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Essay

Editorial

Mr. Maccabi

Jay Robinson's imprint on Games still glows.

hose summers when we cycled side by side in the
proved invigorating.
1990s, we talked often about the JCC Maccabi
The 29 delegations in
Games. And our pedal-propelled conversations
the 2014 Games include
were never casual. In Jay Robinson's world, the mere men-
Detroit's 350-teen contingent
tion of Maccabi set off a cacophony of bells and whistles
and 650 other competitors.
about just how dynamic the international teen games were. Other countries represented
Robinson dreamed big — not whether the Jewish
are Israel, Canada, Mexico
Community Center of Metropolitan Detroit should take
and Venezuela. The 1,000
another shot at hosting the Games, but how.
participants will partake in
He had a passion for sport and a penchant for kids.
10 sports and seven creative
In that vein, he imagined Jewish teens, with a thirst for
disciplines. The backdrop
friendly competition, mingling to discover how much they
will include 1,000 volunteers
have in common, wherever they live.
and 250 coaches.
The JCC Maccabi Games draw 13- to 16-year-old Jews
in a range of athletic and artistic disciplines. The noblest
Lasting Imprint
Jay Robinson remembered
benefit the Games provide is immersion into a lesson-rich
Logistical snafus can't be
Jewish experience.
brushed off. They should be
For the fifth time, the Detroit JCC will host the Games.
resolved quickly and effectively. But to dwell on them is to
This year's Games, under Games and ArtsFest direc-
miss the point of Maccabi.
tor Ariella Monson, run Aug. 17-22. The five-year mark
Friendships shaped from among teen participants and
underscores how productive Jewish Detroit is in generating ties built among the teens and their host families are what
not only volunteer support for the Games, but
sustain the Games long after the flame of
also $1 million in cash and in-kind contributions
competition is snuffed. As Robinson taught,
to offset Maccabi costs and help support JCC pro-
the Games are the avenue to bring together
gramming.
Jewish teens from varying backgrounds. In the
The Games are hosted in different locales
end, it's their interaction that counts the most.
around North America each year to engender
Many of Robinson's ideas and innovations
camaraderie, sportsmanship and Jewish identity.
continue to be integral to the ruach, to the
To counter Detroit's bankrupt image and cre-
spirit, of the JCC Maccabi Games.
ate a "Maccabi in the D" connection, the 2014
Farmington Hills resident Karen Gordon, a
Games will feature opening ceremonies at the Fox
longstanding giant of the local Maccabi scene,
Robe rt Sklar
Theatre and a tzedakah project dubbed JCC Cares
was director of the 2008 Games in Detroit.
Cont ributing
that includes a strong presence at the Northwest
She chairs the 2014 Games along with Rick
E ditor
Activities Center, my JCC when I was growing up.
Zussman of Huntington Woods. Robinson,
fondly called Mr. Maccabi Games, was Detroit
End Of An Era
delegation head in 1986, the year Gordon
Robinson, a builder, died from cancer in April 1998 at age
first coached. She considered Robinson, a 1998 Michigan
61, four months shy of the Maccabi Games' 1998 opening
Jewish Sports Hall of Fame inductee and a longtime World
ceremonies at the Palace of Auburn Hills.
Maccabiah Games booster, a great role model whose
His death slowed the momentum leading up to those
Maccabi vision influenced succeeding Detroit delegation
Games. But the JCC leadership, nurtured by his memory,
heads: Dr. Alan Horowitz, Harold Friedman, herself and
overcame challenges and scored an organizational victory.
now Franci Silver.
Fueled by a sheer love for the Games, Robinson strat-
"Jay's impact had to be that his vision of JCC Maccabi is
egized and cajoled to assure the Games, in mega-fashion,
still strong — uplifting young Jewish teens from all over,"
came to Detroit in 1984 and 1990 as well as 1998. He was
Gordon told the IN. "This community is steeped in JCC
a Maccabi ambassador no matter what Jewish community
Maccabi history and is proud to open its homes, to volun-
hosted the Games. He and his wife, Barbara, raised three
teer and to support the JCC Maccabi Games and ArtsFest.
children who became Maccabi athletes and advocates.
Returning visitors know they are in for a spectacular week:'
The JCC Maccabi Games, with 19th-century roots in
Taking Stock
Constantinople, arrived in North America in 1982 as a
biennial summer event. They became regionally based in
The measure of the 2014 Games lies in how many people
engaged in them in any capacity leave our wonderful town
1985. Ten years later, they turned into an international
impressed not only by the competitive and Jewish experi-
event. ArtsFest emerged in 2005 to involve youth with
ence, but also by new friendships and a brighter image of
creative talents in Maccabi; youth-minded Jay Robinson
the Motor City's future.
would have lauded that addition to the Maccabi lineup.
With tens of thousands of Maccabi alumni worldwide,
Invaluable Hosts
the JCC Maccabi Games, a memorial tribute in a sense to
Of course, it's the host families that make it possible for
Jay Robinson, reinforce our common heritage and endur-
our JCC to host the Games. Hosts labor under the radar
ing bonds as Jews.
to assure competitors get to their venues and events — on
Once more, the Detroit Jewish community is sure to
time, well rested, in uniform and ready to go. Hosts also
glisten as a Maccabi host — demonstrating why our home-
enrich young lives. In the past, my family, drawn initially
town is such a great place to be Jewish.
by Robinson's aura, hosted Maccabi athletes. Each time
Now, on with the Games!

I

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40

August 14 • 2014

Don't Blame
Israel For Rafah
Casualties

N

of surprisingly, the Obama admin-
istration was quick to blame Israel
in the deaths of 10 Palestinian
civilians and the injuries to dozens more
when an Israeli air strike allegedly hit a
school housing 3,000 displaced persons in
southern Gaza on Aug. 3.
Later evidence revealed that Hamas, the
terrorist group that rules the Gaza Strip,
had tampered with the scene. All along,
Israel maintained it had targeted Islamic
Jihad terrorists outside the school, not the
building itself.
In a statement, the U.S. State
Department declared it was "appalled"
at the "disgraceful shelling" outside the
United Nations Relief and Works Agency
for Palestinian refugees school in Rafah.
Once more, the U.S. government didn't
wait for the truth to emerge. Facts seemed
to be secondary to the State Department's
issuing of the condemnation.
Citing a report from the right-leaning
website PJ Tatler on Aug. 3, the Zionist
Organization of America said Hamas
imposed deception by repositioning bodies
to try to make it appear the school itself
had been hit. The ZOA maintains that at
least some of the dead bodies shown on
TV were placed there by Hamas and that
the deaths may not have been the result
of Israeli fire.
"We once again stress that Israel do
more to meet its own standards and avoid
civilian casualties," stated Jen Psaki, U.S.
State Department spokesperson.
She added, "The suspicion that militants
are operating nearby does not justify
strikes that put at risk the lives of so
many innocent civilians."
That line of reasoning ignores the real-
ity that Palestinian terrorists dutifully put
civilians in the range of fire in hopes of
driving up international outrage against
Israel.
Such imprudence from the U.S., Israel's
strongest ally, gives Hamas, which goaded
Israel into war by unprovoked and unceas-
ing rocket and missile attacks, the moti-
vation to continue terrorist acts. Hamas
knows that under the Obama presidency,
there's always a chance it will find an
unlikely defender in the White House.
Yes, President Obama should apolo-
gize for the State Department's belittling
rush to judgment. At the same time, U.S.
Jewish organizations should demonstrate
collective leadership and roundly assail it.
It's bad enough we live in a world rife
with anti-Israel and anti-Jewish hatred.
Israel shouldn't have to tolerate a misguid-
ed condemnation from Washington.

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