President Shimon Peres entered the stadium escorted by a police honor guard, and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was given a special mention and applause and waved to the crowd from his seat.
After the athletes marched into the stadium, with delegations from Uzbekistan, Austria and Australia leading the procession and the Israeli delegation wrapping up it up, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu addressed the crowd."Our brothers and sisters from every continent, from North America, from Europe, from Africa, South America, from Asia and from Australia. You come here representing 65 different countries, but above all, you represent one united nation, the nation of Israel," he began.
He thanked the thousands of Maccabiah participants, saying, "I thank you for coming, I thank you for participating, but I ask you to do one more thing. I ask that you make aliya, not just for the Maccabiah… come and be one of us, every day of the year."
"To those of you who haven't learned Hebrew yet," he continued, switching to English, "I say, welcome to Israel, this is your country, this is your home. So enjoy the games, and then come back and make aliya."
As well as Netanyahu, President Shimon Peres was among the honored guests at the ceremony, entering the stadium before the athletes, escorted by a police honor guard. Speaking after the prime minister, Peres officially declared the games open, calling participants "a blessing for Israel."
"Sportspeople stay forever young," the president said.
