THE MACCABIAH GAMES, 1997

It took some time for the Israeli press to pick up the disaster's environ-mental angle. Initial attention remained focused on the criminal liability of the engineers and the construction company as well as on the controversial decision to continue with the festive opening ceremony in the face of the massive injuries.^[6] On July 16, for example, the Jerusalem Post published a scorching editorial entitled “A Sense of Shame.” It did not even refer to the pollution that was the actual cause of the Australians' medical problems.^[7]

The public's response seemed a mix of embarrassment and wistful re-gret that yet another symbol of Zionist achievement was marred by in-competence and negligence. The opening ceremonies were especially staged to celebrate the hundredth anniversary of the first Zionist Congress, which launched the movement that ultimately produced the State of Israel. The Maccabiah Games were created to be a centerpiece of this “Zionist revolution.” Established in 1932 as the Jewish Olympics and held every four years in Israel, the Games offered Jews around the world the opportunity to join together and shed the age-old stereotype of the frail and intellectual Jew through the demonstration of athletic prowess. By 1997 the Maccabiah was billed as the third largest sporting event in the world, with fifty-three hundred participants from around the world and thirty-eight sporting events ranging from ice hockey to rugby.^[8] Many Israelis cynically perceived the games as more of a tourist opportunity than a serious sporting competition, a cynicism reflected in the relatively modest press coverage of the sporting events; for most citizens, though, the Maccabiah still held sentimental significance.

The notorious bridge was specially built, as one is every four years, to herald the dramatic entrance of the athletes into Israel's largest stadium. As

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the subsequent investigation revealed, the construction of the bridge was riddled by a litany of irregularities, presumably to reduce costs. Ultimately, the head of the Maccabiah Committee, the contracting engineer, and the construction companies were convicted of negligence.^[9] But no expense had been spared on the opening ceremonies themselves. There were hundreds of dancers, high-tech sound and light displays, and the obligatory torch lighting by the Israeli basketball legend Mickey Berkovich. Ironically, the opening ceremonies were the only part of the games to receive live national television coverage. And so it was that households tuning in from around the country saw a show that bounced back and forth between chaotic res-cue efforts along the river and festive performances in the stadium. The juxtaposition captured a schizophrenic mix of the tragedy and euphoria that have characterized so much of Israel's emotional history.