Breaking down cultural, social and economic boundaries - and maybe even perfecting free throws - will be on the agenda for 60 children in Israel this summer as they participate in a basketball camp with NBA player Rick Mahorn.

The camp will be held Aug. 1-4 at Kibbutz Givat, near Migdal HaEmek, and will give children ages 10-18 the opportunity to learn basketball tips from a seasoned pro. Many of the Israeli children who will participate in the camp are Ethiopian and Russian immigrants.

The basketball camp is part of an ongoing commitment the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit has to the Partnership 2000 exchange program. The program links Jewish communities around the world with regions in Israel for people-to-people relationships in culture, business, medicine, education and social services.

Central Galilee is Michigan's Jewish Agency Partnership 2000 sister region in the north of Israel. The region includes the business and industrial cities of Nazareth Illit and Migdal HaEmek, and the agricultural settlements of the Jezreel Valley. The growing population of 93,000 is similar in size to the Detroit Jewish community. Children from all three regions will be eligible to participate in the basketball camp.

The purpose of Partnership 2000 is to strengthen the sense of Jewish peoplehood worldwide. The program focuses on the mutual development of Jewish identity, absorption of new immigrants, building of volunteer networks and the improvement of social services.

Launched in 1994 by the Jewish Agency for Israel's Department of Rural and Urban Development, the program links overseas communities with the 27 regions of Israel.

The four-day camp schedule includes work on shooting, passing, dribbling, defense and offense. The last day will feature a competition. During break times, campers will have the opportunity to talk with Mahorn about his NBA experience.

The camp will be featured on the Israeli National sports channel. Nike Israel and Marriott Hotels are just two of the many sponsors of the camp.

Mahorn has played 17 seasons in the NBA. The 6-foot-10 power forward currently plays for the Philadelphia 76ers, but probably is best known for his "Bad Boy" image created while with the Detroit Pistons. He helped Detroit to a 1989 championship. Mahorn graduated with a BA from Hampton Institute in Virginia, where he received the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics All-America award three times. He also has played for the New Jersey Nets and the Washington Bullets.

Israeli pro basketball coach David Bitan helped see the camp idea through from concept to reality. Bitan, who played professional basketball with Maccabi Hapoel Afula HaEmek for 11 years, will be the head coach of the basketball camp.

  August 1999