Former members of international Jewish sports clubs will meet in Israel between April 22 and May 2 for a reunion and a memorial tribute to team-mates who perished at the hands of the Nazis in Europe during the Hitler era.
Plans for the meeting were outlined to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency today by Norbert Katz, one of its organizers. Mr. Katz, a former soccer player, had been a member of the Hakoah and the Austrian National teams. He is now a member of the Brit Hakoah, 1909, the brotherhood of former Hakoah players founded in that year, which will sponsor the events in Israel.
They will include the unveiling of a bronze statute at Kfar Hamaccabia, in memory of fallen Jewish sportsmen. The statute is the work of the sculptor, Karl Duldig, of Australia, who is himself a former Hakoah team member. The international meeting will also establish a “sefer izkor.” a memorial book containing the names of the deceased which will be permanently placed in the Yad Vashem.
Mr. Katz said that Jewish sports organizations from all over the world will attend the reunion in Israel. Among them are the Hakoah team of Vienna, Maccabi teams from various countries, Hagibor Hasmonea, Bar Kochba and Kadima.
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