‘Over-50’ Canadians Take Back More Than Medals From Maccabiah

Like the Olympics, Israel’s signature sporting event, the Maccabiah Games, is held every four years, utilizing scores of venues upon which some 10,000 athletes compete over the course of two weeks.

Unlike the Olympics, though, the Maccabiah includes a Seniors division, enabling seasoned competitors to extend by decades their personal quests for athletic excellence.

The personal bonds with Israel that many Jews feel, combined with the thrill of competition, make for a heady mix of emotions that explain why a successful businessman might reward himself with a midsummer trip to the Middle East to take part in the Games, marching into Jerusalem’s Teddy Stadium to the cheers of tens of thousands of well-wishers.

Tennis players, philanthropists, and sports aficionados – we spoke with these gentlemen.

Anton Rabie is the co-founder and director of the iconic Spin Master toys. Leonard Asper is a businessman and lawyer with an impressive history in media and communications. And Kevin Green is a Canadian businessman who serves as the international chair for Israel Tennis & Education Centers.

Anton Rabie

Anton Rabie is the director and co-founder of Spin Master. He’s here in Israel with the Maccabiah Games.

TML: You’re a tennis player, correct?

Rabie: It’s a special hobby of mine which creates some amazing friendships and really serendipitous moments for me.

TML: How do you go from developing toys to spending all this time here in Israel and saying, I’m taking time off because tennis is important for me? Why?

Rabie: In the last year we’ve put in a CEO and created more balance in my life, which is wonderful. The transition worked out really well. We hired a gentleman named Max Rangel, who’s the CEO of Spin Master. I’m still involved in the company every day, but differently and with a little less time. I’m very grateful for that.

TML: How many times have you been to Israel?

Rabie: About four.

TML: How did you get involved in the Maccabiah?

Rabie: I think the Maccabiah is brilliant in the way they bring Jewish kids from around the world to really experience Israel. As you well know, until you’re here, to be here… there’s no way you can explain this place without being here. And the connection is so deep, so magical, so special on many fronts. The connection to one’s Jewish roots, the connection to the energy and the people, the history. There’s so many incredible stories that you hear about people, how they got here, the circumstances they dealt with. Even when I was with [Israeli former professional tennis player] Andy Ram, we were having dinner the other night, he was telling me stories from Uruguay and how his family landed here. There is no place like Israel, and I feel really grateful that I can be here.

TML: You’re over the 50 mark. We’re talking to business people who are in the sport and in the Games. Is it a little different? Is it harder?

Rabie: You’re playing against people in your age group. So we’re all 50. It’s not like I’m playing against a 20-year-old who can last longer on the court. Since my natural coordination is average, I spend a lot of time on the fitness, on the backstage. I really enjoy… the whole journey of wellness, I love. So I try my best to stay in shape and eat well. I enjoy the wellness lifestyle, and I’ve been very fortunate to have a great team help me with my wellness, like Dr. Kevin Jardine. He’s a close friend and really a mentor for me in this area.

TML: Do you see a correlation between your game at play and your toys? Do you see the correlation in terms of sports itself as a correlation to what you do in your business? And what is it?

Rabie: The correlation is more of a mindset for me. What’s so amazing about playing an individual sport is it really humbles oneself to be incredibly present and to very quickly catch any narratives and release them. The whole mindset of sports, with respect to resilience, feedback, always trying to get feedback about how to do better. I did a really nice talk with [American former world No. 1 tennis player] Jim Courier – it’s on YouTube as Jim Courier, Anton Rabie on the Mindstones channel. We talked about the parallels between his career and my career. I think there are a lot of parallels in mindsets when you’re trying to really be in a state of flow mentally. You use lots of different techniques. You try to create routine rituals. One uses techniques to try to be present in the moment. There’s so many different ways to do that, and you find something that works for yourself. Things like, when you have a bad shot, you kind of have tennis amnesia, and how to let go of it and move on. And when you’re in a meeting in business. So there are some interesting parallels.

TML: Tell us a little about your toy company. You have very well-known products world over. How did you develop the concept for some of the really well-known toys?

Rabie: We have an incredible team. My partners Ronnen [Harary] and Benny [Varadi], when we founded the company, they spent so much time on the innovation side. I handled the people side of the business, and the sales, and the leadership, and they handled the innovations. So I really give them a lot of credit. Ben Varadi established incredible relationships with inventors. We created a very iterative process of working with inventors around the world. We’ve actually brought inventors to Israel; we did a real bonding. Several years ago we brought close to 25 top inventors in the industry to Israel. It was an incredible experience that Benny and Ronnen had with the inventors.

TML: How do you see Israel’s toy industry?

Rabie: There’s always great intellectual property here. You look at Rummikub, Rami cube, depending on how you pronounce it, that was invented here. There’s the other inventions that come out of Israel. So it’s a good place for us to meet with inventors, and also the technology, as you know well. Israel is a hub for technology, and it’s an interesting place for us to stay connected to.

TML: What are you most proud about in Israel? You’re here as a player, you’re giving up time to come.

Rabie: It’s incredible to see the resilience of the people. It’s the people, it’s all about the people. I was out for dinner the other day and my cousin says, “Israelis have a reputation of being aggressive.” One needs to know the circumstances, their history and the culture and survival many, many years ago. But he said the one thing about Israelis − they might come across at first impression as aggressive, but if you’ve ever called a friend in Israel and needed help, they’ll be there for you in a second. And you can call people about small things or big things, and they’ll have your back. They’ll show up to your house in a second. It’s a very different culture. The Israeli people are really special and I think sometimes they’re misunderstood, but it’s very common for cultures to be misunderstood.

TML: Where is there room for improvement?

Rabie: In which area?

TML: It’s a personal thing, whether it’s political issues, whether it’s issues of where things are in terms of poverty in Israel, sometimes there’s a big gap in Israel. I don’t want to put words in your mouth, so I’m asking you. You come as a businessman, and a successful businessman at that. What do you see as leaving room for improvement?

Rabie: I haven’t done that much business here. We sell our products here. It’s not a large market for us, just naturally by the GDP. So I’m not an expert on doing business in Israel, and I couldn’t comment on that. For us Israel is more an opportunity to find intellectual property than to just sell our products. Our products are all in Israel, but again it’s a small market. I would go back to mindset. Israelis have an opportunity to transition. We all know how tough the road has been, and the history and the context. I think that Israeli people should, like anyone, try and make better and continuous improvements. Start to shift the mindset. A lot of Israelis, for good reasons, have had to have a lot of skepticism and fear. I think there’s different times to wear different hats, and not always wear the same hat.

TML: What do you take away from these Games, the Maccabiah Games? I know you’re heading back home.

Rabie: Anyone who can have their kids come here, it’s a real privilege and a real treat. My daughter here, Lexi, is having the time of her life. To encourage your kids to come here is an absolute must. It’s not about competing, it’s about the experience in Israel. Yes, the competition’s great, but you know, my daughter, she didn’t even play a high level of tennis, and a year ago she made the team. I said to Lexi, I said Lexi, it’s not about the tennis, it’s about being in Israel, it’s about meeting other Jewish people from around the world, connecting to Israel, touching it, experiencing it. As you know well, you can’t explain to someone how it feels to swim in the ocean who’s never been in it until they jump in. Being here in Israel will profoundly change your views for life. I think a lot of kids who come once will get the bug, and they start really giving back and really stretching their minds in an amazing way. It’s very powerful, it’s very powerful in many ways.

TML: Thank you so much, Anton Rabie, on the way out, for taking the time, actually from the airport, to speak to The Media Line.

Rabie: Take care. Have a great day.

Leonard Asper

Leonard Asper is a Canadian businessman and lawyer who is a Maccabiah athlete competing in the age 50 and up grouping.

TML: Leonard, how many things can you name that you would leave your business obligations for two weeks for?

Asper: Well, I hate to say this, nothing else. Not even my family, unfortunately. This is so special, that so many people from all over the world, whether it’s Argentina or Canada or the US or Australia, India, they make every exception they possibly can and the world stops when there’s a chance to compete in the Maccabiah Games, because it’s such a special time to meet people like you, Zionists who love Israel, people who love sport, people who love just being together with their friends and reconnecting every four or five years. It’s a very meaningful event that can’t be replicated, and so, it’s the only holiday we’ll ever take.

TML: Is it more difficult to play when you’re over 50?

Asper: Yes, but I want to say one thing, there’s something about the air in Israel − it might be divine, but we’re all commenting that none of our injuries that we feel in Toronto or New York or Los Angeles or Sydney or Córdoba, we don’t have them here. My knees are feeling much better in Israel. I don’t know why. Maybe that’s why people make aliyah. It’s not about the land, it’s about the body. But no, it’s something that we really cherish. I think it’s not about necessarily winning something. Some people come expecting to win, some people know that they’re just here to experience Israel, and get in shape, and have a purpose while they’re also in a way making “temporary aliyah.”

TML: You’re a tournament quality tennis player. Would you say the Maccabiah is something other than a place for playing great tennis matches?

Asper: Yes, the quality is very good. There are former professional players here, there are people who are ranked on the world over-50 tour. And so I got a bit of a cold shower here, because I didn’t realize quite how good the competition was. I played ice hockey here in 2017 and 2013, and for Canadians, that’s a little easier. We were very, very competitive and we were fighting for the gold, whereas here, and one of the things it’s harder for people from colder climates is to play tennis in 35° Celsius heat. For Americans here, close to 100 degrees. So that’s been a bit of a challenge, getting used to the heat. Like I say, it’s about friendly competition. Not everyone wins the gold, but most of us aren’t necessarily here to win the gold, we’re here because of the spirit of how athletics can mix with culture and education and friendship.

TML: What do the Maccabiah Games mean to you?

Asper: It’s about Israel. It really is about Israel, because they have Maccabi events all over the world, but it’s about the fact that Israel exists. And nobody can take it away, and nobody’s going to take it away. The people who are coming here for sport are competitive people, and we believe that and we want to be part of that perpetual legacy in this country.

TML: How many over-50 businessmen, people like you, came to Israel to play in the Maccabiah that you know of?

Asper: Well, I know the Canadian contingent, I was connected with mutual friends from the US. So probably a hundred people, and probably 25 for tennis alone. We have the teams for the ice hockey; I know the American ice hockey teams. It’s challenging because – my day ended at 2 am yesterday, and I started work at 5 pm, because it was 10 am in Toronto and New York. The challenge of doing this is you have to play your sports and manage your business. You can’t really leave your business behind; you can only partly leave your business behind. Some of the guys are doing their phone calls and then being late for dinner. You manage to work. We have two jobs while we’re here.

TML: Does sports benefit your personal life and your professional life?

Asper: Oh yeah, I love sports, I love sports. I firmly believe that every day somebody should do something, whether it’s 10 pushups or jump rope 100 times or five situps. It doesn’t matter what it is. First of all, you sleep better, you’re healthier, you have a different outlook on life just by being active – the physical part of it. The mental part of it is even more important because you develop a mental fortitude when you play a sport. If it’s an individual sport like swimming or tennis, you’re out there alone. You have nobody to coach you, nobody can say anything. You are on your own, you are an island and you better figure out how to survive. When you’re in a team sport you have to learn about giving and taking and collaboration. Those two things you learn in sport are life lessons. They make for better people, better leaders, better friendships, better sleep as I said. There’s a physical and emotional and intellectual life-learning element to sport that I think makes a better life if you do it. And I think the idea of competing – what’s really great about Maccabi is that people like me, we’re not going to go beat Rafael Nadal, we’re not going to beat [Novak] Djokovic. But to win a game at the Maccabiah Games gives you a thrill – you won, you won in a year at the Games, you won. In hockey we won a medal, I have a medal. I’m 50 years old, I won a medal at something. That just keeps you young. That’s what’s great about it.

TML: The Asper Foundation just announced a major gift of $2.5 million to the Asper Maccabi House [at Kfar Maccabiah in Ramat Gan]. Why are Jewish sports so important?

Asper: Wow, that’s such a long and important question. Until we started getting involved with Kfar Maccabiah and the Maccabi movement generally, I hadn’t gone back and thought about that question, about Jewish sports. But “Jewish sports” is not an isolated term. Jewish sports are weaved deeply into the history of the last 120, 130 years. You go back to Alfred Dreyfus and the breaking of a sword that led to the first [Jewish] fencing club in Turkey [in 1895], that started the Maccabi movement generally. And then you go to things like the [1972] Olympics in Munich. There’s a great story at the [Jewish Sports] Museum [at Maccabi House] about a swimmer who won a medal, but they didn’t think she was going to win, so they didn’t have “Hatikvah.” I didn’t know the story. I got choked up. She was singing into this microphone, and Tal Brody and the basketball team. These sort of landmark events, some very sad but some very beautiful, some incredible things in celebration of the story of Jews in sport. A Jewish sports museum – that must be a five-minute thing, the whole thing about how many Jews are really good in sports. But there are lots. People don’t necessarily know it and it’s a great story. What Maccabi does in particular really well is to bring people to Israel who are not necessarily very imbued with Israeli history. They’re not very connected to Israel at all, not educated about Israel. They’re kind of out there playing sports and they just happen to be Jewish. But then they come here and they get this connection and it never goes away, and it was through sport. Yes, we have Birthright, we have all these things that bring people to Israel and all the missions that the Federations do, but when you bring a 17-year-old to Israel to play sports, magic happens. And you didn’t have to shove it down anyone’s throat, it just got there, and that’s just a great thing. That’s what Maccabi does really well. It also helps people in the communities, however many clubs there are, 500 clubs around the world. It gives people, especially in cities where there isn’t a big Jewish population and it’s spread out, you get people connecting with other Jews in those cities too. It’s both in the Diaspora and in Israel. It’s a very powerful organization, a very, very effective organization. It’s very impactful and it’s changed a lot of lives. This museum really changed my life when I went through it. It’s going to change a lot of lives.

TML: You were born in Canada, you studied in Boston, and you’re very involved in Israel. Is your heart in three places?

Asper: Well, I say it’s in Israel. It doesn’t mean it’s not in Canada. I have my wife and three children, so I can say I have my heart in four places. You can separate your heart a little bit, you have to. It’s not so much in Boston, I love Boston, I went to Brandeis University and I’m very tight with the university there, but Israel is so important to my Jewish essence that I have to say this is what I’m about. I live in Canada, I love the country and I support it and I’m part of it and I’m a Canadian, I’m a proud Canadian. So if it’s fractured those are the two places it is. But deep down with every visit this bond with Israel gets strengthened. So that’s really where it is.

TML: You spent years working on a combat sports channel. Can you describe the channel for us, what is its goal?

Asper: It really was the start of a new business I created, which is really targeting passionate communities. First, I thought about what’s missing, where there is no centrality. It’s kind of like the Israel of fighting; there’s no epicenter for combat sports. Combat sports isn’t about two people hitting each other, it’s really about an ethos and a set of values that two people who enter a ring or a field of play or a court or whatever you want to call it share. Because they’ve trained, they’ve done all these things. It’s one of these individual sports where you really have to be strong mentally, and physically of course. But it’s got rules and there are rules of engagement and the fighters have rules of honor and respect. And the fact that people train so hard to get there. That was the first passionate community I discovered: like-minded people who practiced combat sports around the world. Since then we’ve actually discovered so many other communities: the hunting and fishing community, several different subcommunities within the music space. So people who like rock and roll, people who like country music, people who like hip-hop music, and R&B and klezmer. It could be whatever. So we’re building a lot of content for those communities. The thing about media now is that it’s global, it really is global. With all the digital – whether it’s YouTube or Facebook or Amazon or whatever it is, Apple, there may be seven people in a city who like one thing, but there are 7 million people around the world who like that thing, and this connects them. What my company now tries to do is to connect all those people who love certain kinds of content and want to engage in them find their friends around the world. It’s kind of like there’s the Fight Network and there’s a diaspora, and we connect them all. It’s one of many channels we have now.

TML: Would you say it’s kind of the same role that the Maccabiah plays for the Jewish athletes?

Asper: Yes, it’s true. There are these little satellite groupings of people who share the same values and love Israel and want to play sports and respect each other for the different sports they play. They share the same common bond, and the Maccabiah definitely does bring them together.

TML: Looking at Israel through the lens of a businessman, what are you proud of and where do you think there’s room for improvement?

Asper: Israel is always talked about as the Start-Up Nation, and it is that, but there’s agriculture and a strong focus on startups here and business ideas about solving problems. I find there’s an over-indexing, a disproportionate number of business people here who are thinking globally, not only in terms of what’s their market but what problem are they solving. It’s the technical problems, the Wazes of the world, how we make things faster, easier. But it’s also how do we feed the world, how do we deal with climate change, how do we deal with pollution and poverty and stuff. And those business ideas are emanating from Israel. I think what’s changed in Israel in the last probably 10-15 years is, I think Israelis were great at making the coolest, best and most wonderful products in the world – everyone knows the list – but less effective in marketing and commercializing those things. But now, the coming together of capital, ideas, people and the marketing skills I’m talking about – it takes ideas and teams and money and marketing and sales and execution – that is all coming together within Israel itself. These businesses that are starting up now in Israel are complete businesses. That’s keeping more money here. It’s like you have oil, then you have refining, but now you have the oil and the refining all in one place. The value added is in Israel and it’s being poured back into the Israeli economy and it’s just compounding upon each other.

TML: And where is there room for improvement?

Asper: Look, the electoral system here makes it challenging because the governments change quickly and unpredictably. No one’s going to change that really but it is a challenge, because you don’t have this every four or five years, something where you know you have whoever it is, whether you like them or not like them. That’s a little bit challenging. And you have to find a way to tell parts of the world, at least, what Israel really is, and what it isn’t, because obviously there are incredible misperceptions about Israel keeping capital out of Israel. So I think marketing the country is the biggest thing. And continue to develop the transportation systems. There’s a lot of traffic here. It’s no one’s fault, it’s growing so fast. It takes a long time to build a highway and rail lines and stuff. It doesn’t take that long for 200,000 people to show up. So people are coming faster than the country can create infrastructure. So I think keeping a real strong focus on building the infrastructure necessary for the quality of life here will be just as important as getting capital here, and they’re kind of intertwined.

TML: Thank you so much.

Kevin Green

Kevin Green is the international chair for the Israel Tennis & Education Centers, and it’s his sixth time representing Canada in the Maccabiah Games.

TML: Welcome to The Media Line.

Green: Thank you for having me.

TML: It’s a pleasure. I know that it’s the sixth time you’re representing Canada in the Maccabiah Games. The first was back in 1985. What brings you here, your love of tennis or your love of Israel?

Green: It’s love of Israel, all the way.

TML: Why?

Green: It’s hard to say. It’s just love of Israel.

TML: How many times have you been in Israel?

Green: Probably 30, 40 times for sure, over the years, 50.

TML: That’s a lot of times over many years.

Green: Many years. Yes, it’s the love of Israel. The love of marching [at the Maccabiah’s opening ceremony], seeing the Diaspora. It’s seeing the kids, seeing the excitement, seeing the energy. The other side of it, I’m quite active with the Israel Tennis & Education Centers. We have centers right across Israel, 18 centers, so it’s a lot of work going back and forth [from Toronto]. But it’s a true joy to be able to do that work, a true joy.

TML: This was your sixth time, in terms of being in the Maccabiah Games. That’s a big deal, and particularly now you’re over 60. Do you see a difference in playing a little bit older?

Green: Well, I can tell you that people are staying in better shape. I wish they weren’t, but it’s extremely competitive. The competition’s fantastic from all over the world. There great talent in the Diaspora.

TML: Tell me a little bit about that? Explain a little more about the Israel Centers.

Green: These are Tennis Centers. The Israel Tennis Centers go across Israel, and they’re designed to help children at risk, in need. It’s all about inclusion and bringing people together. Just recently the Arab cities have asked us to help them with their issues of violence and drugs and not going to school, and we’re helping brothers and sisters create a better Israel. That’s how we feel. We think that one child at a time, working together and working hard to bring everybody together. We want to create leaders. It’s a joy. The children that we see – oh my goodness – they’re the best. It keeps you coming back. They’re just so special. They have such excitement about what’s coming next. And hopefully we create opportunity and excitement and passion, motivation, integrity, giving back and all those things characteristics in these children. It’s big. It’s really an honor to be part of this.

TML: Is sports sort of a common denominator?

Green: Sports is really the excitement of getting together. There’s a lot of endorphins and dopamines happening when you start bouncing around. They’re children, all ages. Kids, whoever they are, whatever part of life they come from in Israel, they’re friends in 30 minutes. The main attraction for children is the friendships, and sports is a great way to build friendships. They laugh, they scream, they jump around, they make fun of each other and they’re truly friends for life. And what’s very special is that all the parents become friends. We feel really great about that.

TML: How many people are involved in the sports centers, and how many sports centers are there in Israel?

Green: There’s 18 centers. We see about 7,000 children. There’s probably about 250 to 300 people that work with our organization. That’s it.

TML: In 2013, you actually marched alongside your son, who was competing in the Juniors. What was that like?

Green: It’s very emotional. It’s very emotional and very special. It’s magnificent, to go to march with your son, to see the world, the Diaspora, marching into that stadium. It’s incredible.

TML: Do you feel that the Games have lived up to your expectations? You’ve been quoted as saying it’s more about comradery than competition.

Green: Oh, yes. First of all, the people you play against, some of the others are great athletes and there’s great competition. And you meet the teams. You meet the soccer players, you meet the baseball players, you’re meeting the hockey team, you’re meeting the hockey players. You’re meeting everybody. You’re meeting their families, you’re meeting from – the languages that go on, it’s incredible. It’s really special. It’s so fascinating. You’re talking to people and finding out what’s going on in their countries, what’s happening with Jewry, with them. From India, all over Europe, all over South America, North America. It’s fantastic. It’s just a great way to make friends for life. It’s very special. For myself, I love Maccabi because they bring so many people to Israel. That’s the greatest thing we all can do is bring many people to see how special this country is, what a magnificent place to visit. And when people come to Israel, they’re hooked, they’re hooked on Israel. It’s very special.

TML: What is the size of the over-50 group in terms of playing tennis, because that’s your area?

Green: I’m over 60. I believe six per country in each of the competitions. It depends on the number of countries that enter that competition, but in tennis, each country is allowed six competitors in each category. So that would be over-50, over-55, over-60. I’m not sure that helps, I can get you the total number but we [Canada] as a country sent somewhere around 600 people in all. And I think the US is 1,200. Plus their families. It’s fantastic that these people are visiting Israel, the buzz, the energy. The opening ceremonies are just magnificent.

TML: You’re one of the largest real estate companies [Greenwin] in Canada. How did your family get started in the business?

Green: Oh my goodness. Well, my zayde [grandfather] got here around 1918, 1920. He was sort of a handyman. He worked with his sons. In business they met − my grandfather had a best friend who unfortunately passed away, and another group bought out their interests. They sort of came into the ’60s and ’70s, when Toronto really needed accommodation, needed apartments, needed housing. And they got into high-rises. That was it. That’s sort of an abbreviated version, but that’s pretty much it.

TML: What makes you most proud of Israel?

Green: Well, let’s say that, before there was Israel, we as Jewish people never had a vote in the world. That we’re a country. There are a hundred reasons to love Israel. Israel has made such a contribution. Israelis are so compassionate. They’re always first in to help at tragedies around the world, fires, just problems that countries have, they’re always first in, they’re always helping, they’re always helping and leading the world in medicine, agriculture and technologies. It goes on and on here, you’re just very proud.

TML: Where is there room for improvement?

Green: In Israel?

TML: Yes.

Green: I’m very biased. … Israel’s got its challenges, it’s got its challenges. Unfortunately, there’s antisemitism in the world. There are many agendas that don’t work around us. We’ve got so many challenges here in Israel. Where can we be better? We’re all searching for peace, right? I don’t think that’s being better, but we’re all searching for peace, and that would be a goal.

TML: Kevin Green, thank you. Thank you for your time and for spearheading the efforts that you do with tennis centers around Israel and in terms of aiding and helping young children.

Green: That’s very kind of you to say. It’s an honor, it’s a joy to be able to contribute. Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to me.

TML: You’re welcome.