Olympics to accommodate religious

SYDNEY, Australia, Aug. 5 (JTA) — Organizers of the next Olympic Games are making plans to accommodate observant Jewish athletes. The are slated to take place here in September 2000. The Sydney Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games has agreed to provide accommodations in the Olympic village for a rabbi over Shabbat and the Jewish New Year, said Sandy Hollway, chief executive officer of the committee. Hollway, in a letter sent to the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, said services would be conducted at an interfaith center in the Olympic village and kosher food would be available. The closing ceremonies of the Games are slated to take place on Rosh Hashanah. “For the very first time Jewish members of the Olympic family will be catered for within the Olympic village,” said Amanda Gordon, vice president of the New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies.