Premier Yitzhak Rabin’s announcement of his withdrawal as candidate for the May 17 elections was postponed for several hours Thursday night because Israelis were glued to their television sets watching a far more, for them, dramatic and important event: the victory of the Tel Aviv Maccabi basketball team over the Varese team of Italy in the European Cup championship game in Belgrade, Yugoslavia.
When the 78-77 win for Israel was announced, thousands of joyous Israelis poured out of their homes onto the streets for a massive festival which continued until the early hours Friday. Streets were jammed and long lines of cars, honking their horns in unison, moved slowly through the thoroughfares.
Rabin himself decided to postpone his announcement until the game was over. By the time he appeared on television, many of the sets had been turned off. Few cared to listen to Rabin’s resignation statement. When news of his remarks filtered through the throngs on the streets, many shouted, "Aulcie Perry for Premier." Perry was the Black American star who played with the Maccabi team and contributed to its success.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
