Just One Minute

Yesterday (22nd May 2012), Deputy Foreign Minister Daniel Ayalon released a one-minute video as part of a new campaign, titled “Just One Minute”, in which he calls on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to devote a minute of silence during the opening ceremony of the London Olympic Games in remembrance of the massacre of eleven Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics.

In response to last week's refusal of the IOC to formally honor the memory of the murdered athletes at this year's Olympics, DFM Ayalon is working to garner public support for the campaign led by the bereaved families who have been working for an official commemoration for 40 years. "The IOC should recognize the terrible tragedy that happened during the 1972 Olympic Games. The request to hold a minute of silence is reasonable and symbolizes the solidarity of the countries participating in the Olympic Games – it is undeniably the just and moral thing to do," Ayalon said.

Deputy Minister Ayalon's call for a minute silence, on behalf of the families, has been joined by many international organizations as well as 20 British MPs and leading U.S. Congressmen like Nita Lowey and Eliot Engel, and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Chairman of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee.

DFM Ayalon stresses that this is not a political issue; it is the basic obligation of the Olympic community towards its athletes. Dozens of articles, organizations and politicians throughout the world in the past few days have called on the IOC to reverse its decision. “I hope that this massive support and sympathy will lead to a change in the decision,” Ayalon said, noting that this is only the first part of a concerted campaign.