From: Jerusalem Post
The Palestinian Authority has thanked the International Olympic Committee for refusing to hold a minute of silence at Friday’s opening ceremony in London to mark the 40th anniversary of the murder of 11 Israeli sportsmen at the 1972 Munich Games.
Jibril Rajoub, head of the Palestinian Football Federation, sent a letter to IOC chairman Jacques Rogge thanking him for his position, the PA’s official news agency, Wafa, reported.
“Sports is a bridge for love, connection and relaying peace between peoples.
It should not be a factor for separation and spreading racism between peoples,” Rajoub, a former PA security commander, wrote in his letter.
Wafa said that he sent the letter to the IOC chairman on Tuesday.
A senior PA official in Ramallah confirmed that Rajoub had sent the letter and said that the Palestinians were opposed to “Israel’s attempts to exploit the Olympic Games for propaganda purposes.”
A senior government official responded to the Palestinian letter by saying that “if the leadership of the PA is not willing to disassociate itself from its terrorist past, and is unwilling to see the Munich massacre as a brutal act of terrorism, then in Israeli eyes there will be big questions regarding their true commitment to peace and reconciliation.”
Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon condemned the PA for terming as “racist” a moment of silence for the Israeli victims.
“No, the murder of Israelis because they are Israelis is racist, not the request to dignify and honor them,” Ayalon wrote on Facebook. “On the other hand, Palestinian Authority media refer to Munich terrorists as ‘stars’ whose path should be followed.”
“Now, more than ever, there needs to be a minute silence, not just to honor the eleven slain Israeli athletes but also to demonstrate opposition to those who laud murderers as heroes and call on others to follow suit.”
Showing posts with label Olympics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Olympics. Show all posts
Friday, July 27, 2012
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Muslims Barred IOC from Honoring Murdered Israelis
From: Israel National News
An Olympics official admitted that Muslim countries blocked the "One-Minute of Silence" campaign to honor the 11 murdered Israeli athletes, one of the widows said.
Ankie Spitzer, whose husband Andre was one of the athletes massacred in the Munich Games n 1972, told the European Jewish Press that Jacques Rogge, president of the London Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games, told her that his “hands were tied” by the admission of 46 Arab and Muslim members to the International Olympic Committee.
She replied, “My husband’s hands were tied, not yours.”
The widow has been conducting an uphill battle to convince the International Olympics Committee to remember the slain athletes with one minute of silence before the opening of the Games in London next week.
It never has done so since the murders 40 years ago.
Spitzer gained support for her effort from several countries, including the United States, Britain, Australia, Belgium and Germany. A letter appealing for the minute of silence was signed by 140 Italian legislators, to no avail.
Spitzer called the Olympics “a corrupt organization, led by greed rather than the Olympic spirit. She added, “The IOC’s refusal is pure discrimination – greed and anti-Semitism.”
An Olympics official admitted that Muslim countries blocked the "One-Minute of Silence" campaign to honor the 11 murdered Israeli athletes, one of the widows said.
Ankie Spitzer, whose husband Andre was one of the athletes massacred in the Munich Games n 1972, told the European Jewish Press that Jacques Rogge, president of the London Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games, told her that his “hands were tied” by the admission of 46 Arab and Muslim members to the International Olympic Committee.
She replied, “My husband’s hands were tied, not yours.”
The widow has been conducting an uphill battle to convince the International Olympics Committee to remember the slain athletes with one minute of silence before the opening of the Games in London next week.
It never has done so since the murders 40 years ago.
Spitzer gained support for her effort from several countries, including the United States, Britain, Australia, Belgium and Germany. A letter appealing for the minute of silence was signed by 140 Italian legislators, to no avail.
Spitzer called the Olympics “a corrupt organization, led by greed rather than the Olympic spirit. She added, “The IOC’s refusal is pure discrimination – greed and anti-Semitism.”
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