Ankie Spitzer, widow of slain Olympic fencer Andrei, stands out among the many voices calling for a minute of silence in memory of the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre at the opening ceremonies of the 2012 summer games in London.
Despite the IOC having rejected a request in May by Israel’s foreign minister, Danny Ayalon, the movement for a memorial steam after a bill having passed in the Senate last Monday.
If the International Olympic Committee were to heed the call, could onlookers reasonably expect to see all nations show up?
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As Peter Jennings reported, "Representatives from almost all of the 122 countries participating here. Arab did not attend, though in many cases because they were bound by political constraints, over which they had no control."
JTA reported at the time that Jordan and Saudi Arabia publicly condemned the massacre, though the Saudis did not have athletes competing that year.
First and foremost, Ayalon should make it a priority to ensure that if the campaign is successful, the Israeli athletes are all in attendance.
While it didn’t pertain to a tragedy that took place at the Olympics, JTA also noted that just prior to the 1972 games, the Israeli team was reprimanded for failing to attend an interfaith Holocaust memorial in Dachau.
Watch the original report of the memorial for the Munich 11 at the 1972 games:
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