In September of 1972, Palestinian terrorists murdered 11 Israeli athletes at the Munich Summer Olympic games. 50 years later, German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier asked the victims’ families for forgiveness for not keeping the delegation safe. After the attack, Germany concealed key details about the botched rescue attempt, creating a rift in the special relationship that Israel and Germany attempted to build since the end of the Holocaust.
I believe it’s never too late to ask for forgiveness. The German president admitted to the Israeli families that were there that they neglected to keep the athletes safe and they failed to try and find answers to the botched rescue plan that led to many of their deaths. Germany promised 28.1 million dollars in compensation and the promise of an Israeli-German historical commission tasked with producing a historical understanding of the event, which includes even Germany’s failures.
(Source: israelhayom.com)
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