"Unforgotten"

As in most Olympic Games we see the best athletes in the world. Each country sends off the young, fresh faced, physically almost perfect to compete for the title of gold medal winner.

Everything is grand, opening ceremonies, the drama of each sport, gold, silver and bronze medals, ending with a closing celebration that is always unforgettable.

Not all Olympiads have been wonderful. In 1972 at the Olympic Games in Munich, eleven Israeli athletes and coaches were murdered by Palestinian terrorists.

Clearly, the 1972 games saw the darkest moment the event has ever seen. One would think that at the start of every Olympiad there would be a moment of silence and the reading of the names of each victim that was murdered. Sadly this did not happen at the 2012 London games.

The solitary voice of NBC's, Bob Costas did his best to "carry the flag" for these lost athletes and coaches. International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Jacques Rogge refused to allow any remberence at all. He said, "it's not an atmosphere that is fit to remember such a tagic incidient."

Going into the "politics" of this decision is a waste of time, and politics was a factor. My suggestion is that a mandatory "memorial" is present at every Olympic Games during the opening cereonies. This would be policy and could not be "over ridden" by any (IOC) President for any reason.

This would be the right and honorable thing to do for the lost athletes and coaches, their families, friends as well as the world.

They were:

Moshe Weinberg (wrestling coach)
Yossef Romano (weight lifter)
Ze'ev Friedman (weight lifter)
David Berger (weight lifter)
Yakov Springer (weightlifiting judge)
Elizer Halfin (wrestler)
Yossef Gutfreund (wrestling referee)
Kehat Shorr (shooting coach)
Mark Slavin (wrestler)
Andre Spitzer (fencing coach)
Amitzur Shapira (track coach)

You are all not forgotten.