Some 1500 Jewish athletes from all over the world have arrived in Israel for the ninth Maccabiah games which open Monday night. The athletes; in their uniforms, can be seen walking around the streets here and have become an attraction for Tel Avivans.
Meanwhile, leaders of Jewish sports organizations here for the games have paid tribute to Pierre Gildesgame, chairman of the Maccabi World Union and head of the International Maccabiah Games Committee, who is retiring at age 70 after 16 years in office.
Speakers at the tribute included representatives from Maccabi U.S. and the American Committee for Sports in Israel as well as persons from Sweden. South Africa. Australia, Canada, France, and Switzerland. Gildesgame was recently awarded the CBE by Queen Elizabeth for his contributions to sports.
The Maccabiah sports competitions which are recognized by the international sports federations are supervised by special observers and referees sent by the respective sports organizations.
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