Munich Developments hit Close to Home
What happened in Munich in 1972 is far from a secret. The news was broadcasted live for sixteen hours by Jim McKay on ABC for the United States to hear and see. What has happened since is not secret either. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) refusing to grant a moment of silence at the London Games in 2012 to mark the 40th anniversary is still a tragedy talked about more than three years later.
What was a secret, however, was how brutal the torture was that the Israelis endured. Ilana Romano and Ankie Spitzer, widows of Yossef Romano and Andre Spitzer, respectively, have recently revealed shocking new details about the treatment of the hostages during the kidnapping on the fateful day in September 1972.
The report and stories give us all a reminder that what happened in Munich was not all the long ago. It also reminds us that, like the Holocaust, at some point there will be people who do not know what happened and the stories risk going untold.
With all of the attacks happening in Israel lately, it can be difficult to remember what else happens in the world. However, when news like this comes up, it only serves to reinforce the unfortunate and violent world in which we live.
Forty-three years ago and the Palestinian terrorist group did to the Israeli athletes what their descendants are doing today on the streets of Jerusalem. This is a reminder to us not that there are bad people out there, but that we must fight through the bad. Things can only get better.
There is unfortunate evil, but we as Jews and as a community must stand together and not let that evil win. As soon as we feel the fear and let it consume us, we have lost.
To release the details of such horrific acts against their husbands must have been truly difficult for Spitzer and Romano, but like them we must be brave against the faces of terror and show our strength.
While it is unfortunate to have news like this come out, it is relevant and proves that Munich is still relevant. With another set of summer games set to kick off in less than ten months, it will be increasingly interesting to see whether or not Spitzer finally gets her wish for that moment of silence her husband and the other victims so very much deserve. And, in light of this new information, it will be interesting to see how the IOC reacts not just to the threat of security, but to the threat of its own crime against the Israelis they have yet to properly honor.
David Solkowitz, a former intern for Israel Forever, is a Jewish Studies and Journalism major at Indiana University, David is a dedicated and passionate student when it comes to Israel. In his free time, David enjoys writing about his experiences, travels and connection to the Jewish homeland.
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