14 Friday, August 24, 1984 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Let the Games begin A colorful and emotion-charged ceremony kicked off the 1984 United States Maccabi Youth Games in Detroit last weekend. MIIM111111 ■ 1111111=111 ■ 111111.111=1 BY 'FEUD S('HNE11)1.:11 Stull Writer David Wolper would have been proud. A slice of Hollywood-tinged pomp and pageantry came to the De- troit area Sunday night with the opening ceremonies f o r the 1984 United States Maccabi Youth Games at West Bloomfield High School. And for the 5,000 spectators and part ici- pants on hand, the festivities more than matched tht emotion and pride generated during t he Wolper- produced opening and closing cere- monies earlier this month at the GUM'S in Los Angeles. Fro m the Olympic-style parade of athletes which opened the show at 7:30 p.m., to the singing ofilatikvah shortly after dark, the crowd, which included a number of delegates from last weekend's Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) gathering in Southfield, was enthusiastic and Vocal. The biggest cheers during the parade of 12 to 16-year-old Jewish athletes were reserved not for the 120-member hometown team (al- though they were greeted warmly), but for the small, six-member delega- tion from Flint, demonstrating the seemingly Jewish tradition of em- bracing the underdog. Of the five foreign countries sending contingents to Detroit for the week-long competition, Canada and Australia were among the most visu- ally striking as they marched past the capacity-filled grandstand. The Canadian teenagers sported uni- forms with a red and white maple leaf motif, while the Australians wore black and gold warm-up suits and white cowboy hats. Following the presentation of the colors by the Jewish War Vete- rans, the singing of the American na- tional anthem by Avra Weiss and an invocation by Rabbi Harold Loss of Temple Israel, the•crowd heard brief speeches by U.S. Sen. Donald Riegle (D-Mich.); Detroit Jewish Welfare Federation President Joel Tauber; Esther Leah Ritz, national president of JWB; Michael Hechtman, president of the Detroit chapter, Sports for Israel; ZOA President Al- leek Resnick; and U.S. Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.). "We are gathered here both to celebrate our peoplehood and to com- pete, so as to maximize our strengths and our wits," Sen. Levin said, citing the festival's dual objective. "The Games are a reminder of the physical courage, the Maccabi courage, that at times is required to be free." Perched atop ladders, Erica Wolff; left, and Joshua Gruskin light the 1984 United Slates Maccabi Youth Games torch. A specially constructed can- delabrum, forged in the shape of a double, interlocking Magen David, was lighted to commemorate the 11 Israel athletes slain by Palestinian terrorists at the Munich Olympic Games in 1972. Detroit team member Michael Goldberg joined Is- rael Peled, chairman of the Maccabi World Union, in lighting the memo- rial display despite the presence of a stiff breeze. Tamarack Dance Village, a local group of teenage and pre-teen girls led by choreographer Harriet Berg, performed Uuah Jerusalem and Not by Might, Not by Power — Shalom, Lire in Peace. They were followed by the Bells of Peace, a ten-member Is- raeli dance troupe that has per- formed all over the world, including the first Maccabi Youth Games, held in Memphis two summers ago. "It's such a thrill to see all the kids from around the world," said Mimi Goldstein, of Flint, as she watched her son Adam take part in the festivities as a member of the Flint team. "The hospitality of the Detroiters is very much ap- preciated," added her husband, Ron. There were some spectators who felt the event was also a signal of progress for West Bloomfield, site of most of the Maccabi Youth Games activities. "Ten years ago, this couldn't have happened in West Bloomfield," according to Eliot Char- lip. "This community wasn't ready to accept this kind of large, Jewish event," the West Bloomfield resident said. The Hatikuah, along with the lighting of the 1984 U.S. Maccabi Youth Games torch by Detroit team members Joshua Gruskin and Erica Wolff and the release of hundreds of blue and white balloons marked the conclusion of the evening's fes- tivities. The athletic competition, which has been taking place at the Centaur Racquet Club, various schools in the area and the Jewish Community Center (co-sponsor of the Games, along with the Detroit chapter, Sports for Israel) this week, will end with finals in basketball, tennis, vol- leyball and racquetball Sunday morning. The closing ceremonies are slated to begin at 11 a.m. Sunday on the Stuart Sachse Field at the Cen- ter.