JERUSALEM - If it were up to the Jewish Agency,
the thousands of Jewish athletes currently in Israel to compete in the 17th Maccabiah Games would stay right where they are.
To that end, the Agency will present participants with a letter signed by former Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball hero Tal Brody and the coach of Italy’s Treviso basketball team, David Blatt, calling on all participants to continue to visit Israel, and if possible to make their homes here.
The idea was the brainchild of new Jewish Agency head Zeev Bielski, who asked Brody and Blatt to sign the letter answered the call of, and sent a letter to Maccabiah participants entitled, “We’ve done it. What about you?”
Both made aliya following their participation in the Maccabiah Games, and moved straight into key positions in Israeli sports.
Tuesday, Brody and Bielski, who also played professional basketball in Israel, will distribute the letter to participants during half-time of the women’s basketball final, pitting Israel against the United States and Israeli national team captain Shai Doron.
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