A memorial event sponsored by the British Jewish community was held on Monday at London's Guildhall, in honor of the 11 Israeli athletes slain at the 1972 Munich Olympics attack. Ankie Spitzer, widow of fencing coach Andrei Spitzer, who was one of the athletes killed, spoke at the event. Spitzer denounced the International Olympics Committee by shouting "Shame on you!" after the IOC refused to hold a moment of silence during the opening ceremony of the London Games. Olympic Committee head Jacques Rogge, who had spoken moments earlier at the event, was present in the room. Saying the IOC was discriminating against the Israelis because of their Jewish faith, Spitzer insisted the dead deserved to be honored as Olympians in an official Olympic context. Spitzer pointed out that this year's ceremony included two other moments of silence: for the 2005 London terrorist attack, as well as a "moment of remembrance for all people in all countries that honored "the fallen of two world wars and all other conflicts." Spitzer demanded to know why it was appropriate to offer thoughts in memory of others but not the slain Israelis. "Is the IOC only interested in power and money and politics-" She asked. "Did they forget that they are supposed to promote peace, brotherhood and fair play-" Paying his respects, Jacques Rogge recalled being an Olympic sailing competitor during the 1972 Munich massacre. "Even after 40 years, it is painful to relive the most painful moments of the Olympic movement," he said. "I can only imagine how painful it must be for the families and close personal friends of the victims." The Israelis killed in Munich have never been honored in a big television event like the opening ceremony. A committee started by a Jewish organization in Rockland, New York, has gathered more than 100,000 signatures supporting the moment of silence at an opening ceremony and counts President Barack Obama among its supporters. U.S. Ambassador to the U.K. Louis Susman read an official statement from Obama during the ceremony. "They were citizens of a young democracy in the ancient homeland of the Jewish people." The statement went on to say: "While the United States supported a moment of silence in their honor, we welcome any effort to recall the terrible loss that was suffered in Munich, and the lives of those who were lost. Let us rededicate ourselves to a world that represents the hopes of those athletes, and not the hate of those who took their lives." The victims' families have continually rejected the official reasons given by the IOC: At Montreal in 1976, they were told that the Arabs would leave; in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, they were denied due to an unwillingness to bring politics into the games; during the 1996 Atlanta Games, the reason was protocol; and at the 2004 Athens games, organizers said it was not the appropriate time.
Culture and Sports Minister Limor Livnat also spoke at the memorial. "There is a line to be drawn from Auschwitz to Munich, and from Munich to Burgas, where Israeli tourists were murdered by terrorists just three weeks ago. It is the murder of Jews simply because they are Jews The Olympics come to advance human achievement terrorism comes to negate it Those who called the IOC for an official and public moment of silence to honor the memory of Israel's slain athletes understand this."
Just before the ceremony began, British Prime Minister David Cameron expressed support for honoring the Israeli athletes killed. "As the world comes together in London to celebrate the games and the values it represents, it is right that we should stop and remember the 11 Israeli athletes who so tragically lost their lives when those values came under attack in Munich 40 years ago," Cameron said. "It was a truly shocking act of evil. A crime against the Jewish people. A crime against humanity. A crime the world must never forget."
Cameron said Britain, too, had suffered at the hands of terrorists, recalling the transit attacks on July 7, 2005, which killed 52 commuters the day after Britain was chosen to stage the 2012 Olympics. "Our two countries, Britain and Israel, share the same determination to fight terrorism and to ensure that these evil deeds will never win," he said.
"Seven years on from 7/7, I am proud that as we speak, this great city of London, probably the most diverse city in the world, is hosting athletes from 204 nations. And I am delighted that a strong Israeli team is among them," he added. "We remember them today, with you, as fathers, husbands, and athletes. As innocent men. As Olympians. And as members of the People of Israel, murdered doing nothing more and nothing less than representing their country in sport."
