccabiah served a more important goal – during the first Maccabiah, a large portion of the athletes stayed in Israel, effectively bypassing the British White Paper. The organizers were hoping the second Maccabiah would function as a way to allow more athletes to make Aliyah. During the second games over 1,300 athletes from 28 nations participated.