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Olympics: commemoration of Munich

The families of the 11 killed get their wish after almost half a century

July 23, 2021 17:53
Olympics opening ceremony
TOKYO, JAPAN - JULY 23: Flag bearers Hanna Minenko and Yakov Toumarkin of Team Israel during the Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium on July 23, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)
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The Olympics opening ceremony in Tokyo has included for the first time an official commemoration of the 1972 massacre of Israeli athletes at the Munich games.

Forty-nine years on, the Israeli delegation that was killed at the Munich Olympics was commemorated with a minute’s silence at the ceremony in Japan.

 The move was welcomed by relatives of the victims, some of whom were in the stadium, and Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.

“I welcome this important and historic moment. May their memory be blessed,” Mr Bennett wrote on Twitter.