The inaugural Maccabi Australia International Games were held in Sydney this week. The worldwide Jewish sports organization now hosts international competitions in the United States, Europe, South America and Australia, headed by the Maccabiah in Israel every four years. The opening ceremony was held before a packed audience in the Sydney Opera House and the main sporting venue was the Sydney Olympic Park, home of the 2000 Olympics. A memorial at the park to the 11 Israelis murdered at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games was rededicated. The Sydney Olympic Park Authority gave permission for the first time for the Olympic cauldron to be lit for a non-Olympic event there. More than 600 athletes competed, with large teams coming from the United States and Israel.
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