Munich massacre families refuse to take part in 50th anniversary events
Haaretz report suggests relatives of the Israeli athletes and coaches believe the latest offer of compensation from Germany is 'crumbs and leftovers'
Jenni Frazer is a freelance journalist
Families of the Israeli athletes murdered during the 1972 Munich Olympics are refusing to take part in 50th anniversary memorial events unless there is “proper compensation” by the German government.
According to a Haaretz report, there is a continuing row between the families of the 11 Israeli athletes and the German authorities. The athletes and their coaches were attacked by Palestinian terrorists in the Munich Olympic village in September 1972, but many of the deaths occurred in a shoot-out at Munich airport between the terrorists and German police.
There is understood to be a new offer to the victims’ families, ostensibly of “several million dollars”, together with a previously unexpressed acceptance of liability for Germany’s failure to protect or rescue the Israelis. But the latest offer, which, Haaretz says, includes a German plan to convene historians and legal experts to research the previously withheld thousands of documents relating to the murders, has been dismissed by the families as “crumbs and leftovers”.
Germany tabled the new offer after the embarrassing possibility emerged that there would be no victims’ families taking part in any public memorial events this September. Anke Spitzer, who together with fellow widow Ilana Romano, is among the highest profile members of the bereaved families, has already declined to travel to Germany as a guest of the Bavarian regional leader Markus Söder and lay a wreath at the memorial site in Munich’s Olympic Village.
Last summer Ms Spitzer and Ms Romano — whose husbands were Andre Spitzer, the Israel fencing coach, and Yosef Romano, one of the Israeli weightlifters — finally achieved recognition for the athletes when a special ceremony was held at the Tokyo Olympics in their memory. But though there has been symbolic recognition of the deaths of the murdered Israelis, the financial compensation seems to be running a long way behind.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
