OLYMPIC COMMITTEE'S UNDERWHELMING MOMENT OF SILENCE FOR MURDERED ISRAELI ATHLETES

In the past week, the Olympic committee refused to hold a moment of silence in memory of the Israeli athletic team murdered by Islamic terrorists in 1972, apparently because the Arab countries involved demanded they not. Tablet's got more on this here (also via Power Line).

Now, it turns out that they did hold a moment of silence in the victims' memory, but it was so quiet and underwhelming, and done as more of a sideshow, that Israeli officials were left unimpressed:

Israeli officials were underwhelmed Monday by a surprise tribute the International Olympic Committee paid at London's Olympic Village to the 11 Israeli athletes killed at the 1972 Munich games.

A ceremony that nobody knew about or paid attention to is not what Jerusalem was looking for, said one diplomatic official.

The official said that Israel thought that 40 years after the Munich massacre it was time for a tribute to be paid at a central Olympic event, like the opening of the games, and not at a side event as has been the case in years past. [...]

Israeli officials had said that they wanted the event marked not at some side ceremony, but rather at the opening ceremony attended by tens of thousands of people and watched by hundreds of millions more around the globe.

And they're right. This way, millions of people could get a clearer understanding of what went on, and more notice would be paid.

Ankie Spitzer and Ilana Romano, the widows of Israeli athletes slain by Palestinians terrorists at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, told The Jerusalem Post they were outraged by the ceremony calling it a ruse intended to deflect criticism against the IOC.

"He is trying to do the bare minimum," said Romano over the phone, referring to Rogge. "This is shameful."

Spitzer and Romano, who will board a flight to London on Tuesday, speculated the last-minute ceremony was a bid to preempt a press conference they plan to hold on Wednesday where they will reiterate their demand that their loved ones be honored at the opening ceremony this Friday.

"He tried to pull the rug from under our feet, but we still have a few things to say," said Romano.

Spitzer added: "This is not the right solution, to hold some ceremony in front of 30 or 40 people. We asked for a moment of silence at the opening ceremony not for someone to mumble something in front of a few dozen people."

I'm glad to see they're not backing down. The message must be made clear that an official, up front memorial moment must be held at the opening, and NOT as a mere sideshow.