[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 146 (Friday, August 13, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E901]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  HONORING THE MEMORY OF THE MUNICH 11

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                          HON. MONDAIRE JONES

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, August 13, 2021

  Mr. JONES. Madam Speaker, in September 1972, during the Munich 
Olympic Games, the terrorist group Black September murdered 11 members 
of the Israeli Olympic Team. The victims became known as the Munich 11. 
Their names were David Berger, Ze'ev Friedman, Yoseff Gutfreund, Moshe 
Weinberg, Yoseff Romano, Mark Slavin, Eliezer Halfin, Yakov Springer, 
Andre Spitzer, Amitzur Shapira, and Kehat Shorr. They were athletes and 
coaches at the 1972 games. May their memory be a blessing.
  The international community was deeply affected by the attack, and 
memorials have been placed around the world, from Rockland County, New 
York to Tel Aviv, Israel. The Jewish Community Center (JCC) Maccabi 
Games have included a memorial tribute to the Munich 11 at the opening 
ceremonies of every JCC Maccabi Games since 1995. When the JCC in 
Rockland County, located in my district, hosted the Maccabi Games in 
2012, the Center decided to take up this cause.
  JCC Rockland created an online petition calling on the International 
Olympic Committee (IOC) to hold a minute of silence at the 2012 London 
Olympic Games, which was denied. But soon, the JCC began to find 
success. At the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games, a memorial service 
in honor of the Munich 11 was held inside the Olympic Village. Further, 
the IOC established that a memorial service in their memory will be 
held at every future Olympic Games.
  Starting with the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games, Ankie Spitzer, the 
widow of fencing coach Andrei Spitzer, and Ilana Romano, the widow of 
weightlifter Yossef Romano, have gone to nearly every Olympic Summer 
Games. They have been leading the effort on behalf of the families to 
memorialize the Munich 11 at the opening ceremonies for the past 49 
years.
  After tireless advocacy from Ms. Spitzer, Ms. Romano, and JCC 
Rockland, the Munch 11 finally received a minute of silence during the 
opening ceremony of this year's Tokyo Olympic Games.
  It is my hope that every future Olympic Games opening ceremony 
includes a moment of silence to commemorate the gravity of this tragic 
event for all Olympians and humankind. The Olympic Games serve to send 
a message of hope and peace through athletic competition, and reject 
and repudiate terrorism as antithetical to the Olympic spirit.

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