pollution in the nation's rivers and waterways. Said Dror Avisar, chief hydrologist for the Israel Union for Environmental Defense, shortly after the collapse, "Almost every major river inside Israel is polluted." The pollution in the waterways, including the Yarkon, was mainly due to untreated sewage and storm runoff, hazardous chemicals, industrial waste, and other pollutants." Embarrassed by the negative publicity about the pollution, the Israeli government, in conjunction with other national environmental-improvement initiatives, cleaned-up portions of the Yarkon River via the Yarkon River Rehabilitation and Wetlands Project. Citizens groups assisted with the endeavor, including the Clean Up Israel organization which was founded by Australian Phillip Foxman, who witnessed the 1997 disaster, and the Jewish National Fund. In 2004, the Israeli government provided $100 million for the project. Among other measures, the local wastewater treatment plant was upgraded, a wetland was created to naturally treat wastewater, and small dams were constructed to help aerate the water to allow fish to live in more sections of the river. In addition, parks and bicycle trails were constructed along sections of the river banks. Aftermath and memorials In 2002, MWU reinstated Yoram Eyal as an executive official and as general manager of the Kfar Maccabiah Village in Ramat Gan, with an annual salary of US$120,000. The village served as headquarters for MWU and the athletes' village for the games. Eyal refused all requests to be interviewed by Australian media. In spite of protests from the Australian Jewish community about Eyal's continued involvement with the games, the MWU declined to separate him from the organization. When asked about Eyal's status in July 2007, MWU President Jeanne Futeran stated, "He's a good guy; he doesn't deserve to be further hassled over what happened. He's never forgiven himself; he never will forgive himself." Australia sent a full team of 543 athletes to the Maccabiah Games in July 2005, almost a quarter of whom were present at the 1997 bridge collapse. The Australian delegation requested that Eyal not be seated in the president's box during the opening ceremony when the team entered the stadium. Although the MWU responded that Eyal had a right to attend the ceremony in an official capacity, Eyal acceded to the Australians' request. The Australian team declined to stay at the Maccabiah athletes' village for the duration of the 2005 games. At the 2005 games, a memorial for the victims was unveiled at the