JTA
For first time, Olympics opening ceremony honors Israeli athletes murdered in Munich
July 23, 2021

For the first time ever, the Olympic Games held a moment of silence during the opening ceremony for the 11 Israeli athletes murdered during the Munich Olympics in 1972. There, the Palestinian terrorist group Black September attacked members of the Israeli Olympic team, ultimately killing six coaches and five athletes, as well as a West German police officer who participated in an unsuccessful raid to free the hostage athletes. Ankie Spitzer and Ilana Romano, widows of two of the murdered athletes, have long advocated for the International Olympic Committee to acknowledge the massacre in the opening or closing ceremony. READ MORE