Remembering those who were lost
'As long as it's being spoken about, the memory is still there'
Four Australians lost their lives in the Maccabiah tragedy.
Greg Small, 37, was killed in the melee of the collapse itself, while fellow tenpin bowler Yetty Bennett, 50, succumbed the next day. Bridge player Elizabeth Sawicki, 47, passed away almost two weeks later on July 26. Lawn bowler Warren Zines, 56, passed away almost a month later on August 10.
All left behind families shattered by the tragedy.
“After 25 years, it does get a little easier, but it’s just as hard … It’s been a really long time. And I guess nothing’s really changed,” Greg Small’s son Josh reflected this week.
While their parents were in Israel for the 1997 Maccabiah Games as part of the Australian tenpin bowing team, Josh and his younger sister, Rebecca, were staying with cousins in Brisbane when they saw the bridge collapse on television.
Their mother Suzanne, who was also on the bridge, suffered serious injuries.
“Next thing I know we were in a taxi on the way to the airport,” recalled Josh.
“I was seven at the time, so I could kind of put two and two together. But my sister, at five, struggled a lot.
“I remember trying to learn to say Kaddish at a young age and trying to understand what I’m saying.”
Josh competed in tenpin bowling at the 2009 Maccabiah Games, following in his father’s footsteps, an experience he described as “pretty stressful”.
“When I got back home, I was over it … The whole point was to finish what my dad started. Which I did, and then I came home, and I realised, I don’t even like tenpin bowling. I realised I was doing it more for him than me.”
Josh went on to bowl again in the 2013 Games, winning silver and bronze. In 2017, however, when his team was two weeks away from departing to Israel, the sport was taken out of the Games.
Reflecting on the unsung heroes who helped his family over the years, whether it was accompanying his mum back to Australia to see her safely home, or looking after him and his sister, Josh said, “There are a lot of people who didn’t get spoken about, but who’ve done a lot of right.
“There were a lot of people that always checked in, just to make sure my mum was okay, that we were okay.”
He cited a saying he had read somewhere, “It’s like you kind of die twice. You die when you physically die, but then you die when people stop talking about you.
“As long as it’s being spoken about, the memory is still there.”
Meanwhile, earlier this week at the Maccabiah Bridge Memorial ceremony in Israel, the grandson of Warren Zines was in attendance to honour the grandfather he never met.
Zines’ wife, Lynne Zines told The AJN, “It was very emotional,” because her grandson was there and “he lit the candle in memory of his grandfather”.
Her grandson is not attending as a player this year, however, Lynne Zines said, “I wish the Australian team lots of luck.”
Warren Zines was a member of the Australian lawn bowling team, who tragically passed away in 1997 at the intensive care unit of Sheba Hospital, near Tel Aviv after the bridge collapsed at the Maccabiah opening ceremony.
Warren was 56 years old when he passed away and a father to Lisa, Adam and Shelly.
The hospital said he died of a neurological complication on top of a general failure of his internal systems due to the polluted water of the Yarkon River.
Despite never having met their grandfather, Lynne explained that all of her grandchildren “feel connected to him, because we speak about him a lot”.
Although it has been 25 years since the bridge disaster, she said having her grandson visit Israel and attend the ceremony was “very, very meaningful”.
“I am just thankful that I’ve got the family that I do have,” she told The AJN, adding, “Warren will never be forgotten.”
The Warren Zines Reserve, on a parcel of land once belonging to the old Dover Heights Bowling Club, bears a plaque in his memory.
In memory
Greg Small – 37, Sydney
A devoted husband, father, son and friend who spent four years training after missing out on the previous Games and was considered Australia’s top tenpin bowler before he left.
Described by a fellow bowler as “a dedicated family man who loved his sport”. Greg left behind wife Suzanne and children Joshua and Rebecca.
Yetty Bennett – 50, Sydney
Described by Rabbi Richard Lampert as “an inspiration to her children”, having “an innate ability to inspire others” and “a wonderful person whom it was a privilege to have known”.
She was with her partner, fellow tenpin bowler Frank Gaensler, on the bridge. He suffered critical injuries but recovered. Yetty left behind her children Mark, Jeffrey and Ilana.
Elizabeth Sawicki – 47, Melbourne
An energetic and devoted wife, mother, businesswoman and friend, as well as a highly esteemed champion bridge player and teacher.
A fellow bridge player described her as “an outstanding human being”. Her husband Henry and adult children Monique and Michael were at her hospital bedside in Israel when she passed away.
Warren Zines – 56, Sydney
A kind, gentle man who loved his family and was devoted to his children. He was scheduled to return to Australia one day before his first grandchild was due to be born.
Described by his cousin Agi Brandon as “a true gentleman who never raised his voice and only had kind words for everyone”. Warren left behind wife Lynne and children Lisa, Adam and Shelly.
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