Seeking a minute for Munich in London

Last week saw the launch of an online petition seeking the observation of a minute of silence during the London Summer Olympics in memory of 11 Israeli athletes slain during the 1972 Munich massacre.

According to the petition, families of the victims have been working for decades to have the International Olympic Committee grant official recognition of the massacre during the ceremonies but have not thus far been successful.

During the Munich Olympics in the summer of 1972, Black September, a Palestinian terrorist group, orchestrated the capture of much of the Israeli Olympic delegation. In what was widely seen as a bungled rescue attempt by the Germans, all of the captured athletes and most of the terrorists were killed.

“If you forget history you are bound to repeat it,” said Ankie Spitzer, widow of fencing coach Andrei Spitzer, in a promotional video. “One minute for the Munich 11 victims to show the world that the doctrine of the Olympic spirit, ‘to build a peaceful and better world which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play,’ is more powerful than politics.”

“It’s unclear to me why, after 40 years, we have to fight to have the committee recognize a minute of remembrance for the massacre of Israeli athletes during the Olympic Games in Munich,” said Hertzl Romano, 63, in Maariv on Sunday.

Romano’s brother, weight lifter Yossef Romano, was one of the first to lose his life during the event. He overpowered his captors and seized a weapon, but was shot and killed.