The Jewish Chronicle

Hunt: Olympic silence none of my business

- BY JESSICA ELGOT

JEREMY HUNT, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, has refused to back calls from the US Senate and the Australian, Canadian and German government­s for a minute’s silence at the 2012 London Olympics to remember the 11 Israelis murdered in Munich in 1972.

The widow of one of the Israeli athletes — murdered by five Palestinia­n terrorists — said London 2012’s refusal to arrange a 40th anniversar­y memorial was “discrimina­tion” based on their religion and nationalit­y.

Ankie Spitzer, widow of murdered fencer Andrei Spitzer, said that she had been reluctant to accuse the Internatio­nal Olympic Committee (IOC) directly of discrimina­tion.

But this week she told the JC: “Now, I call it by its name: it’s discrimina­tion in my opinion. There have been other memorials at the opening ceremony, it has been done before.Two years ago, before the Vancouver Winter Olympics, athlete Nodar Kumaritash­vili died in a training accident.

“So at the opening ceremony, members of the Olympic committee stood up, gave a speech, and sent their condolence­s. And rightly so. So what is the problem? Is it because [the Munich athletes] were Israelis and Jews? I can only come to that conclusion.”

A spokesman for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport said: “The decision as to whether a minute’s silence is held during the Games lies with the IOC. Jeremy Hunt will be representi­ng the government at a ceremony being held at the Guildhall — a joint initiative between the Israeli embassy, Israeli National Olympic Committee and the Jewish community.”

But an angry Ms Spitzer said the only response she had had from Lord Coe, chair of the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games, had been an invitation to the August 6 memorial event at the Guildhall. “That’s the memorial that we are organising ourselves! And he wrote to tell me about it?”

She described the Guildhall event as a “way out” for the Olympic organisers. “It means the event doesn’t have to be in the Olympic Village or during the opening ceremony, so it will let them off the hook.”

Ms Spitzer said she had been told privately for many years by the IOC that Arab nations would object to a memorial event. “I think I am the only fool left who believes in the Olympic ideal. But all the people who represent the Olympics are bending to these threats and intimidati­on. That’s very upsetting. The Palestinia­n Olympic Committee said: ‘Well, there are also five Palestinia­ns who died in Munich’. How crazy is this?”

Two separate memorial events are planned this summer for the Munich athletes. One is organised by the Israeli Olympic Committee on August 6, which Israeli President Shimon Peres, Lord Coe and Mr Hunt are expected to attend, and the other, organised by the Zionist Federation a month later, will mark the anniversar­y of the massacre.

Additional­ly the London Jewish Forum plans a plaque to be unveiled in Hackney, one of the Olympic boroughs, on July 22.

Alan Aziz, executive director of the ZF, said: “We strongly support the call for a minute’s silence at the London Olympics and it would be appalling if the reason that the IOC will not approve this is because of objections from the Arab countries. This would be an affront to the innocent people murdered in 1972, and totally against the principles of the Olympic movement,

 ?? PHOTO: AP ?? National flags fly at half-mast around the Olympic torch at the games in Munich, 1972, in memory of the 11 Israeli athletes killed by terrorists
PHOTO: AP National flags fly at half-mast around the Olympic torch at the games in Munich, 1972, in memory of the 11 Israeli athletes killed by terrorists
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