Page 10-THE NEWS-March, 1985
Israel Prepares For 12th Maccabiah 6ames
by Simon Griver
World Zionist Press Agent
The countdown is on for the
12th Maccabiah Games which
will be held in Israel from
July 15-25, 1985. In an era
when politics and sport are
unhappily mixed up, the com
ing Maccabiah promises to
demonstrate that the spirit of
sportsmanship which is so fre
quently lacking in contempo
rary international sport, is
alive and well in the Jewish
Olympics.
According to organizers
Michael Kevehazi and Arie
Rosenzwige, this Maccabiah
will be the biggest £ind best
ever. More than 4,000 com
petitors are expected to repre
sent the Jewish communities
of 35 countries in 30 different
sports. This Jewish sporting
‘extravaganza’ will open at
Ramat Gan’s Kfar Maccabiah
stadium, where several million
dollars have been invested in
renovations for the occasion,
with a spectacular show of
lasers. The sporting events
themselves are scheduled to
take place in stadia in all parts
of the country. The closing
ceremony in Jerusalem’s
Sultan’s Pool will include a
sound and light show in this
picturesque and incredibly
popular setting beneath the
walls of the capital’s old city.
Then and Now
Innovations for the twelfth
Maccabiah include a youth
tournament in which some 300
young sportsmen will par
ticipate in six events. And
thousands of Maccabiah
veterans will also be in Israel
for an international conference
for those who took part in the
first six Maccabiah games.
The first Maccabiah was held
in 1932. Then 309 athletes
came from 17 countries. The
games were such a striking
success that the second Mac
cabiah in 1935 attracted 1,700
competitors. These became
known as the ‘aliya’ games
because many of the par
ticipants stayed on in
Palestine, preferring not to
return to a Europe threatened
by Hitler.
The next Maccabiah was not
until 1949, the first to be held
in the independent State of
Israel. But the halving of en
tries to 800 reflected the
tragedy that had befsdlen the
Jewish people in the
Holocaust. The number of
competitors has steadily
climbed since then — 2,700
came in 1977, 3,500 in 1981
and the 4,000 mark will be top
ped this time around.
For the first time a team
from Zaire will attend the
Maccabiah. A Soviet team has
been invited but the offer will
certainly be declined in the
current political climate. It is
hoped that Romania will send
a team for the first time since
1935 and an invitation was
sent personally to President
Ceaucescu.
Tribute
Yet even if no Eastern Euro
pean representatives are pre
sent, the games will be a
tribute to international Jewish
unity. Indeed some pundits
feel it is a contradiction in
identity for Jews to come to
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Israel from the world over to
compete under the various
flags of their countries. How
ever, participants are housed
together without references to
countries of origin and no
sense of national rivalry is felt
in the Maccabiah. Further
more, spokesman Zvi Eyal
stresses that the Maccabiah
movement is not about hold
ing a meet each four years. It
is an ongoing entity. In
August, 1983, the European
Maccabiah was held in Ant
werp; in February, 1984, there
was a Latin tournament in Sao
Paulo and this coming August
the American Maccabiah
takes place in Detroit. Mean
while the Maccabiah world
movement is at work every
where promoting sport,
cultural and Zionist activity
(the movement is affiliated to
the World Zionist Organiza
tion).
Dr. Israel Peled, Chairman
of the Maccabiah World
Union, describes it as one of
the most important org£iniza-
tions in the world. “Through it
300,000 members maintain
close ties to their Jewishness
and Israel,” he says. “In some
communities Jewish life
revolves around the Mac
cabiah sports club. In Perth,
Western Australia, aU 300
members of the Jewish com
munity belong to the club.
Buenos Aires has five big •
clubs boasting 20,000
members.”
‘Susperstars’
Over the years a gallery of
Jewish sporting ‘superstars’
have entered the Maccabiah.
They include names like Dutch
tennis ace Tom Okker and the
greatest olympian sportsman
of all time, Marc Spitz. Many,
like Israel’s American born
former basketball captain Tal
Brody, have decided to meike
their home in Israel after ex
periencing the country during
the Maccabiah. And none
other than President Chfdm
Herzog, himself, was once the
Maccabi boxing champion of
Ireland.
Boxing is no longer amongst
Maccabiah events. A new
sport in next year's games will
be hockey, while other events
include rugby, softball,
yachting, karate, judo and
wrestling, as well as track and
field athletics, swimming,
basketball and tennis. Fcm* the
less physical minded there are
bridge and chess competitions.
In the 1981 Maccabiah, the
U.S. topped the medals table
with 73 golds, followed by
Israel with 59, South Africa
14, Britain 10 and Canada
with 9. South Africa would
have done considerably better
but because the Maccabiah is
recognized by the Intema-
tionsd Oljnnpic Conmiittee,
South African sportsmen are
banned from many events.
Records were broken last time
in almost every branch.
Though competition was
fiercer than ever, genuine
sportsmanship was in
evidence everywhere. On the
other hand, the level of sport
could hardly be compared to
top international steindards.
In part, this is because many
of the world’s top Jewish
stars, particuleirly in tennis,
prefer to enter big money com
petitions rather than attend
the ‘no prize-money’ Mac
cabiah — a poor reflection of
the way in which sport has
become commercialized in our
times.
Rivalry Without Hostility
Rivalry at the Maccabiah is
keen but not hostile and the
Maccabiah really has no ‘win
ners’ or ‘losers.’ Sportsman
ship thrives and Jewish youth
has an unforgettable ex
perience in Israel, on and off
the sports field. For both par
ticipants and spectators the
Maccabiah is a sporting event
which succeeds in generating
a spirit characterized by com
petition and solidarity alike
for Jews all over the world.
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