Munich widow claims ‘greed and anti-Semitism’ preventing official commemoration

[King_David]

Minute of silence for Israeli athletes at London Olympics: Munich widow claims ‘greed and anti-Semitism’ preventing official commemoration, as Italian MPs join international protests


LONDON/ROME/BRUSSELS (EJP) --- As London's Organising Committee of the Olympic Games prepares for the start of this summer’s games, the international furore over the continued refusal to hold an official commemoration for the victims of the Munich Massacre fails to die down, as the widow of the one of the slain athletes brands the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as “corrupt.”

The organisation and its president Jacques Rogge have been subject to intense criticism from across the international community for its continued refusal to honour the 11 Israel Olympians murdered at the 1972 Munich Games with a minute’s silence to mark the 40th anniversary of the killings, in what has been presented as a “humanitarian” gesture.

Munich widow Ankie Spitzer spearheaded the campaign by launching an online protest, which has since garnered support from across political spectrums in several countries including Israel, Canada, the UK, Australia, the US, Belgium and Germany.

http://www.ejpress.org/article/news/uk/60269

[King_David]

1. 'anti-Semitism’ is most likely reason, IMO nt

[madaboutharry]

2. I agree.

[dballance]

3. It's just a freaking minute to take time out

It's disgusting that among the hundreds of hours that will be televised with sponsors' logos and ads during commercial breaks they can't give up 60 seconds in memorium to the 11 Israelis.

[holdencaufield]

4. Let's Pretend...

... you're an IOC decision maker in the UK. Sure, honouring slain Israelis is probably the right thing to do. But, let's face it, it's likely to upset other people in the UK.

Now, Jews in the UK are a likeable bunch and may get offended but probably won't do anything about it. On the other hand, those who are most likely to be offended by the memorial minute have a history in the UK of violent protest and more -- and there are a lot more of them.

So, what's a poor IOC person to do? All you want to do is hold an incident free Olympics that puts the UK in the best public spotlight possible. You don't need a lot of violent protests or whatever marring the reputation of the land that brought the world Chaucer, Shakespeare and the Spice Girls.

It's fear -- not antisemitism (not entirely anyway) that prevents this memorial from taking place.

[LeftishBrit]

5. You are partly right and partly very wrong

If you are implying, as I think you are, that all British Muslims are violent rioters who hold the country to ransom, then you are very wrong. They aren't (with a few exceptions, as for any group) and they don't.

On the other hand, - there are obviously international terrorist groups that are prepared to take advantage of any large crowded international occasion. The Olympics have every characteristic that could attract a terrorist: huge, enormously publicized, crowded, very international, involving competition between countries, held in a Western capital city -London, no less. Add to that what could be seen as a public expression of defiance toward previous Olympic terrorism, and yes, someone very undesirable could well decide to flex their muscles.

I am sure that this is the main reason why the IOC is not commemorating the murdered athletes. I think this is wrong of them. If they think terrorism is that likely and hard to prevent, then they should not be holding the Olympics here at all. (I wish they weren't, on various grounds!)

It is not just Jews who should wish for a commemoration; it is all who are horrified by the murder of innocent young people.

[holdencaufield]

6. I'm not implying anything.

I have never said that all UK Muslims are violent rioters -- that's just stupid. The great majority of UK Muslims are just like you and me. They work their jobs, they run the shops, they raise their kids and they get by. No, violent rioters make up a very small percentage of UK Muslims -- but, they do exist. The Brixton Mosque crowd, Anjem Choudhary and his friends, the Essex protestors, and lest we forget the bus bombers. Domestic extreme Islam exists in the UK -- that's not in question -- it doesn't have to come from abroad.

I do believe the Olympic organizers are doing their best to protect from international terrorism and if there are terrorist planning something right now, it's been in the works for months and the addition of a moment of silence will not change their plans. No, when it comes to international terrorism, if something is planned to happen it will happen without any additional provocation.

No, what I'm referring to is the fear of a spontaneously generated, local-brew, home-grown violent protest that could be the reaction to a moment remembering the slain Israelis. This is what the IOC fears. They know better than to wave a red-flag in the face of England's local extremists.