Tokyo: A member of the Israeli Olympic team who was killed by Palestinian armed people in 1972 Munich Olympics was remembered during the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony on Friday with a silent moment, the first time in 49 years has occurred.
The family of 11 victims had long asked the International Olympic Committee to make a one-minute silence at the opening ceremony of the match, but until Friday was rejected.
“We, the Olympic community, also remember all the Olympics and members of our community who sadly left us, especially we remember those who lost their lives during the Olympic match,” said a announcer during the opening ceremony.
“One group still holds a strong place in all our memories and stands for everything we controlled at the Olympics – members of the Israeli delegation at the 1972 Munich Olympics,” the announcer added as a dark stadium and a soft blue light of the arena’s illumination parts.
On September 5, 1972, members of the Israeli Olympiad team were held hostage in the village of athletes who were not guaranteed by Palestinian armed men from the September Black Group.
Within 24 hours, 11 Israelites, five Palestinians and a German police died after rescue and rescue efforts later erupted into the shot.
“The Tokyo Olympics have just opened, but they have become a historic Olympics – after 49 years, on the main stage, at the opening ceremony, 11 heroes, victims of the Munich Olympics, mentioned,” said Hili Tropper, Israel Minister of Culture and Sports.
“It’s better to be late than not at all.” He thanked President Ioc Thomas Bach for doing “historic justice” for this problem.
The inclusion of silence moments was also welcomed by the alert march, an international Holocaust Memorial organization that campaigned against anti-Semitism.
The relatives of those killed had been looking for them to be remembered at the opening ceremony but the IOC previously ignored the request.
Instead of commemoration of the ceremony, IOC in 2016 inaugurated a mourning place in the leafy section of the Olympic Olympics at the Olympics Rio de Janeiro to remember those who had died during the Olympic match, with two widows of Israeli victims attended.
The mourning place featured two stones from ancient Olympia which was wrapped in a glass and was described as “closure” at that time by Ankie Spitzer, the widow of the husband of Israeli fence coach Andre.