Hanukkah torch race in memory of the Maccabees, which started from the Maccabee cemeteries and from there reached the rest of the country. The idea to hold the race was influenced by the first torch race, held at the Berlin Olympics in 1936, but also by a description in the Mishnah about how messages were passed from settlement to settlement by lighting torches in ancient times in the Land of Israel.

The torch race expressed the values ​​advocated by the ‘Young Maccabi’ movement: love of country, existence of the people in their country, freedom, independence, and devotion to the cause. At that time it was a complex operation because the place where the torch was lit and the start of the race route were located near Arab settlements. The holding of the race despite the danger emphasized its symbolism, and the members of the ‘Young Maccabi’ insisted on holding it despite everything. This is how the newspaper ‘Davar’ described the course of the race, held on Friday (19.12.44): “At sunrise, they reached the Hasmonean tombs. After a short ceremony, a torch was lit that was carried by messengers to Tel Aviv… The desolate places were accepted by the “Maccabi” members who are busy teaching physical culture in the army divisions: Feizner, Al. Aterman, Miron Abramson, A. Kuritsky; And in the towns of the south, the members of the associations ran from Rehovot, Rishon, and Nes-Ziona… In S.A. over a hundred runners participated in the race. At four o’clock in the afternoon, the journey reached Tel Aviv and many gathered to see the spectacle. The runners, with the torch in their hands, passed through the main streets until they reached the Maccabi House on Maccabim Street.”

מרוץ הלפיד גדנע גדנ”ע חנוכה תש”ט כרזה פוסטר קום המדינה

The post Annual Gadna Torch Race Vintage Israeli Poster Design M.Tolchinsky, 1949 first appeared on VINTAGE ISRAELI POSTERS.