Australian chapter of Maccabi urges boycott of future games

SYDNEY, Australia, May 3 (JTA) — The Australian chapter of the Maccabi sports organization is urging a boycott of future Maccabi events until further action is taken concerning a tragedy at the Maccabi Games two years ago that killed four Australian athletes. The boycott call followed months of pressure from the families of the four Australian athletes who died and the 70 who were injured when a bridge collapsed during the opening ceremony of the 1997 games in Ramat Gan, Israel. Maccabi Australia said last week that it would not take part in future events unless certain conditions are met, including that the president and chairman of the Maccabi World Union step down pending the completion of an Israeli inquiry into the tragedy, and that a credible offer of compensation is made to the injured and to the families of those who were killed. The ultimatum came in the same week as the Knesset held a teleconferenced inquiry about the tragedy. With families of the victims, their representatives and community leaders participating from Australia, the inquiry heard testimony marked by tears and emotion. Lynne Zines, whose husband, Warren, died as a result of the bridge collapse, told the Knesset members of the “anger and distress that I deal with daily.” She stressed that she found it “distasteful” that 22 months after the tragedy both “the president and chairman of MWU are still holding their positions.” Speaker after speaker expressed their pain and anger, with Peter Wertheim of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry describing the world union’s response to the tragedy as a “prevarication, an attempt to avoid responsibility, buck-passing.” Participants were particularly distraught when Amir Peled, the world union’s representative at the hearing, defended the group’s president and chairman for remaining in their positions.