Moment of Silence

It happened at the Olympics on London, despite all claims that it would not. Oh wait, it wasn’t for the Munich 11. It was for the British victims of 7/7 and a tribute to British soldiers. Nothing for the Munich 11 – nothing.

Despite requests from tens of thousands of people around the world, the families of those murdered athletes, leaders of Israel, Canada, Australia, the United States and Germany – it didn’t happen. Just one minute…that didn’t happen, to the everlasting shame of the International Olympic Committee. A British commentator made reference to the Munich 11 – more than the IOC did. An American commentator made reference to the Munich 11 – and in all of this, the IOC did nothing.

It makes me furious; it makes me bitter. It reminds me that there remains anti-Semitism and hatred of Jews and Israel and yes, when the IOC can spend 40 years denying this for all sorts of reasons and then allow a moment of silence for something else, for someone else’s victims of terror – yes, there can be no other source or reason than the hatred they must have in their hearts.

Eleven athletes came to Munich to share in the Olympic spirit of sports and brotherhood. Promises of security were made and broken. The IOC’s actions cross all lines of cruelty and hypocrisy. The crime committed by those terrorists 40 years ago continues to be amplified by the actions of these people. What an incredible slap in the face to every Israeli athlete at the games, to every Israeli, to every Jew, and to all victims of terror.

The Olympic committee had one minute to choose – and they chose wrong. Meanwhile, they are the recipients of the thanks of the Palestinian delegation who has the nerve to say that honoring the 11 murdered athletes amounts to racism. That, my friends, is how you spin propaganda.

That’s right – if you dare to honor the people we murdered in a vile terrorist act that resonates with cowardice and hatred… you are racist. No, this is not about the brotherhood of man and sports and everything about politics. Every gold medal they hand out is tarnished by this insensitivity. It is not about how fast you run, how far you swim.

The Olympics is supposed to be about the spirit and the people. That moment of silence that didn’t happen rang louder than any cheer that will come out of the stadiums in the next 17 days. May the memories of the Munich 11 haunt the Olympic Committee members all the days of their lives and may they remember that in denying those families this little comfort, their actions are unforgivable. I accuse the International Olympic Committee of racism, for promoting and honoring terrorism, for cruelty. I damn them for their mean-spirited, selfish and warped ideals. 

8 Comments

  1. Anti-semitic. If you are an American with roots in Europe, you are not of semitic origin. Palestinians are more semitic than a lot of Israelis. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semitic

    I suspect the IOC was recognizing what most of the world has recognized.. the situation between Palestine and Israel is not all “Israel is the victim”.. that it’s a lot more complicated and that the Palestinians themselves have to overcome hurdles that you would never have to in order to be able to participate in the Olympic games. Good for the IOC.

  2. A powerful piece and I agree with youu fully on the embarrasing anti-Semitism of the IOC. What a shame. What a travesty of sport and fellowship.

  3. I agree 100% with everything you said.. It was not that long ago that Avery Brundage (head of the Olympic Committee in 1936), who was buddies with hitler, did not allow the two American Jewish athletes to compete in the 400 meter race (the one Jessie Owens entered and won). This committee has a history of intolerance towards Jews….I have NO RESPECT for them or the country which is hosting them. Jan

  4. Dear First Anonymous…you clearly need a biology lesson, a history lesson, a lesson in sensitivity and a lesson in logical reasoning. This isn’t actually even about the Israelis and the Palestinians. This is about 11 athletes who went to Munich and were murdered. That moment of silence didn’t even have to mention the Palestinian murderers, the terrorists who castrated one man, desecrated the body of another, and then murdered the remaining hostages. All the IOC had to do was give 60 seconds in memory of how the “games of peace” were defiled by murder and remember the victims. Instead, they have ignored a simply request by the families for one moment of silence and worse – after a huge campaign of international proportions, they SHOCKED the families by granting a moment of silence to the victims of the British terrorist attack of 7/7 – also by extremist Muslim terrorists. Does that make sense to you? They ignore the victims of an attack AT the Olympics in 1972 in favor of the victims of an attack from 2005? There is NO justice here and your attempting to blur the truth of what happened in 1972 by mixing in (incorrectly, of course) another political situation is despicable. Congratulations for being yet another in a long line who justify terrorism – are you, perchance, a member of the IOC?

  5. To the idiotic comment(er) in the first post, what you said does not ADDRESS THE 11 ISRAELI ATHLETES WHO WERE MURDERD BY TERRORISTS! Therefore your opinion on this thoughtful article DOES NOT MATTER. STFU.

  6. Dear J.B. – thank you…I needed someone else to scream today. I’m so angry and miserable and sad. Mostly because of the fast day, but yes, because of this as well. Thank you for screaming with me; thank you for screaming for me.

  7. There are many of us screaming with you. Not just today, but every day that Israel and the world has to listen to lies about the “poor, pitiful Palestinians” while the tiny country of Israel must defend itself from rockets and attacks from its “peace partner” neighbors. The Munich Massacre is one such attack–which happened on a world stage. Is it too much to ask for one minute for those murdered athletes?

  8. When I traveled about in Europe, spending my day seeking out and finally reaching the memorial at the Munich Olympics stadium felt more lonesome, frightening and personal than some of the concentration camps. Mass murder in a designated location affects a different part of the soul as does an act of terror carried out in a “friendly” location. The stark contrast of games and fun with hate and death made me scared at every turn.

    I am reminded of this worm of fear…

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