JEFF BUKANTZ NAMED GENERAL CHAIRMAN, 2017 MACCABIAH USA ORGANIZING COMMITTEE
Philadelphia, PA, March 26 – Jeff Bukantz, Maccabiah Alumnus and Olympic Team Captain and Referee, has been appointed by the President of Maccabi USA, Ron Carner, as the General Chairman of the 2017 Maccabiah USA Organizing Committee for the second time. Bukantz understands the mission of the organization and its goals and has committed himself to building an excellent organizing committee and a powerful USA Team to participate in the 20th Maccabiah Games in Israel, July 2017.
“Jeff served as our Chairman for the USA Maccabiah Team in 2013 and did a wonderful job of organizing a very involved and dedicated committee,” Ron Carner said. “He brings to the job a tremendous background with the Olympics and Maccabiah. He also has a great love of Israel, our athletes and the work that we do at Maccabi USA.”
Bukantz has participated in four Maccabiah Games as a member of the USA Maccabiah Fencing Team from 1981 through 1993. He has won 13 medals, including three gold medals, and experienced the Magic of the Maccabiah firsthand. Bukantz has also served as a Fencing Referee at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles and 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Captain of the USA Fencing Team at the 2004 Olympics in Athens and the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and as the NBC Fencing Analyst at the 2012 Olympics in London. He is First Vice President for Maccabi USA, an organization he has been a volunteer with since 1989. Bukantz has served as a member of the USA Organizing Committee for seven Maccabiah Games, two Pan American Maccabi Games and two European Maccabi Games.
“I have devoted much of my adult life to both Maccabi USA and USA Fencing,” Bukantz said. “Serving as General Chairman for the 2013 Maccabiah USA Organizing Committee, and bringing 1,102 American Jews to Israel, was my single most gratifying, satisfying and fulfilling endeavor in over a quarter century of volunteerism. I am deeply honored and humbled to again serve as the General Chairman for the 2017 Maccabiah USA Organizing Committee.”
About the organization:
Maccabi USA (MUSA) is a federally-recognized not-for-profit 501(c) (3) organization with an extensive history of enriching Jewish lives through athletic, cultural and educational programs. The organization is the official sponsor of the United States Team to the World Maccabiah Games, and the Pan American and European Maccabi Games, as well as a sponsor of the JCC Maccabi Games for teens in North America. As the official Maccabi representative in the U.S., Maccabi USA supports Jewish athletic endeavors, enhanced by cultural and educational activities in the United States, Israel and throughout the Diaspora.
MUSA develops, promotes and supports international, national and regional athletic-based activities and facilities. It strives to provide Jewish athletes the world over the opportunity to share their heritage and customs in competitive athletic settings. MUSA supports programs that embody the Maccabi ideals of Jewish Continuity, Zionism and Excellence in Sport. Maccabi USA Builds Jewish Pride Through Sports.
Maccabi USA has been selected by the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) as a Multi-Sport Organization (MSO). The nonprofit organization becomes one of 35 MSOs nationwide to be recognized by the USOC for its ability to cultivate a national interest in sport and increase opportunities for participation internationally, nationally and at the grassroots level.