Price marks 40th anniversary of Munich Massacre

ATLANTA – With the London Olympics underway, a Georgia Congressman paused to remember the Munich Massacre that took place during the 1972 games, declaring “America has no greater ally in the Middle East than Israel.”

“The Olympics is a wonderful opportunity for individuals from all nations to come together for friendly competition and fellowship,” U.S. Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., said in a statement. “As athletes from all over the world compete in this year’s Olympic Games, we are reminded of the senseless and brutal killing of 11 Israeli athletes and officials at the Summer Games in Munich 40 years ago.”

In the early morning hours of Sept. 5, 1972, eight Palestinian terrorists, known as Black September, stormed into apartments here, killing two Israeli athletes and taking an additional nine athletes of the country’s Olympic team hostage. The episode – known as the Munich Massacre – ended hours later at the Fürstenfeldbrücke airport.

During this year’s games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) declined a request for a moment of silence during the opening ceremony.

The events of Sept. 5 started when Arab terrorists entered the Olympic Village by scaling a six-foot-tall fence. The situation that was exacerbated by authorities’ botched response following a 20-hour standoff.

Nine nine Israeli hostages were killed following a gunfight at the airport.

“While the International Olympic Committee has not done nearly enough to commemorate this tragedy, during this Olympic season, Americans join our brothers and sisters in Israel in remembering this horrible massacre,” Price said.

“America has no greater ally in the Middle East than Israel,” he added. “Now, more than ever, we are committed to joining them in rooting out terrorism, wherever it may be, to ensure a safer Middle East and a more peaceful world.”