The IOC should be ashamed of itself. Allowing 40 years to pass and never meaningfully recognizing and mourning the murder of the Israeli athletes and coaches from the 1972 Munich Olympics is a disgrace. The international Jewish Community has been vocally outraged and despite thousands of signatures on a petition to do so, there was no official memorial offered by the International Olympic Committee. Individuals and other organizations have had their own moments of silence in commemoration, but nothing from the Olympic organizers who claim there is no place for a memorial during the games.Last night American Gymnast, Alexandra (Aly) Raisman won the Gold Medal for her floor competition. This was the third time she’s performed this sequence at the London Games and the third time she’s done it to Hava Negilah, a traditional Jewish song that has become iconic of the Jewish people. As she tumbled her way to gold the audience cheered and some even waved Israeli flags. Her personal victory was, in some ways, a victory over the IOC's insistence on ignoring the Jewish voice. Whether it was intentional on her part or not, her win, done through a salute to her heritage, honored the memory of the Israeli athletes who were so ruthlessly slain decades ago.
Raisman’s floor exercise lasted a minute and a half, and during that time I watched with pride as I thought to myself that this was their moment of silence as all eyes were on this proud Jewish girl. A fitting tribute with a song that has been in our tradition for hundreds of years blasting throughout the stadium, fans cheering, clapping and waving the Israeli flag showed the world that we as a people are proud of our heritage and we will not sit in silence as the world tries to keep us down.
So, Mazal Tov to you Aly! Thank you for honoring our people, the Israeli athletes and yourself in a magnificent display of sportsmanship and talent.
You can watch her floor routine here:
No comments:
Post a Comment