Since it's inception, JCC Maccabi has included an important moment in the Opening Ceremony to remember the tragic events of the Munich Olympics in 1972. This solemn pause serves as a powerful reminder of the resilience and spirit of the athletes who were targeted simply for being Jewish. The legacy of the Munich 11 unites us in shared remembrance and reflects the enduring strength of the Maccabi community and the Jewish people. Their memory lives on, echoing the courage and determination of the Maccabees throughout history, making this tribute a cherished tradition.
At 4:30 a.m. on September 5, 1972, five Arab terrorists wearing sweatsuits climbed a 6-foot fence to enter the Olympic Village in Munich, Germany. Although several people saw them, no one thought anything was suspicious because athletes routinely hopped the fence into the village, and the terrorists had thought to hide their weapons in athletic bags. Three more men who are presumed to have obtained Olympic credentials met the five terrorists inside the village.
Just before 5 a.m., the terrorists knocked on the door of Israeli wrestling coach Moshe Weinberg. When Weinberg opened the door, he immediately realized something was very wrong and shouted a warning to his comrades. He and weightlifter Joseph Romano attempted to block the door giving the other Israelis time to escape. Unfortunately, they were unsuccessful. The terrorists killed Weinberg and Romano, and then succeeded in rounding up nine other Israelis whom they held as hostages.
At 9:30 a.m., the terrorists announced to the world that they were Palestinians. They demanded that Israel release 200 Arabs being held prisoner and that the terrorists themselves be given safe passage out of Germany.
After hours of tense negotiations, the Palestinians, who belonged to a PLO faction called Black September, agreed to a plan that would fly them and their hostages to Cairo. As the group began to board several helicopters, German sharpshooters attempted to kill the eight terrorists and a bloody firefight ensued.
At 11 p.m. that evening, new fighting broke out in Munich and a terrorist grenade blew up one of the helicopters holding Israeli athletes. The remaining hostages in the second helicopter were shot to death by one of the surviving terrorists.
At 3 a.m. on September 6, 1972, a drawn and teary-eyed Jim McKay, who had been reporting the drama throughout the day as part of ABC’s Olympic coverage, made the devastating announcement: “They’re all gone.”
At the time, the massacre of 11 Israeli athletes was not considered serious enough to merit canceling or postponing the Olympics. “Incredibly, they’re going on with it,” Jim Murray of the Los Angeles Times wrote at the time. “It’s almost like having a dance at Dachau.”
Following decades of tireless advocacy on behalf of the athletes’ and coaches’ families by Ankie Spitzer and Ilana Romano—whose husbands were among those murdered—the first-ever moment of silence for the Israelis was observed at the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo. Steadfast support for the moment of silence came from the JCC Movement, and as is our tradition, we honor, remember, and memorialize the Munich 11 athletes and coaches at the opening ceremony of the JCC Maccabi Games® each year. Even as we remember the past, we look to the future, encouraging Jewish teens to play sports as part of their full and active Jewish lives.
