The German government will hold a state memorial ceremony today for the 11 Israeli athletes and members of the delegation, who were murdered at the Munich Olympics, on September 5, 1972, by Palestinian terrorists who were members of the Black September organization. The ceremony will be held at the scene of the massacre, at the German air force base Fürstenbruck, where the terrorists shot to death the Israeli athletes who were sitting on their knees in the helicopters, during a failed rescue attempt by the German police.
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First, a ceremony will be held with the participation of only the families and survivors in the Olympic Village in Munich, after which the main event will be held in Fürstenbock, in the presence of German President Frank Walter Steinmeier and State President Yitzhak Herzog and with the participation of the families of the 11 Israeli athletes who were murdered. The representative of the families is Anki Spitzer – the widow of the victim of the massacre, fencing coach Andre Spitzer Z “L – even you will carry things.
The participation of the families in the ceremony was made possible at the end of a long struggle, which led to an agreement with the German government on the payment of compensation in the amount of 28 million euros. The German government also accepted responsibility for the omission that led to the massacre of the athletes in Munich, agreed to establish a joint committee of historians from the two countries to investigate the event, and committed to the transparency of all documents relating to the event.
The order of things at the memorial ceremony for the Munich disaster:
-The arrival of German President Frank Walter Steinmeier and President Yitzhak Herzog
– A piece of music by the Jewish orchestra in Munich
– Speech by the Prime Minister of the State of Bavaria, Dr. Markus Weder
-A minute of communion with the memory of the murdered
– President Steinmeier’s speech
– President Herzog’s speech
– The singer Roni Dlomi will sing “One human tissue”
-Speech of the Minister of the Interior of Germany, Nancy Feser
– Speech by the President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Dr. Joseph Schuster
– The singer Roni Dlomi will sing “Someone”
– Speech by the president of the Jewish community in Munich, Dr. Charlotte Knoblech
– A piece of music by the Munich Jewish Orchestra
-Speech Anki Spitzer, widow of the late fencing coach Andri Spitzer
– The reading of the names of the 11 murdered
– The prayer “God is full of mercy” by cantor Amnon Zelig
-Playing the Bavarian national anthem, “Hope” and the German national anthem
President Herzog, who opened an official visit to Germany yesterday, said during a joint statement with German President Steinmeier in Berlin: “In recent months, we have dealt together – you and me – quite a bit with the tragedy of the massacre of the Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics in 1972. I thank you for your moral and tireless commitment to justice Historically, a commitment that was reflected in your personal involvement, which eventually led to a breakthrough, which is mainly: taking responsibility on the part of the German government for security and rescue failures, an exhaustive historical investigation and compensation for the bereaved families.”
“I appreciate and cherish your efforts to bring this painful affair to a cure,” Herzog added, “and hope that from now on we will continue to remember, remind, and above all instill, the lessons of the tragedy, including the importance of the fight against terrorism – for future generations.”
President Steinmeier said: “We are relieved that shortly before this visit an agreement was reached between the bereaved families of the murdered athletes in Munich, an agreement on the historical inquiry, recognition and compensation. Germany is finally taking responsibility, and it recognizes the terrible suffering of the families and the murdered. I know that nothing cannot heal the wounds.”
State President Yitzhak Herzog, and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier (Photo: Amos Ben Gershom/L.A.M.)Culture and Sports Minister Hili Trooper and a delegation of the Israeli Olympic Committee led by Committee Chairman Yael Arad also arrived in Munich yesterday, including the runner Esther Roth-Shahmorov and the swimmer Shlomit Nir-Tor, who participated in the Munich Olympics and survived the massacre.
Arad said upon arrival in Germany: “The landing of the delegation after 50 years in Munich is an exciting closing of a circle of historical justice that has finally been done for the families, the survivors and the Israeli public, who can now turn to the fusion of the rifts. The children and grandchildren who came with us are the greatest heroes against evil and cruelty, proof To a world where in the end humanity wins.”
David Berger, Yosef Gottfreund, Moshe Weinberg, Eliezer Halpin, Mark Slavin, Zeev Friedman, Yosef Romano, Kehat Shore, Andrey Spitzer, Amitsur Shapira and Yaakov Shapiringer were murdered in the Munich massacre. During the ceremony today, their names will be read, and their portraits will be projected on a giant screen. Cantor Amnon Selig will recite the prayer “God full of mercy”, and the entire ceremony will close with the playing of the Bavarian national anthem, “Hatikva” and the German national anthem.