19^th July 2013
Dr Danny Lamm and Peter Wertheim, the President and the Executive Director of the Executive Council of Aus­trali­an Jewry, today extended best wishes to the Aus­trali­an team of some 400 athletes who are taking part in the 19^th Maccabiah Games in Israel.

The Games are held every four years. Alto­geth­er a record 9000 Jewish athletes from 78 countries are competing in 42 different sports. Some 150 athletes who par­ti­cip­ated in the recent Olympic Games are competing in the Maccabiah.

“The Maccabiah Games are a fabulous sporting and social occasion at which Jewish sports men and women from all over the world get together to compete and make new friends”, they said. ”We are sure our athletes will have a great time in Israel and look forward to them bringing a swag of medals back to Australia”.

More than 32,000 people attended Thursday’s opening ceremony at Jerusalem’s Teddy Stadium, which included the symbolic torch lighting of the Maccabiah cauldron flame by U.S. Olympian Aly Raisman. Four-time wind­surf­ing world cham­pi­on­ship winner, Lee Korzits, and Para­lympics tennis gold medallist, Noam Gershony, were among those who carried the torch into the stadium.

Contact:
Peter Wertheim AM | Executive Director
phone: 02 8353 8500 | m: 0408 160 904 | fax 02 9361 5888
e: [email protected]