Moshe Weinberg ( he, משה ויינברג sometimes Weinberger; 19 September 1939 – 5 September 1972) was an Israeli
wrestler
Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat spor ...
who was the coach of the national team, as well the coach of
Hapoel Tel Aviv.
He began his career in
Hapoel Haifa
Hapoel Haifa Football Club ( he, מועדון הכדורגל הפועל חיפה, ''Moadon HaKaduregel Hapoel Haifa'') is an Israeli football club located in the city of Haifa. The club won one championship (1998–99) and 4 Israeli cups (1 ...
. He was the Israeli youth champion in wrestling. He was also the adult wrestling middleweight champion for eight years. At the
1965 Maccabiah Games
The 7th Maccabiah Games in 1965 saw 1,500 athletes from 29 different countries compete in 21 sports. It was the first Maccabiah Games for Iran, Jamaica, Peru, and Venezuela. The United States delegation won the most gold medals, followed by Israel, ...
, he won a gold medal in Greco Roman wrestling.
He later becoming a certified coach at the
Wingate Institute
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, and served in that role for five years.
In his capacity as national wrestling coach, he was sent to 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. ...
at
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...
. He was among 11 Israeli team members who were killed by
Palestinian
Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...
terrorist
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
s in what is known as "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 militant organization Black September, who infiltrated the Olympic Village, killed two member ...
".
Death
In the early morning hours of 5 September 1972, eight members of
Black September entered the
Olympic Village, Munich
The Olympic Village (German: "Olympisches Dorf") was constructed for the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany and was used to house the athletes during the games. The Munich massacre took place in one of its apartment blocks, Connollystraße 3 ...
and broke into apartment 1 at
Connollystraße
The Connollystraße is a street in the Olympic Village and student quarter of the Olympic Park Munich.
Description
The street was named in 1971 after James Brendan Connolly, the first Olympic champion of the modern era (1896).
It leads from t ...
31, which housed five coaches and two referees of the
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 ...
i Olympic team. As the terrorists broke into the apartment, Weinberg was confronted by the group's leader,
Luttif Afif
Luttif Afif ( ar, لطيف عفيف; 1937 or 1945 – 6 September 1972; alias "Issa"—Jesus in Arabic) was a Palestinian terrorist. He commanded the eight-member attack teamDavid Clay Large. ''Munich 1972: Tragedy, Terror, and Triumph at the O ...
, whose own mother was
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
and whose father was a wealthy
Arab-Christian businessman from
Nazareth,
in a nearby bedroom. Weinberg picked up a nearby fruit knife and was shot through his cheek after slashing Afif, slicing his left breast pocket open but not reaching through to the flesh.
The wounded Weinberg was ordered by the terrorists at gunpoint to show them where the Israelis were. Weinberg led the terrorists past Apartment 2, which housed the fencers, shooters and track athletes, and instead took them to Apartment 3, which housed Israel's weightlifters and wrestlers.
However, taken by surprise, the six athletes of Apartment 3 were captured by the terrorists. While the hostages were being marched back to the officials' apartment, Weinberg once again attacked the intruders, knocking one of them,
Mohammed Safady
Mohammed Safady (born 1953) is a Palestinian terrorist and one of eight Black September terrorists who perpetrated the Munich massacre, in which they invaded the Israeli quarters at the Munich Olympic Village during the 1972 Munich Olympic Games ...
, unconscious and allowing one of his wrestlers,
Gad Tsobari, to escape via an underground parking garage. The terrorists fatally shot Weinberg, then threw his body into the street. In moving the hostages to the coaches' apartment, the terrorists killed weightlifter
Yossef Romano after he attempted to resist the terrorists. The nine remaining hostages were also subsequently killed in what became known as 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 militant organization Black September, who infiltrated the Olympic Village, killed two member ...
. Atif and four other terrorists were killed by German snipers on 6 September.
Weinberg’s cousin, Edward
Carmel Eliash — who was, at the time of the 1972 Olympics in Munich, Mayor of
Tirat Carmel
Tirat Carmel ( he, טִירַת כַּרְמֶל), or ''Tirat HaCarmel'', is a city in the Haifa District in Israel. In it had a population of .
Throughout the ages, the site of the modern city was controlled by many people, including the Roma ...
(Hebrew: טִירַת כַּרְמֶל), or Tirat HaCarmel, a city in the
Haifa District
Haifa District ( he, מחוז חיפה, ''Mehoz Ḥeifa''; ar, منطقة حيفا) is an administrative district surrounding the city of Haifa, Israel. The district is one of the seven administrative districts of Israel, and its capital is Ha ...
in
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 ...
— suffered a heart attack at the public memorial ceremony the following day at the Olympics.
Weinberg's actor son,
Guri Weinberg (married to actress
Tammy Lauren
Tammy Lauren Vásquez (born November 16, 1968), known professionally as Tammy Lauren, is an American film and television actress. She starred in the 1997 horror film '' Wishmaster'', portraying Alexandra Amberson, a young woman who accidentally ...
), portrayed his father in the 2005 movie ''
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...
''.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weinberg, Moshe
Deaths by firearm in Germany
Jewish wrestlers
Jewish Israeli sportspeople
Israeli wrestling coaches
Maccabiah Games medalists in wrestling
Maccabiah Games gold medalists for Israel
Competitors at the 1965 Maccabiah Games
Sportspeople from Haifa
1939 births
1972 deaths
Victims of the Munich massacre
Wingate Institute faculty
Burials at Segula Cemetery
20th-century Israeli Jews