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Jeanne Futeran, In Israel As First Woman, South African President of Maccabi World Union
By Darryl
Egnal Jerusalem, Israel ---- August 14, 2009 ..... Jeanne Futeran, 68, president of Maccabi World Union (MWU), commands attention when she speaks. She’s a small, soft-spoken yet dynamic woman who is surrounded mostly by men in a Jewish athletic and cultural organisation that has a history of being male-dominated. As the first woman and the first South African to hold the position, she has certainly made a name for herself throughout Maccabi world-wide and, most recently, at Maccabiah Chai 18 Life Games in Israel. The Maccabiah Games may be over for this year, but the Maccabi World Union’s work has just begun for the next Israel games. Although Futeran, who resides in Cape Town, has been involved in the MWU for more than 24 years and has attended eight Maccabiah Games as part of the organisation, she has been participating as a sportswoman since she was six years old. Futeran’s main sport was swimming, but she competed in tennis, badminton and golf. “I was very fortunate that the people who were training the swimmers in those days in Cape Town were both Maccabi members,” she says. “We used to have galas and competitions and I loved it. I swam till I left school. They didn’t give medals in those days. We used to win a slab of chocolate and we were glad to get it.” In 2006, at age 64, she won the gold medal for her swimming in Australia. “Australia had its regional Maccabi Games when I was there visiting my son a couple of years ago. They were short of swimmers in the Masters side so my son said: “Hey Mom, you should come and swim. I landed up with a gold, silver and bronze medal. My grandchildren were so excited; they loved it.” Futeran doesn’t swim competitively anymore, but she swims three to four times a week for exercise and to relax. Her involvement in the Maccabi World Union happened unexpectedly when she started playing golf in Cape Town. “Being the kind of person I am, when I see people working, I can’t sit back and watch them,” she says. “So I offered my help and I got involved. And through organising golf tournaments, I got involved in Maccabi, first on the Cape Town Maccabi committee, then nationally in South Africa, and finally I became chairman of the South African Maccabi committee. I was based in Cape Town at the time and this was the first time ever that the chairman did not live in Johannesburg. “I came to my first plenary as SA Maccabi chairman to the MWU international meeting in 1982 and they didn’t know how to treat me. Rivka (Rabinowitz, current Chairperson of the Council of the Movement) was there, but there were no women on the board. There might’ve been wives around, but there were no women delegates and they didn’t know how to handle it. They used to say: ‘Quiet everyone, the lady wants to talk.’ I used to get so irritated and told them to ‘just treat me like one of the boys and let’s get on with it’.” Futeran quickly went through the ranks of the Maccabi World Union. “And then, when Ronald (Bakalarz) resigned after the terrible bridge tragedy in Ramat Gan, Israel, they asked me to stand in for him for a year and a half,” she said, remembering the heartbreaking accident. During the opening ceremony of the Maccabiah Games in 1997, a temporary bridge set up for the event collapsed into the Yarkon River in Tel Aviv killing four Australian athletes and injuring many more. “I was terrified to do this – he was such a brilliant president – and I thought: ‘How can I possibly follow in his footsteps?’ But then I thought I’d be damned if I’m going to say no. Even if I don’t know enough; even if I’m terrified, I going to do it. “I’m the first woman and the first person from South Africa to hold this title and I feel very privileged. And then they elected me at their congress one and a half years later, and they re-elected me at the congress after that. My term of office ends in May next year in 2010),” says Futeran. Asked how she feels she has progressed in the position, she says confidently: “I’ve done it my way. I don’t know about finance or business – in fact, there are a lot of things that I should know that I don’t, and I ask for advice all the time, but I’ve done it my way. “I think I’ve brought into the movement something a little different. I’m a people person and I like to be with the people, the athletes. I don’t like to be treated presidentially. It’s really great – I’ve got the title and I’m doing the job, but I like to be with the people and I enjoy being with them and watching them compete.” Futeran could not pinpoint any specific highlights of her tenure as president, but she remembers many events that have made this such a rich and rewarding experience for her. “There are so many highlights. I have met prime ministers and presidents and I’ve even met the Pope. I mean, who would think that a young – I’m still young,” she says with a glint in her eyes, “– that a woman from Cape Town, a Jewish woman from Cape Town, would meet the Pope? I’ve got a picture of him holding my hand. My family was ‘wowed’ by the whole experience. “I’ve met the president of Argentina; obviously I’ve met the presidents and prime ministers of Israel, (Ariel) Sharon I met a few times – it breaks my heart to think of that poor man sitting in a chair all day – I’ve met Netanyahu and Peres; all in all I have met the most amazing people.” She has been to countries she wouldn’t have visited if not for the MWU. “I would’ve gone to Australia to see my kids anyway, but with Maccabi, I’ve been to South America, North America, I’ve been up to Helsinki twice and other countries in Europe. This would never have happened to me without the MWU,” says Futeran. “Maccabi has given me many rare opportunities and there is no way I can thank them enough for what they’ve given me. Ok, they say I’ve worked for it and I’ve done it and I’ve earned it, but I did it out of love for what I was doing and it just took off like a rocket. It has been amazing, really amazing and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.” Futeran is reluctant to take sides on supporting a team, but South Africa is very close to her heart. Highlights of this Maccabiah include “watching our cricketers. I’m supposed to be impartial and I try to be impartial, but it was an amazing game. “The opening ceremony was wonderful and the closing ceremony was spectacular. The best we’ve ever had! Then there was the youngsters’ party (juniors’ Maccabiah celebration) in Ra’anana, which was absolutely amazing,” she says. “But actually, picking one highlight is very difficult. I can’t say there was one outstanding event because there were so many. I watched a lot of the sports, I watched a lot of excitement and I enjoyed it all.” One of Futeran’s roles as president of the Maccabi World Union is to be the liaison between the rest of the world and Israel. Her message to Maccabi representatives worldwide is to “bring your athletes and bring them often. Don’t only wait for the Maccabiah Games; find the opportunities to come to Israel, to bring them on programmes, to come to Israel to play sports with Israelis. “Your athletes can offer us opposition at any standard, at any level so it doesn’t have to be your top athletes – yes, for the Maccabiah, it must be your top athletes, it should be your top athletes – but bring them to Israel between Maccabiot,” she says. “We want to plant the seed of aliyah in as many people as possible, particularly the youth. And we believe that Maccabiah does this. We believe that a very large number of athletes eventually made aliyah – perhaps many years after the Maccabiah they attended – after having visited Israel and the Maccabiah for the first time. It’s difficult to know exactly how many made aliyah, but I know of many myself. “We want people to come to Israel, to support Israel, and to know that this is our home whether we live here or not,” says Futeran.
Joel Leyden contributed to the above news feature.
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