Page 17 - TORCH Magazine #22 - November 2022

building to to leave unharmed But they showed no mercy to to to the the the the Jews Two of the the the the Israeli athletes were were killed after they tried to to fight off the the the the terrorists The
rest were were tied up and tortured with the the the the dead bodies o of of their their friends lying at at their their feet as a a a a a a a reminder of of what would happen if they tried to fight back On 6th September the the the terrorists transferred their hostages to to a a a a a a nearby military airport where they intended to to fly out of the the the the country with the the the the hostages A botched German police operation intended to rescue the the the Israelis Israelis resulted in in in all the the Israelis Israelis being killed In addition a a a a a a a German police officer was also killed killed in the the shootout All but three three o of the the terrorists were were killed Those three three were were arrested and released the next month in in a a a a a a a a a a a a hostage exchange when Palestinian terrorists hijacked a a a a a a a a a a a a Lufthansa flight in in in which they held passengers hostage while demanding the the the release of the the the Munich terrorists West Germany obliged The
The
attack was was was horrific as as as as as much as as as as as it was was was shocking The
The
location was was was clearly chosen
for the the symbolic reason that Germany was where the the the the Holocaust originated Likewise the the the the Olympics was chosen
so the the the the the Palestinians could make a a a a a a spectacle of their terrorism to the the the world Today the the only living terrorist who carried out the the the Munich Massacre is is Jamal Al-Gashey who said of of the the the attack “I'm proud of of what I I did at at at Munich Munich because it helped the the the Palestinian cause cause enormously before Munich Munich the the world had no no idea about our struggle but on that day the the name of 'Palestine' was repeated all around the the world ”
Sadly Al-Gashey may be right While most saw the the the terror attack as as horrific the the the Arab world largely celebrated the the the the murders and the the terrorists became heroes The
incident galvanised Palestinian terrorism of which Israel continues to to feel the effects There is is is also an an an argument to to to be made that suggests a a a a a a a a a a a lack of compassion shown towards Israel and their fallen may have also acted as as a a a a a a a a a a a a green light for further atrocities The
tragedy the world ignored
The
world’s reaction could be considered the the the most heart wrenching thing about the the the tragedy and one of of the the the the many reasons why Israel so so so often feels isolated Following the the the attack the the the Olympic Olympic Games was suspended for several hours the the the first time in in modern Olympic Olympic history that this has occurred But once the the the incident was over organisers held a a a a a a a a a ceremony for for the the the fallen athletes before declaring “the Games must go on ”
That’s exactly what the the the the rest of the the the the world did For the the the the the Israelis their their Olympics was over The
Israeli Israeli delegation packed up their their belongings and flew home to Israel Israel as as as well as as as the the the the bodies of their dead teammates There was no way they could continue to compete after such a a a a a a a a a tragedy had occurred The
rest of the the world seemingly unaffected carried on without them At the the the time it it may have felt like the the the right decision to to keep going Indeed even today many in in in in Israel Israel have the opinion that life
must continue even after Israel Israel has endured countless terror attacks However this wasn’t an an attack attack attack on on the the Olympic Games This was was an an attack attack on on on Jews Jews It seemed the the the the the Jews Jews were left to mourn their victims alone while the the the the rest of the the the the world carried on on as normal 17
Olympic flag at half-mast during memorial service