Families of Israelis killed in boycott of anniversary of Munich Olympics plan

Families of athletes killed by Black September terror group say compensation offered to them is insufficient and they will stay away ceremony in Munich in September.

TEL AVIV — The families of 11 Israeli athletes killed by Palestinian militants during the 1972 Munich Olympics said Wednesday that 'They had intended to boycott a memorial ceremony planned in Germany in September to mark the 50th anniversary of the attack due to a dispute with German authorities over compensation.

The decision will put pressure on Israel's President Yitzhak Herzog, who is due to attend the ceremony in Munich on September 5, to also stay away, threatening an event aimed at healing Israel's wounds. an attack by the Black September terror group that shocked Israel and the world.

Germany's handling of terror The first attack and its aftermath remain one of the most contentious issues between the two countries after establishing relations full diplomatic relations between them in 1965 - a relationship already strained by the Holocaust.

The families have long fought for more compensation for the athletes' murders, and Israel argued that Germany failed to protect the athletes adequately and covered up its shortcomings before and after the attack.

The attack took place on September 5, 1972, when eight Palestinian militants jumped over the fence of the Olympic Village in Munich, which was guarded only by a few German policemen, according to an official report from the Israel State Archives. Only two of the officers were armed. The militants entered the Israeli residence and killed two team members before demanding the release of comrades imprisoned in Israel. Later, nine other athletes were killed, along with a German policeman, in a chaotic rescue attempt.

Ankie Spitzer, the families' representative during meetings with Mr. Herzog, said the families viewed the compensation offered by Germany as "a joke" and that all but one of the members planned to boycott the ceremony where the payment was to be announced.

The German government said in an internal memo obtained by The New York Times that so far families have received a total of 4.6 million euros, or about 4.8 million dollars, by various German agencies. In a statement on Wednesday, the German Interior Ministry said "confidential talks are currently underway with representatives of the families of the victims," ​​but did not mention the boycott movement.

"We expect President Herzog to also announce, immediately, that he is not coming," said Ms. Spitzer, who is the widow of Andrei Spitzer, who was the coach of the Israeli fencing team. "If the families don't travel, he shouldn't travel either because if he is there, even to lay a wreath, it will legitimize this cruel behavior of the Germans."

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Image Ms. Spitzer, at her home in Ramat Hasharon, Israel, said last month that the compensation offered by Germany was seen as "a joke" by the families.Credit...Maya Alleruzzo/Associated Press

Mr. Herzog and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier had a series of phone calls with the families and the German Interior Ministry, which was responsible for putting forward the compensation offer, in an unsuccessful effort to resolve the dispute, according to the families and their lawyers, an account backed by Israeli and German officials.

Germany is offering a total of 5.4 million euros in additional compensation to the 23 remaining family members, according to the German government memo. Drank...