Monsters DO take many forms and Jewish athletes find out who the real ones are

Next week the world will be given a profound demonstration of resilience under unimaginable circumstances.And a media blackout may succeed in silencing it.On July 1, Jerusalem will host the opening ceremonies for the 22nd Maccabiah Games, the first to be staged since the bloody and unprovoked Hamas massacre of Oct.7, 2023.Thousands of athletes from all over the world will compete in the 13-day event sometimes known as the Jewish Olympics — a misnomer, because people of all races and religions take part.It should be a joyous celebration of athletic prowess in a Middle East scarred by relentless war and the constant threat of missile and drone attacks.The games, attracting a wealth of competitors second only to the Olympics, have been played since 1932, even before the founding of the Jewish state.They’ve endured through global depressions, a world war and the Holocaust.Against all odds, they’ve survived — like Judaism itself.So why has almost no one on this side of the Atlantic heard of them?You’d think there’d be cheers, fireworks, media hype, sponsorship deals.You’d expect American news outlets to be clamoring for images of our warriors getting ready to rumble for the red, white and blue — along with the blue and white.You’d be wrong.When it comes to Maccabiah, there’s almost complete press silence — even when a sitting US president attends, as Joe Biden did in 2022.Why?The answer is as old as antisemitism itself.My daughter is making the journey to Israel next week to compete in rugby (after taking home the gold with her field-hockey team four years ago).But instead of scheduling TV interviews as she packs to join nearly 1,000 Americans and up to 10,000 other athletes in the Holy Land — crickets.The silence is teaching her a grave lesson about hatred.The vacuum speaks volumes: It amounts to erasure.Her father and I have had to explain that all things connected to the Jewish state are either widely condemned by the woke media, or simply ign...