At Munich victims’ memorial, Olympic chief says Games still embody ‘culture of peace’
Thomas Bach says murder of 11 Israelis at 1972 Games is ‘the darkest day in Olympic history’; Israeli Olympic head Yael Arad: Still today ‘it is not easy to be an Israeli athlete’
Amy Spiro is a reporter and writer with The Times of Israel
Speaking at a memorial ceremony in Paris for the 11 Israelis murdered in a Palestinian terrorist attack at the 1972 Munich Olympics, Olympic chief Thomas Bach suggested that the Games are still proof that even in dark times, the world can still come together through sport.
“Some may consider this naive, but in our world torn apart by the far too many wars and conflicts, the Olympic Games prove that we can still bring the entire world together,” said Bach in his remarks during the ceremony at the Israeli Embassy in Paris.
“The athletes are living this culture of peace right here in Paris,” he said. “Athletes from National Olympic Committees whose countries are currently in war or conflict with each other, are living peacefully together under one roof in the Olympic Village. This culture of peace was, is and always will be at the heart of our Olympic community.”
Bach made no reference in his comments to the current threats facing the Israeli delegation, nor to the calls to boycott or bar the Israeli delegation from taking part in the Games. His presence at the event, however, reinforces the position Olympic officials have steadfastly maintained over the past 10 months, of welcoming Israeli athletes to the Games and rejecting calls to ban them from competing.
According to reports, the ceremony honoring the Munich victims was originally slated to be held on July 24, ahead of the opening ceremony, at the Paris City Hall, but was canceled due to security concerns and moved to the embassy. The Olympic Committee of Israel, however, denied that the move was due to security concerns, and said it was simply an issue of permits not being issued in time.
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo also addressed the memorial, as did Israeli Ambassador to France Joshua Zarka, while President Isaac Herzog — who attended the opening ceremony in Paris but since returned to Israel — sent a video message. Ankie Spitzer and Ilana Romano, the widows of slain Israelis Andre Spitzer and Yosef Romano, who have led the effort for decades to memorialize the 11 Munich victims, also made speeches during the ceremony.
At the Tokyo Olympics held in 2021, the 11 Israeli victims — Spitzer, Romano, Moshe Weinberg, Ze’ev Friedman, David Berger, Yakov Springer, Eliezer Halfin, Yossef Gutfreund, Kehat Shorr, Mark Slavin and Amitzur Shapira — were memorialized for the first time during the opening ceremony of the Games.
Speaking directly to Spitzer and Romano, Bach thanked them for their decades of friendship and their unflagging activism.
“My admiration for you is even greater, because you had to wait such a long time — too long a time for this commemoration to happen,” said Bach.
The Olympics chief said that the Munich Olympics terror attack “was an attack on the culture of peace that the Olympic Games promote. It was an attack on our Olympic values… this is why the 5th of September, 1972 is the darkest day in Olympic history.”
In her own comments, Yael Arad, the president of the Olympic Committee of Israel, said that the presence of 88 Israeli athletes at the Paris Games 52 years after Munich, as well as at every Games in the years in between, sends a message: “We are here. Israeli sport was not destroyed. Terror did not win.”
Arad said that in the wake of the October 7 Hamas attack, “the fact that we are present here today… proves the stamina of the Israeli athletes and the resilience of the Israeli society.” These days, she said, “it is not easy to be an Israeli athlete in the international arena… to cope with threats, the concern of our loved ones back home.”
She thanked Bach and Olympic and French officials for the “warm, embracing hospitality shown to us and to our delegation,” noting that they have “spared no effort to welcoming us safely and in good spirits.”
In the shadow of the ongoing Israeli war against Hamas, Israel’s delegation to this year’s Games has been under even heavier security than normal, with 24/7 armed guards provided by French security officials as well as a strong presence of Shin Bet agents.
The Israeli athletes have faced online death threats, as well as the leaking of some of their private information online.
More than halfway through the games, anti-Israeli provocations have been muted, with scattered protests and occasional signs held up during matches, but no incidents that have impacted proceedings or Israelis’ ability to compete.
So far, Israel has won six medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics, a new record for the Jewish state: bronze for judoka Peter Paltchik, silver for judoka Inbar Lanir, silver for judoka Raz Hershko, silver for gymnast Artem Dolgopyat, silver for windsurfer Sharon Kantor and gold for windsurfer Tom Reuveny.
