Jewish American Gold Medal Winner Dedicates It To The Victims of 1972 Munich Games Massacre (Video)

American gymnast Aly Raisman has revealed the  music for her gold medal-winning floor  routine at the London Olympics was a tribute to the victims of the 1972 Munich  Games terror attack.

The 18-year-old  said choosing Hava Nagila- a traditional score used for wedding dances and bat  mitzvah – was a response to the  International Olympic Committee’s failure to mark the  40th anniversary of the tragedy.

And for Aly,  from Needham, Massachusetts, she said it  made her gold even more special.

‘I can only imagine how painful it must be  for the families and close personal friends of the victims,’ she  said.

Munich tribute: Gold medalist Aly Raisman poses on the podium during the medal ceremony for the floor exercise

‘I am Jewish, that’s why I wanted that floor  music,’ she told the New York  Post. ‘I wanted something the crowd  could clap to, especially being here in London.

‘It makes it even much more if the audience  is going through everything with you. That was really cool and fun to hear the  audience clapping.’

Eleven Israeli athletes were killed during  the 1972 Munich Olympic Games in the now infamous Palestinian  terrorist attack. Only recently it has been revealed German  neo-Nazis helped them.

A campaign was launched by Israeli officials and the  widow of one of the victims for a minute’s silence during the opening  ceremony  but IOC president Jacques Rogge ruled that out.

President Obama also threw his support behind  the call for a commemoration of the  massacre at the London  Olympics.

Remember: During the 1972 Munich Games, a group of Palestinian terrorist kidnapped and killed much of the Israeli team in a highly-publicized ordeal

NBC’s Bob Costas also blasted the decision,  saying it was ‘insensitive’ and  held his own moment of silence when Israeli  athletes marched into the Olympic Stadium.

‘She’s very proud and upfront  about being  Jewish. Neither she nor her family explicitly sought to send a message. But it  shows how very integrated her Jewish heritage is in  everything that she  does.’

Rabbi Stern told  the New York  Post that he was also stunned by the  IOC’s refusal to hold a moment of silence during the event.

‘I’m happy to hear any other  explanation,’  he said. ‘But short of some racist grudge somebody is  holding, I can’t figure  out why it would be a terrible thing to do.’

The Rabbi said he watched the routine  and  was blown away.

‘I have to say, the statement just warmed me  to the very depths of my being,’ he said.

He compared it to the iconic  black-power,  raised-fist protest made by track stars John Carlos and  Tommie Smith on the  medal stand at the 1968 Mexico City Games.

‘They’re not going to forget that,’ the rabbi  said. ‘I certainly won’t.’

Eventually, a low-key tribute in front of 100  people was paid at the signing of the Olympic Truce in  London’s Olympic Village after the Games opened,  the first time it has happened inside an athletes village.

This was not the first time the IOC passed  over a moment of silence.

In the 2002 Olympics held in Salt Lake City -  and largely organised by  Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney -  organisers marked the  30th anniversary but did not hold a moment of  silence.

There was also a  separate commemoration for  the victims of September 11th.

During coverage of this Olympics, U.S.  broadcaster NBC has sparked anger in the host country after cutting away from  the Opening Ceremony when a tribute to the  victims of the London 7/7 bombings  was shown.

The station said the tribute to the  devastating attack – which killed 52  people and left many with life-changing injuries – ‘wasn’t tailored to a U.S.  audience’. It showed an interview with swimmer Michael Phelps  instead.

Source: The Daily Mail

Posted by control on August 8, 2012. Filed under Jewish News,Slider. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.