Stanley Tate, Others Press for IOC to Remember Munich Massacre
Thursday, 19 Jul 2012 05:39 PM
By Martin Gould
"Pressure is mounting on the International Olympic Committee to mark the 40th anniversary of the Munich massacre with a minute of silence at this month’s games in London.
Olympic organizers have steadfastly refused to allow any remembrance of the 1972 horror in which 11 Israeli athletes were killed. Many believe that is for fear of offending Arab and Islamic nations.
But with the London games due to start in eight days, leading philanthropist and businessman Stanley Tate is making an international push to have the massacre remembered in a fitting way.
He says a letter to the United States Olympic Committee went unanswered and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said a plaque in Munich was a sufficient memorial.
The group is supporting the efforts of Ankie Spitzer, the widow of one of the 11 victims. She has raised a 94,000-signature petition calling for a minute’s silence at the July 27 opening ceremony.
'I am asking for one minute of silence for the memory of the eleven Israeli athletes, coaches, and referees murdered at the 1972 summer Olympics in Munich,' she said in calling for more signatories. 'Just one minute — at the 2012 London Summer Olympics and at every Olympic Games, to promote peace.'
'These men were sons, fathers, uncles, brothers, friends, teammates, athletes. They came to Munich in 1972 to play as athletes in the Olympics; they came in peace and went home in coffins, killed in the Olympic Village and during hostage negotiations,' added Spitzer, whose husband, Andrei, was a coach to the Israeli fencing team.
'The 11 murdered athletes were members of the Olympic family; we feel they should be remembered within the framework of the Olympic Games.'
Spitzer said a minute’s silence is 'a fitting tribute for athletes who lost their lives on the Olympic stage. Silence contains no statements, assumptions, or beliefs and requires no understanding of language to interpret.'"
Newsmax Media, commonly called Newsmax, is a conservative American news media organization founded by Christopher W. Ruddy and based in West Palm Beach, Florida. It operates the news website Newsmax.com and publishes Newsmax magazine.
By Martin Gould
"Pressure is mounting on the International Olympic Committee to mark the 40th anniversary of the Munich massacre with a minute of silence at this month’s games in London.
Olympic organizers have steadfastly refused to allow any remembrance of the 1972 horror in which 11 Israeli athletes were killed. Many believe that is for fear of offending Arab and Islamic nations.
But with the London games due to start in eight days, leading philanthropist and businessman Stanley Tate is making an international push to have the massacre remembered in a fitting way.
He says a letter to the United States Olympic Committee went unanswered and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said a plaque in Munich was a sufficient memorial.
The group is supporting the efforts of Ankie Spitzer, the widow of one of the 11 victims. She has raised a 94,000-signature petition calling for a minute’s silence at the July 27 opening ceremony.
'I am asking for one minute of silence for the memory of the eleven Israeli athletes, coaches, and referees murdered at the 1972 summer Olympics in Munich,' she said in calling for more signatories. 'Just one minute — at the 2012 London Summer Olympics and at every Olympic Games, to promote peace.'
'These men were sons, fathers, uncles, brothers, friends, teammates, athletes. They came to Munich in 1972 to play as athletes in the Olympics; they came in peace and went home in coffins, killed in the Olympic Village and during hostage negotiations,' added Spitzer, whose husband, Andrei, was a coach to the Israeli fencing team.
'The 11 murdered athletes were members of the Olympic family; we feel they should be remembered within the framework of the Olympic Games.'
Spitzer said a minute’s silence is 'a fitting tribute for athletes who lost their lives on the Olympic stage. Silence contains no statements, assumptions, or beliefs and requires no understanding of language to interpret.'"
Newsmax Media, commonly called Newsmax, is a conservative American news media organization founded by Christopher W. Ruddy and based in West Palm Beach, Florida. It operates the news website Newsmax.com and publishes Newsmax magazine.