Golfer gets lesson in solidarity at Maccabiah Games

Supporting the state of Israel is not simply an option for any Jew; it is a commitment. I just returned from participating in my third, and perhaps most memorable, Maccabiah Games, which ended last week.

Because of the current level of strife in Israel, all but three of the U.S. golf team members had withdrawn from participating in the games.

But one man's misfortune can turn into another's opportunity. Although I did not initially qualify to be on the team, I called Robert Spivak, the head of Maccabiah USA, and told him I could have no greater honor or better way to show solidarity with Israel than by participating in the 2001 games as a golfer. Spivak joyously accepted my offer and responded positively when I suggested that my friend Dan Weiner be a team member as well.

When Maccabiah USA continued its commitment to the games this year, despite the Mideast conflict, the organization gave each of the athletes the choice of participating, a choice for which I am most grateful. Being part of an elite group of 2,000 athletes from around the world and making a statement against terrorism by our presence was a proud moment. Weiner and I talked with our feet and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with 3,000 other Jews.

The decision to go ahead with the Maccabiah Games, in spite of tremendous internal forces to postpone or cancel them, will go down in history as a courageous one. I am greatly disappointed in my fellow Jews who hastily chose not to go and thereby set an example for others to give up an irretrievable life-changing experience.

Unfortunately, tourists aren't readily visible in Israel today and the economy is almost at a halt. At the Western Wall, I saw fewer than 15 people, with the exception of the soldiers standing by. A CNN camera situated opposite the Wall stood ready to film any event that might occur.

Israel is a country under siege and is in essence an island without support. Hotels are operating at less than 30 percent occupancy and Jerusalem is a ghost town. For the first time in my many visits to Israel, people went out of their way to thank the Maccabiah participants for coming.

What has happened to Jewish pride in America? Do you remember Israel taking out the Iraqi nuclear plants? Do you remember Entebbe? Do you remember Ethiopia? Do you remember Israel opening its borders for Russian Jews? Do you remember?

I believe that Israel needs our support at this critical juncture more than ever. Our place as Jews is not and never will be guaranteed. In the golf world today, as difficult as it is to believe, there are still clubs where Jews are not welcome. Yet there is only one country in the world where a Jew will always be able to go in a time of need and be accepted, and that is Israel.

I hope American Jewry has not become so soft and afraid that it cannot talk with its feet.

Many Jews in America as well as some local rabbis preach that Israel should do more to seek peace. They must see an entirely different picture from the one I just experienced.

Unfortunately, the media coverage of the state of affairs in Israel presents a picture that is drastically different from what actually exists. While headlines sensationalize reports of suicide bombers and Israel's success in aborting attacks, life in Israel goes on quite normally. I had no sense of danger while I was there, and I believe the vast majority of my teammates hold similar sentiments. The Israeli government made everyone feel quite safe.

Terrorism did not win at the games. Not a single incident materialized and what CNN reported was more fiction than fact. Upon my return home, my friends questioned me about an attempted bombing at the opening ceremonies or planned bombing at the closing ceremonies. In reality, the athletes were in no greater danger than we would have been anywhere else in the world.

The true success of the 2001 Maccabiah Games is in the solidarity of the participants standing against terrorism and the respect expressed by the Israelis toward the foreign athletes who attended. Gold, silver, bronze medals and blue ribbons aside, the 16th games will be remembered by those of us who stood tall, with courage and pride, alongside our Israeli brothers and sisters.

"10 days to experience, a lifetime to remember" -- the Maccabiah motto could never be more accurate.