While the families of the 11 Munich victims are in the midst of negotiations with the German government about the compensation they will receive 50 years after the terrible massacre at the 1972 Munich Olympics – surprisingly, Eyal Shapira, the son of the late Amitsur Shapira, filed a lawsuit in the Tel Aviv District Court Against the Olympic Committee and Anki Spitzer and Ilana Romano, the widows of the late Andri Spitzer and the late Yosef Romano. He also submitted a request for temporary relief because the court orders them that they are not allowed to speak on behalf of his or her family and claim that they represent him or her.
As I recall, Ilana Romano clarified that the Germans offered compensation to the families during the negotiations with them and that she did not accept their offer, so the families will not come to the state ceremony of Germany, but that Eyal Shapira disavows this. Eyal Shapira’s statement of claim reads: “The plaintiff, like each of the 11 families, received an invitation from the Bavarian government to participate in the ceremony. The plaintiff announced that he would participate and even sent confirmation of this. The plaintiffs’ statements regarding not participating in the ceremony planned in Munich are not only untrue, they may even sabotage the plaintiff’s participation there.”
Following this, Eyal Shapira asked the court: “To order only the plaintiff that he can speak on his own behalf or someone authorized to do so in writing.” Order the defendants to refrain from speaking on behalf of the plaintiff and/or on behalf of all the families. Order the defendants to demand from the bodies with which they are in contact that if they publish or act on the 11th matter, they will not allow a representation as if their activity is on behalf of the plaintiff. Order the defendants to hand over all the materials they have received on behalf of the 11 families over the years, including letters, faxes, emails, contacts and account books.” Also, apart from the lawsuit, he submitted a request for temporary relief and even claimed that there is another family that supports him.
Enki Spitzer She told ONE sadly after receiving the lawsuit: “We have known him for many years. Throughout the years he would call and receive all the information from us. He is currently putting all the other families at risk with this letter. We met him a week ago at a Zoom meeting with all the families. Il said it wasn’t just the money and he wanted an apology, we informed him that the German president agreed to that. Now he is suing us that we should tell him what we have been doing for 50 years? He could have done everything we did for 50 years by himself, but he didn’t and today he wakes up a minute before the end, writes to Germany that he would be happy to come to the event and say thank you there.”
“Now you wake up and you still write to the Germans that you want to give a speech there and thank them? come on. The Germans were arrogant, we crossed the Via Dolorosa from them. His family signed the agreement, even his brother is with us and signed the representation of our lawyers in the negotiations. We are fighting for Eyal to get his share, like everyone else. He will get exactly what my daughter will get and all the other orphans. He is one of us as far as I’m concerned, but he can’t endanger all the families with this lawsuit. I have no words to describe it. It makes me sad because we worked so hard for everyone, including Eyal, and I don’t understand it. I’m angry. Four of his family members signed the representation, but now he is harming all families.”
Ilana Romano and Anki Spitzer They said in an official response: “We have been working tirelessly for 50 years and demand to investigate the truth about the abominable murder. Our demand from the Germans is threefold: taking responsibility and apologizing, opening the archives and proper compensation for the rest. The vast majority of the families and the rest stand behind us and support all our steps that are taken for everyone. We have been widows since the age of 26 and today, after 50 unbearably difficult years, we continue to work at our expense to close the circle, to do historical justice and to receive the rights of all the families from the Germans.”
“The Shapira family, the remains of the successful and beloved coach Amitsur Shapira, includes his widow Shoshana and his four children from his second marriage, Shirley Shay and Oz Vail from his first marriage. Four of the remaining five stand behind us and support the fight we are waging for the families and Eyal is the only one who, despite agreeing with all our demands, strangely tries to weaken the fight of the united families in their fight. We have known Eil for many years, since you became an orphan, and his suffering is great, as are all of us. If he wants to represent himself, that is his right, but he has no right to harm the joint efforts.”
The Israeli Olympic Committee, which is also a party to the lawsuit, stated: “The 50th event is painful and complex and we act with sensitivity and statehood out of respect for the memory of the 11th and for each and every one of the family members. The Olympic Committee in Israel will not give a hand to the media discourse from its heart in such a sensitive and important event and will continue to do everything to strengthen the families in these complex days.”