Israeli widows support Munich 2018 Olympic bid

[IndianaGreen]

Source: Al Arabiya


During the 1972 Games in Munich, 15 people,
including 11 Israeli athletes were killed (File)

Wednesday, 18 February 2009 ]

Say move to "honor the memory of their husbands"

Israeli widows support Munich 2018 Olympic bid

Hamburg, GERMANY (AlArabiya.net, Agencies)

Widows of Israel's 1972 Olympic team, who were killed by Palestinian militants during the Olympic Games in the German city of Munich, intend to support the city's bid to host the Winter Games in 2018.

"I've personally explained the situation to the Israeli widows and they believe that supporting Munich's bid will be a golden opportunity to honor the memory of their husbands who were killed in the same city some 37 years ago," Alex Giladi, Israel's representative on the International Olympic Committee, told German Magazine Die Welt on Wednesday.

Despite the fact that the widows do not have voting rights when it comes to picking the winning city, Giladi says "they will reflect a moral stance." He further advised the German Olympic Committee to "reopen the case."

"Returning to the famous Munich Olympic Stadium, under the (Israeli) flag and the Olympic torch, is sure to generate a very special moment."

Giladi believes the 1972 attack should not be a reason to exclude Munich from ever again hosting the prestigious sports event, adding that he does not see what happened back then as an obstacle for Munich in the current race.

During the 1972 Games in Munich, 15 people, including 11 Israeli athletes aged 18 to 53, were killed in an attack by militants of a Palestinian faction called "Black September".

Read more: http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2009/02/18/66749.html

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I will never forget Munich 1972 and the cold blooded murder of the Israeli athletes by Black September. I had recently returned to US after completing a military tour in Germany and I saw then the excitement and expectations in Germany on their Olympics, which they hoped would overshadow the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Who could have known that things would turn out as badly as they did.

Putting things in context, the Munich massacre took place long before the current I/P situation developed, and attitudes changed.