50 years later, the painful issue of the murder of the Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics is still present. Now, the chairman of the Olympic Committee, Yael Arad, sent a letter to the Plenary of the Olympic Committee in which she said that if the families of the murdered do not come to the ceremony, the representatives of the Israeli Committee will not come either, until adequate compensation and an apology arrive as expected.
It is written like this: “In recent months, we have witnessed an extraordinary historic struggle by the families of the 11 Munich martyrs for their right to receive, after 50 years, the German government 3 basic elements that until now, despite all the time that has passed, have never been received:
1. Taking responsibility and apologizing for the failures in managing the release of our beloved 11 Munich martyrs when they were kidnapped by the September terrorists
The black, includes an apology for the behavior and opacity all the years towards the families
2. Opening the archive of the documentation of the investigation of the terrible massacre during and after the massacre
3. Adequate compensation for the rest – widows, orphans, brothers and sisters according to international standards
As you know, the Olympic Committee in Israel since Munich 1972 has made it its goal to accompany the families of the 11 martyrs, to commemorate our loved ones and to preserve their legacy for future generations in Israel and the world above any possible stage. Over the years, the management of the committee accompanies the rest, in their persistent and just struggle for recognition and commemoration in front of the international bodies.
When we received the invitation to the commemoration and memorial ceremony in Germany, which is to take place on 22.9.5, we worked together with the Bavarian government, the Consulate of Israel in Munich and the German Olympic Committee in full coordination with the families, to come to the ceremony in Munich together with the Minister of Sports Hili Troper and the President of the State of Israel, Yitzhak Buzi Herzog , accompanied by survivors, Israeli Olympic medalists and representatives of the various sports associations that the murdered represented in this Bloody Olympics, in order to honor the memory of the murdered and to remind the entire world that Olympic blood, and with it the Olympic spirit, is not wasted and it is our duty to do everything that athletes in the world in general and Israeli athletes in particular are protected on every stage in which they appear.
In recent days, after a long mediation campaign led by President Herzog, in full daily cooperation with the Israel Olympic Committee, we have been engaged in trying to bridge the huge gaps that have emerged between the German government and the negotiating team representing the families of her – unfortunately, this mediation attempt did not succeed because the German government is not ready to do historical justice and give the families and the rest the accepted compensation.
You must be reading in the Israeli and international media about the unfolding of the affair and at the same time about many new discoveries as a result of the Germans agreeing after 50 years to open the archives and allow a thorough study of the entire sequence of events. This is how one can learn about the many alerts received in Germany about the intentions to carry out an attack with international resonance on German soil in September 1972.
We see great importance in commemorating the 11 athletes, coaches and judges who were murdered at the Munich Olympics above any stage and especially in Germany, where the disaster happened and yet I must share with you that the Olympic Committee in Israel will not take part in the ceremony in Munich without the participation of her families for whose honor and respect the ceremony is intended. There are 22 days left until the anniversary when the ceremony will take place in Munich and I want to believe that there will be a person in the German government who will be able to listen to the broad international community calling for a solution to the affair and connect all the dots and thus prevent the rupture, do historical justice and complete the agreements with the representatives of the families. 22.9.5″ .