Remembering the Munich 11 ahead of 2020 Tokyo Olympics
At the end of a day of intensely nerve-wrecking negotiations, the Palestinian terrorists demanded they and their Israeli hostages be flown to an Arab country. They never made it off the tarmac.
By JERUSALEM POST SPORTS STAFFRemembering the Munich 11 ahead of 2020 Tokyo Olympics.(photo credit: Courtesy)On September 5, 1972, at 4:30 a.m., eight Palestinian terrorists, members of the Black September organization, forcefully entered the accommodation building of the Israeli delegation in the Olympic Village at the Munich Olympic Games.
Two sportsmen were brutally murdered and nine were taken hostage during the initial attack. For almost 20 hours, the nine remaining Olympians were tied together and held hostage in the Olympic Village by terrorists armed with automatic weapons and hand-grenades.
At the end of a day of intensely nerve-wrecking negotiations, the Palestinian terrorists demanded they and their Israeli hostages be flown to an Arab country.
At around 10:30 p.m. the athletes and their captors were driven to a far corner of the Olympic Villages, where two helicopters waited and flew them to Fuerstenfeldbruck airport, near Munich. Attempts by German security forces to rescue the Israeli hostages at the airport utterly failed. Their incompetence resulted in the murder of the nine Israeli hostages.
The dream of all 11 Israeli sportsmen was to take part in the Olympic Games; symbol of brotherhood, friendship, and peace. Sadly, brutal terror shattered their dreams in Munich. The security failure in Germany is what led to today’s high standards of security, and Israel is one of the leading countries in the world in terms of its readiness to face terrorist threats at events with high media profiles. Remembering the Munich 11 ahead of 2020 Tokyo Olympics. (Courtesy)
The failed rescue attempt, followed by the murder of the Israeli delegation and the line that was crossed that day by the brutal terrorist group, have redefined the limits of fear and the scale of lives at risk at such events. The Olympic Committee of Israel has made it its motto to continue the legacy of the 11 athletes who became victims of terrorism.
Since that tragic day Israeli athletes pledge they will never forget.
