Bereaved Families of 1972 Munich Olympics Massacre to Boycott Memorial Ceremony

By Hamodia Staff

YERUSHALAYIM — Families of the Israelis murdered by Palestinian terrorists at the 1972 Munich Olympics said they will boycott a memorial ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of the massacre, to protest what they feel is an inadequate compensation offer from the German government.

The ceremony is scheduled to take place in Munich in September, with President Isaac Herzog slated to attend, though the families say he will not do so.

“We expect President Herzog to also announce, immediately, that he is not coming,” Ankie Spitzer told The New York Times in comments published Wednesday. Her late husband, Andrei Spitzer Hy”d, was the coach of the Israeli fencing team and one of the 11 Israelis Hy”d killed at Munich.

“If the families don’t travel, he shouldn’t travel either because if he is there, even to lay a wreath, it will legitimize this cruel German behavior,” she added.

Germany has offered an additional $5.58 million to 23 remaining family members, according to an internal memo obtained by the New York Times, but lawyers for the bereaved families are seeking 20 times that amount.

Ilana Romano, the widow of Yossef Romano Hy”d, a weightlifter who was one of the first Israelis killed, told public broadcaster Kan last month that Germany’s current reparations offer was “degrading” and that the families rejected it.