Families of dead Israeli 1972 Munich victims demand remembrance by IOC at London 2012 Olympic Games
The families of the dead Israeli athletes that lost their lives during the 1972 Munich Olympic Games have urged the International Olympic Committee to pay tribute to their lost ones in the upcoming London 2012 Olympic Games.
The demand to hold a commemoration ceremony for the dead Israelis has been brought forwards by two widows who have been active in the campaigning process that asks for the remembrance of the dead athletes in every Olympic Games. The widows have been urging
for the mention of the dead Israeli athletes in the welcoming speech given by the president of the IOC or to devote a moment of silence fro the dead. However, the efforts of the widows have so far been unfruitful.
A total of 11 Israeli athletes along with coaches as well as a referee lost their lives as they were shot at by Palestinian gunmen at the Munich 1972 Olympic Games. The Palestinian group responsible for the killings was the Palestine Liberation Organisation
(PLO). The PLO had wanted the release of 236 Palestinian prisoners that were held captive in Israel.
Alex Gilady, an Israeli member of the IOC as well as an ex journalist who covered the Munich Games for his home television, commented on the demand of a commemoration ceremony after 40 years of the incident in the following manner, “I'm not sure what is
so special about the number 40. I was sure that the number four was much more critical. The Israeli Olympic Committee, at the time in Montreal in 1976, could have demanded a memorial and they didn't ask for a memorial then; not in 1980 ... Not in '84 when
in Los Angeles this would have been almost definite ... To happen; not in '88, not in '92.”
The IOC has been actively taking part in any memorial service that has been hosted by other parties. Despite that fact, the IOC has not itself held a formal memorial service for the victims of 1972 Munich Olympic Games.
The IOC expressed its stance on the matter in the following words, “One thing is certain: We will never forget.”
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