Editorial (July 3, 2009)
Maccabiah time
THOSE who have been there before say it is an unmatched life experience. To walk into a packed Ramat Gan Stadium for a Maccabiah Games opening ceremony sporting the green and gold colours of Australia is one of the greatest thrills for any Jewish Australian.
More than 400 members of the Australian team for the 18th Maccabiah are in the final stages of their preparation for the Games and by the middle of next week, the team will be assembled in Israel at a pre-camp, acclimatising themselves for one of the largest quadrennial sporting events in the world.
This year’s Maccabiah has not been without its complications. The global financial crisis has cast a pall over the Games and has affected team numbers the world over. Australia is a committed Maccabiah participant and one of the most remote, and while Maccabi did its best to foresee the fluctuating exchange rates, it wasn’t able to keep the cost of participating under $10,000 per athlete. This has meant a significant financial undertaking for those who are travelling to Israel.
It has also meant that Australia is not fielding open-age teams in some sports where it has traditionally excelled, such as men’s and women’s basketball and men’s hockey.
Sadly, the Australian team will also be without two of its genuine world-class athletes, table tennis Olympian David Zalcberg because of work commitments and cricketer Michael Klinger, who is representing Australia A in a series against Pakistan A.
But while the open-age teams are slightly depleted, the junior and masters teams are overflowing, which suggests the Maccabiah spirit remains vibrant and will be for some time to come.
No undertaking of this magnitude takes place without the blood, sweat and tears of a host of voluntary officials who bring the team together. So to the administrators, team managers, medicos, security, media and financial officers, we offer a hearty kol hakavod, while to the sponsors who have generously supported the team, we also offer our sincere thanks.
Maccabiah participants forever grapple with the issue over whether the aim is to participate or to win. We believe both are equally important.
To take part in a Maccabiah is a profound statement of Jewish identity. But aiming for gold is what you do when you play for Australia.
Thou shalt not steal
BERNARD Madoff, the Wall Street conman responsible for the loss of billions of dollars in a Ponzi scheme, was sentenced in New York on Monday to 150 years in prison.
Madoff’s greed was exceeded only by his callousness. Pensioners and charitable foundations entrusted him with their entire savings. How he slept at night knowing all the lives he would inevitably destroy is a question no honest person could answer.
Madoff happened to be Jewish and we join in the sentiment expressed in Jewish communities worldwide in condemning his crimes.
We strenuously object to any attempt by anti-Semites to turn this criminal and vile act into anything other than that of a depraved individual in contravention to all Jewish laws and teachings.
Yet at the same time, we acknowledge the case of Madoff -— and other high-profile Jewish white-collar criminals -— raises issues that go beyond the boundaries of individual responsibility and ventures into the communal realm. Jewish communities everywhere, including Australia, would be wise to address these issues openly and critically.
Let us take the opportunity presented by the Madoff scandal to set a teachable example for ourselves and our children about genuine Jewish values and the imperatives of morality and ethics.
For Judaism teaches us that not only is it important not to violate the law, but it is also vital to maintain strong ethics in order to keep a safe distance from crossing a line of wrongdoing.
The Talmud says that Jerusalem was destroyed because judgements were based strictly on the law and did not go beyond the line of justice. This principle of Jewish law, which demands that one be ethical and even go beyond the legal requirements, should be preached often and from every pulpit.
Now is the time to increase our vigilance on ethical issues pertaining to business dealings and enforce a zero-tolerance policy for those among us who flout the law or act unethically.
Beyond the billions that Madoff was imprisoned for stealing, there is one other thing that he attempted to pilfer: the Jewish community’s good name in society. All of us must work together to ensure that he did not succeed.
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