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MACCABIAH GAMES

Maccabiah Games torch sails our way

By Shane Desiatnik May 21, 2022, 7:45 pm Edit
A 21st Maccabiah torch gets a boat ride on Sydney Harbour. Pictured with it are (back, from left) Giselle Berlinski, Lauren Ehrlich (front, from left) Debbie Rutstein, Barry Smorgon, Sam Gamsu and Jillian Sher.
A 21st Maccabiah Games torch gets a boat ride on Sydney Harbour. Pictured with it are (back, from left) Giselle Berlinski, Lauren Ehrlich (front, from left) Debbie Rutstein, Barry Smorgon, Sam Gamsu and Jillian Sher.

With 53 days until the 21st Maccabiah Games in Israel, excitement is building within the third-largest team – Australia – its organising committee, and across the broader Jewish community.

A replica Maccabiah torch – one of only five in the world – has toured around Sydney’s Jewish community this fortnight, visiting Maccabi NSW club training sessions, Maccabi Life’s Colour Run, the Sydney Jewish Museum, Jewish schools, and even boarding a harbour cruise.

Maccabi NSW Netball Club juniors with the torch last week. Photo: Shane Desiatnik

There were smiles and cheers when it popped into a Maccabi NSW Netball Club junior training session on May 18, and got passed around by some of the teams.

From left: Rachel Klein, Maccabiah Games Australian juniors manager Debbie Rutstein, Ava Grynberg, holding a 21st Maccabiah Games torch at Maccabi NSW Netball Club junior training at Moore Park, Sydney, on May 18. Photo: Shane Desiatnik

Sam Gamsu, the Australian delegation’s Head of Games Operations and Sport, said “people were really excited to see the torch coming to Sydney, and the support of the community for the Maccabiah Games and the Australian team was clear to see”.

It will be the Melbourne Jewish community’s turn to see the torch next, from the end of May until mid-June.

The Australian delegation will fly to Israel on July 7 for a Games pre-camp, before the Maccabiah Games are held from July 12-26.

 

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