Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

competed at the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

, which began on August 26. On September 5 and 6, in the

Munich massacre The Munich massacre was a terrorist attack carried out during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany, by eight members of the Palestinian people, Palestinian militant organization Black September Organization, Black September, who i ...

, 11 members of the Israeli delegation—5 athletes, 2 referees, and 4 coaches (names bolded on this page)—were taken hostage by

Palestine Liberation Organization The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ar, منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية, ') is a Palestinian nationalism, Palestinian nationalist political and militant organization founded in 1964 with the initial purpose of establ ...

terrorists and murdered. The remainder of the team left Munich on September 7.

Shaul Ladany Shaul Paul Ladany ( he, שאול לדני; born April 2, 1936) is an Israeli Holocaust survivor, racewalker and two-time Olympian. He holds the world record in the 50-mile walk (7:23:50), and the Israeli national record in the 50-kilometer walk ...

, a

Holocaust survivor Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and its allies before and during World War II in Europe and North Africa. There is no universally accep ...

, competed in the 50-kilometer walk. He had been imprisoned in

Bergen-Belsen concentration camp Bergen-Belsen , or Belsen, was a Nazi concentration camp in what is today Lower Saxony in northern Germany, southwest of the town of Bergen near Celle. Originally established as a prisoner of war camp, in 1943, parts of it became a concent ...

as a child, and wore a

Star of David The Star of David (). is a generally recognized symbol of both Jewish identity and Judaism. Its shape is that of a hexagram: the compound of two equilateral triangles. A derivation of the ''seal of Solomon'', which was used for decorative ...

on his warm-up jersey. When he was congratulated by locals on his fluent German, he responded: "I learned it in Bergen-Belsen". He survived the Munich massacre by jumping off a balcony.

Results

Referees

The following nominated referees and judges were in the delegation: *

Yossef Gutfreund Yossef Gutfreund (1 November 1931 – 6 September 1972) was an Israeli wrestling judge for his country's 1972 Olympic team. He was murdered in the Munich massacre by Black September terrorists along with 10 other members of the Israeli team. Bi ...

— wrestling *

Yakov Springer Yakov Springer (June 10 1921 – 6 September 1972) was a wrestler and a Powerlifting, weightlifting coach and judge, but is best known as one of the victims of the Munich massacre at the 1972 Summer Olympics. During the Holocaust, Springer to ...

– weightlifting

Coaches and officials

The following coaches and officials were in the delegation: * Shmuel Lalkin —

Chef De Mission In diplomatic usage, head of mission (HOM) or chief of mission (COM) from the French "chef de mission diplomatique" (CMD) is the head of a diplomatic representation, such as an ambassador, high commissioner, nuncio, chargé d'affaires, permanent ...

* Micha Shamban — presumably deputy of Chef De Mission * Eliyahu Friedlender - sailing team manager *

Amitzur Shapira Amitzur Shapira ( he, עמיצור שפירא; 9 July 1932 – 6 September 1972) was an Israeli sprinter and long jumper. He was head coach for the Israeli track and field team at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany. He was murdered by ...

— athletics coach *

Kehat Shorr Kehat Shorr (21 February 1919 – 6 September 1972) was the shooting coach for the 1972 Israeli Olympic team. He was one of the 11 members of Israel's Olympic team killed in the Munich massacre. Biography Kehat Shorr was born in Romania. There, ...

— shooting coach * Tuvia Sokolovsky — weightlifting coach *

Andre Spitzer Andre Spitzer ( he, אנדרי שפיצר; 4 July 1945 – 6 September 1972) was an Israeli fencing master and coach of Israel's 1972 Summer Olympics team. He was one of 11 athletes and coaches taken hostage and subsequently killed by terrorists ...

— fencing coach *

Moshe Weinberg Moshe Weinberg ( he, משה ויינברג sometimes Weinberger; 19 September 1939 – 5 September 1972) was an Israeli wrestler who was the coach of the national team, as well the coach of Hapoel Tel Aviv. He began his career in Hapoel Haifa. H ...

— wrestling coach * Itzhac Aldubi - chairman of ASA (Academic Sport Association) *

Werner Nachmann Werner Nachmann (12 August 1925 in Karlsruhe, Germany – 21 January 1988), was a German entrepreneur and politician, and was president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany (Zentralrat der Juden in Deutschland) from 1969 to 1988. In 1938 ...

* Duel Parrack * Josef Szwec * Kurt Weigl

References

Nations at the 1972 Summer Olympics

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

Munich massacre {{1972-Olympic-stub