— The International Maccabiah Games Committee concluded its pre-Games final meeting here this weekend. It was agreed that 34 countries, staffed with up to 3500 athletes, will fly their respective flags in the Jewish Olympics to be held here July 6-16. The last entry last Friday, Ecuador, called in its acceptance and will field a three-man swim team.
Guam, Puerto Rico, New Zealand and Singapore are the newcomers to the Jewish competition, held quadrennially the year after the international Olympic Games.
The United States will send a 400-member team, the largest foreign delegation. Brazil and South Africa each figure to enter 250 competitors. The Virgin Islands, Singapore and Guam each will send one athlete. Approximately 600 athletes will comprise the Israeli contingent.
Egypt, which will not send a unit will, nevertheless, fly its flag since a basketball referee from Egypt will officiate. The last Egyptian team in the Maccabiah Games was seen here during the 1935 fray.
60,000 PEOPLE DUE AT OPENING CEREMONY
A record-breaking 13 nations from South America will march in the opening ceremony which will take place in the Ramot Gan stadium before an expected 60,000 onlookers. Finland, with a total Jewish population of 800, has qualified 28 athletes for the Games.
Soccer and tennis each will register competitors from 20 countries, while 30 nations are entering participants in four veterans tourneys for men and women. For the first time women’s basketball will be contended with the U.S. fielding a quintet, among the five countries competing in this women’s court sport.
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