This Week

Perfect Score

Local bowler has wonderful time at Maccabiah.

ALAN ABRAMS
Special to the. Jewish News

A

lthough he realizes it is
almost a cliche, Howard
Waxer of Farmington Hills
calls the just completed 16th
Maccabiah in Israel "a perfect game."
Waxer, a member of the United
States bowling team, was one of three
area athletes to participate in the
Games. He felt his performance was
only "fair," because he came down with
an illness during the pre-game prelimi-
naries. Yet he deplaned from the
American team's El Al charter flight in
New York July 24 wearing both a silver
and a bronze medal around his neck.
"All the athletes who attended the
games were medal winners just for
coming to Israel," said Waxer.
"We have sent a message to the ter-
rorists of the world that as Jews we
will neither tolerate nor cower down
to their thr.-ats. We, as Jews, are a
more powerful, positive force than
anything else in this world."
"When people on the streets of
Netanya saw our USA T-shirts, they
thanked us for coming. It was very
positive and warm," he said.
"But when you really felt it was walk-
ing into Teddy Stadium [in Jerusalem]

on the opening night of the games. It
was such a thrill to be walking into that
stadium and hear that great uproar from
the crowd. You felt their love and appre-
ciation for us for being there. Even
though we walked the whole length of
the soccer field, it felt like we had only
taken three steps, " Waxer said.
Waxer, 52, owns Parties with Class, a
Southfield private catering company. He
said security was plentiful in Israel, but
apparently news about the two thwarted
attempts by terrorists to disrupt the
Games was downplayed to the athletes.
Waxer did not know about the Israeli

raid in Bethlehem that killed four
Hamas operatives planning to bomb the
closing ceremonies of the Games. And
although published reports in North
America identified a victim of a prema-
ture bomb blast before the Games as
being a terrorist, he said, "we were told
he was just a common thief."
Waxer is critical of the U.S. Maccabi
organization that first said they were
going to cancel participation by the
American team and then changed
their minds. He says had they not
made the first announcement, "It
would have saved tons of problems.
People wouldn't have dropped out.
When the largest country participating
in the Games says they won't be in,
this changes perspectives and it all
becomes very confusing."
Of the 600 Americans originally

Left to right:

Howard Waxer from Detroit
bowls for the USA team in
the 16th Maccabiah Jewish
Olympics at the bowling
center in Netanya, Israel,
on July 19.

USA masters basketball
coach Billy Berris,
right, warms up with point-
guard Michael Fishman, left,
before a basketball game
with the Israeli team July 18
in Ramat Gan, Israel.
The USA lost 91 -
to 85 in the game.

Ultimately, A Triumph

With fireworks and X-ray scans, Maccablah Games come to a close.

JESSICA STEINBERG
Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Jerusalem

T

he 16th Maccabiah Games
ended with a lot of fanfare,
Taming batons and fire-
works — and a sigh of
relief from the organizers that the
much-anticipated event ended safely
and without mishap.
Hundreds of police officers and sol-
diers surrounded the outdoor
Jerusalem space where the closing
event was held Monday. In iddition,
X-ray scanners and metal detectors
checked bags and bodies.
This was the first time the
Maccabiah opening and closing cere-
monies were held in Jerusalem. Last

707

2001

22

scheduled to take part in the Games,
only 350 participated.
Waxer said that when he was on the
pre-Game tours with the other members
of the American delegation, "Everything
we did, we all realized we were all Jews.
The first four days you spent with other
Americans. Then the athletes of the rest
of the world showed up.
"They told us that we would be making
friends for life. I almost didn't believe it.
But there were tears in the eyes of one of
my teammates at JFK [John F. Kennedy
Airport in New York] when we parted.
"It was the single most exciting
thing that's happened to me in my
life," said Waxer.
The other two area athletes partici-
pating in the Games were Michael
Fishman of Birmingham and Bill
Berris of West Bloomfield. Fishman

week's opening event was at Teddy
Stadium, in the city's southern corner,
while the closing party was at Sultan's
Pool, a Herodian reservoir that looks
up at the ancient walls of the Old City.
More than one delegation head said
he would breath more easily once his
athletes were home safe and sound —
but he was glad they had attended this
year's Games.
"This was about solidarity, showing a
deep connection to the State of Israel,"
said Richard Feldman, the delegation
head for Great Britain, who brought
160 athletes instead of the usual 350.
Indeed, that was the theme of the
closing ceremony: unity and solidarity

"Am Echad," one nation, -We Are

One" were printed on the T-shirts worn
by American athletes to the final event.

"This year's Maccabiah made a state-
ment, and the athletes should feel
proud," said Bob Spivack, president of
the Philadelphia-based Maccabi USA.
"It's about more than sports."
After the bombing at the
Dolphinarium disco in Tel Aviv at the
beginning of June, several countries
pulled out of the Maccabiah Games,
despite pleas from Israel that they not
award a victory to Palestinian terrorists.
The U.S. team almost canceled as
well, which could have been fatal to
the Games. The organization's execu-

tive committee urged world organizers
to postpone the Games until 2002 for
security reasons.
But after meeting with Israeli and
Jewish leaders, such as Sports Minister
Masan Vilnai and Canadian philan-

thropist Charles Bronfman, the
Americans decided to attend.
At that point, countries had to
scramble to find players, replace
coaches and form teams. Yet despite
fewer teams and athletes than in previ-
ous years, many participants felt the
level of competition was still high.
Israel blew away the rest of the field
in the medal race, winning 96 gold,
74 silver and 74 bronze medals.
The U.S. team came in second, with
21 gold, 23 silver and 30 bronze medals.
"We need to start planning now for
the next Games in four years," said
Mark Berman, a coach for the Israeli
softball team. "My view is that this
continues to serve a purpose.
It's bonding for Jewish athletes, and
I'm encouraged that so many individ-
uals made a statement and showed up
for the Maccabiah."
It didn't seem as if the athletes were

ready to leave after Monday night's
closing ceremony They stomped their
feet, waved colored flashlights and