Ilana Romano, widow of Israeli athlete Yossef Romano, one of 11 Israeli team members who were killed by Palestinian gunmen during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, speaks during a memorial ceremony for the victims of the Munich massacre with the Israeli athletes who will represent Israel at the 2016 Rio Olympics, in Tel Aviv, Israel July 13, 2016.
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In September of 1972, Israeli athletes were taken hostage at the athlete’s village of the Munich games by Palestinian terrorists belonging to the Black September terror group.
“We waited for this for 44 years, to have this remembrance and recognition of our loves ones who were killed so brutally in Munich”, Ankie Spitzer said Wednesday”.
Bach participated in Wednesday’s ceremony and spoke of the importance of remembering “those who are no longer with us” before the Olympic festivities begin.
Rio de Janeiro (dpa) – Israel’s International Olympic Committee (IOC) member Alex Gilady on Wednesday praised the inauguration of a place of mourning in the athletes’ village for the Rio Games, which he said eases the suffering of the families of the Munich massacre victims. They killed 11 Israelis over 24-hour standoff with German police, in which five of the terrorists and two police officers were also killed. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) inaugurated the monument in memory of the 11 Israelis who were killed.
The participants observed a minute of silence and the Olympic Anthem was played to honour all the deceased.
“We chose the Olympic village as the location… because it symbolises the unity of the Olympic family”.
Romano said: “I never believed it is going to come. This is a moment of history”. Besides the 11 Israelis, it also commemorates the German policeman who was killed in the failed rescue attempt in Munich, two victims of a bomb attack at the 1996 Atlanta Games and Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili, who died in an accident at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. “This is an extremely emotional moment for us, one we have been waiting for since 1972”.
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“I’ve got a lot of shoes with me this time thanks to my sponsor”, he said.
