Aly Raisman to compete in Maccabiah
Jewish American gymnast who won Olympic gold medal with floor routine to tune of 'Hava Nagila' will participate in 'Jewish Olympics' in Israel this summer
Raisman not only honored the United States with her achievement of three medals at the 2012 London Games, she also honored her Jewish heritage with her choice of music and comments about the 1972 Munich massacre.
Video courtesy of jn1.tv
Last year’s Olympic games marked the 40th anniversary of the massacre which saw 11 Israeli athletes murdered by terrorist group Black September. The Olympic Committee ultimately decided not to hold a moment of silence, even after thousands of people internationally protested and campaigned.
Raisman, however, was quoted as saying: "If there had been a moment’s silence, I would have supported it and respected it."
"We are very happy that an athlete like Aly Raisman, who is at the top of her game, will be coming to take part," said Maccabiah Chairman Amir Pered.
In addition to participating in this summer’s "Jewish Olympics," Raisman was recently cast in the upcoming season of "Dancing With the Stars." After completing her run on the popular reality competition, she intends to begin training for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janiero, Brazil.
According to the Maccabiah organizers, this year’s event will be the largest in history. Some 8,600 athletes are participating from 72 countries, including Cuba as a first-time entrant.
Athletes will compete in 42 sporting events, including several new additions: Ice hockey, handball, shooting, archery, swimming – open water, bridge and badminton. The Paralympics athletes will compete in tennis, table tennis, cycling, swimming and wheelchair basketball.
Reprinted with permission from Shalom Life
