Mayor hails Jerusalem’s central Maccabiah role

The mayor of Jerusalem welcomed representatives of the US delegation to the Maccabiah Games on Sunday, telling them his city was once again assuming a central role in world Judaism with the presence of the Games here.

“I’m very, very happy you’re here. For me, the Maccabiah in Jerusalem is a really good excuse to fulfill the role Jerusalem played 2,000… 3,000 years ago as the center of the Jewish people,” Nir Barkat said.

The Games will be kicked off in the city on July 18 with the opening ceremony. This represents a change from years past, when athletes would march into Ramat Gan’s national stadium for the start of the event.

Barkat continued: “As the capital, you really want to make sure that the majority of national and international games are hosted in the city of Jerusalem.”

In his office at city hall, Barkat warmly greeted a group of delegates, including the president of Maccabi USA, Ron Carner; two-time Olympic gold medalist swimmer Garrett Weber-Gale; and Brad Greenberg, the United States Open Men’s Basketball Coach.

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The US delegation, which comprises more than 1,100 athletes and coaches, is the largest in this year’s competition.

“Some of these people have been training for many, many months to keep the credibility of the sports program as high as possible,” said Carner. “We’re just hoping that every other nation takes it the same way. It’s a great honor just to be here.”

Barkat responded: “For me, it’s important that you feel as if you are shareholders of this city. It belongs to you, no matter where you live. When you go back home, you will go as ambassadors of peace.”

Among the visitors to Barkat was Madison Zeiss, an All-American fencer from the University of Notre Dame and a member of the United States Maccabiah fencing squad. Zeiss spoke about how she was looking forward to Thursday night: “The opening ceremony is going to be incredible. Knowing about all the hard work that was put into this tournament, for all the athletes, is amazing. It’s truly going to be an incredible experience.”

Brad Greenberg — who spent this past season coaching Maccabi Haifa to a championship win over Maccabi Tel Aviv — is looking forward to spending time in Jerusalem. “I’m going to be here in a group of over 1,000 American Jewish athletes. It’s exciting to be part of my first world Maccabiah Games, and I can’t wait to spend time in Jerusalem. I think I’ll really get a feel for the city, seeing that I’ll be staying here during the Games,” he enthused.