Jump to content

Forty years after 11 athletes were murdered in Munich, Israel still mourns alone.


Draggingtree

Recommended Posts

Draggingtree

Olympic_Silence.htmlaish.com:

 

OlympicSilence230x150-EN.jpg

 

 

 

Forty years after 11 athletes were murdered in Munich, Israel still mourns alone.

by Rabbi Shraga Simmons

 

I was 11 years old and a fanatical sports fan. I could stay glued to the TV and radio for hours on end, rooting for my hometown teams. The pinnacle sporting event was the Olympics, providing not only a panoply of world-class athletics, but a once-in-four-year opportunity to root for my “special Jewish home team”: Israel.

The 1972 Munich Olympics started with a bang. Mark Spitz, the mustachioed Jewish-American swimmer (who proudly participated in Israel’s Maccabiah Games) entered seven swimming events – and promptly set an incredible seven world records in the course of winning a record seven gold medals.

For American Jews, this was a huge source of pride. The last Olympics held on German soil – the 1936 Games in Berlin – were exploited as a Nazi showcase festooned with goose-stepping and swastikas. Hitler’s rabid anti-Semitism infected the athletic events as well: Two Jewish-American runners – Marty Glickman and Sam Stoller – were removed from the U.S. lineup at the last second, thus becoming the only members of the U.S. squad to travel to Berlin and not compete. For the racist Nazis, it was enough that a black man – Jesse Owens – had won the prestigious 100-meter dash; Hitler reportedly asked U.S. officials not to embarrass him any further by having two Jews win gold in Berlin.

Hitler’s rabid anti-Semitism directly infected the athletic events Scissors-32x32.png read more

http://www.aish.com/jw/s/Olympic_Silence.html


Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • 1716040477
×
×
  • Create New...