I think that Rogge did the right thing. I certainly do not think that anti-semitism had anything to do with his decision. Rogge made the decision because he felt it would be seen as being far too political a move and he is adamant about trying to keep politics out of the games as much as possible. What happened in Munich in '72 was a tragedy and I feel for the families of the athletes and coaches who were killed. I do not, however, support either their push for the moment of silence or the way they went about asking for it. They had years to try and get this accomplished but instead chose to wait until the last minute so as to garner the most press coverage possible for their request, hoping that the pressure from the press coverage would force Rogge to agree. I think that this is partly what caused Rogge to say no. The people calling for this moment of silence intentionally politicized the whole thing and that is exactly what Rogge did not want. To make a last minute change to the opening ceremony plans to accommodate this request from the Israelis would have been seen as a highly political move, particularly by the Arab nations present. By bringing this up last minute they gave Rogge no time or opportunity to try and make this happen in a non-political way and to smooth things over and work out some kind of deal with other nations that might have objected. In large part it is the tactics of the group making the request and how they went about this that caused the request to be denied.

JS I agree with you. If they do this when will it stop. The Olympics are about keeping politics out. That is why politicians are not allowed to carry the torch during the torch relay.

Perfect JS, I don't need to read any other comments, yours says it all, particularly about the impact such an action would have on those countries competing in the games who have suffered at the hands of the Israelis. I don't think even the word Semitism should be used since Judaism is a religion and Israel a nation, when did they become inseparable? Gee, so anything anti-Italian would automatically be anti-Catholic, anti-American anti-Christian, anti-Thai anti-Buddhist, anti-Saudi anti-Islam, even, humourously, anti-Russian anti-Atheist? Of course not.

Honestly, I'm tired of the endless movies about Hitler and the Jews, naturally, because Hollywood is controlled by them. Dozens of other nationalities have suffered mass slaughter but they aren't demanding that the world should continually honour their dead, not to mention that those survivors are still in poverty and despair whereas the world has been decidedly generous to the Jews who have risen to a level of financial comfort that very few of us can ever hope to achieve. But that's their particular skill. It should be enough. One can certainly not cry 'poor Jews' with any sincerity.

Did it ever occur to you that the Jewish people pulled themselves out of poverty because of ingenuity, perseverance and hard work? No one is forcing you to remember the Holocaust so just find another issue to occupy yourself with, you won't be missed.

Brit as a pig.... Good going.. You showed that you don't care for anyone other than yourself!

There may be problems in the Middle East, but you just show how unattached you are to other people's suffering!

WWII ought to give you an impetus not to be ignorant, that is not the case for you. You dislike people for their culture. You're an ignorant idiot and thus we have.......... "Ignorant Idiots" all around the planet.

I am not Jewish or Hebrew, I'm an American! Since you have no civics in your background, you have no understanding of social responsibility or righteousness! You should have tried to educate yourself or else get your right wing foolish family to help you. I already know you.. You've got guns, tatoos and a foolish heart full of anger towards "somebody". You don't know what it is, but you blame Israel..

All I can say is you're foolish, stupid, uneducated and self serving for people that might have the same feelings (through ignorance) about the same thing.

You're not an American. An American respects all cultures and all people. On the other hand, Bigots hate many cultures and many people. They try to impose their ignorance on others and forsake logic.

I love movies about Hitler... He was the greatest bigot and tyrant of all time!! An uneducated man who was much like the right wing conservatives.. He hated, he wanted fame, money and power.

Those people are idiots "Brit in the pig", they never amounted anything, they were hung and they were the scourge of society by ALL STANDARDS IN EUROPE.. Their swinish behavior didn't do anything except create a society where all people should be respected.. That's why the Germans had to look at everything they'd done. Pigs are pigs!! When you are scum, the world sees it. Now why don't you tell the world why you AREN'T SCUM for your attitude?

Your ignorance is more brilliant than your stupidity!

for crying out loud......these people are just a bunch of whiners......they build buildings of tolerance all over the globe but 99% of it is about their plight.

We know their were 11 killed in 1972...and many other innocent people killed since then....why in God's name are you so important?

Get over your crying.....the USA is the only country that is puts up with Israel. Personally I would like my tax money to stay here and let them take care of themselves..geesh.

It is hard to imagine why anyone would feel offended that athletes that were killed during the olympics were given a moment of silence as a memorial. It shows that you care about people. They were killed during the olympics which is why it is fitting the memorial be at the olympics.

Actually it is easy to see why people would be offended at giving them a moment of silence, because it is a statement that you do not think it was right that they were killed. Unfortunately too many think it is okay that they were killed and therefore find the moment of silence to be an affront to their murderous beliefs.

Honoring innocent people murdered at the games is political? jeez, you guys are idiots.

I think Brit made a good argument. The rest of you are sure doing a great job of being judgemental and discriminatory. Pig!? Idiot!? Or my favorite,

"Since you have no civics in your background, you have no understanding of social responsibility or righteousness!"

Righteousness!??? Don't you mean self righteousness? Must be a holy roller! What year is this!?

Personally, I could not care less about religion or the middle east in general, judaism and israel included. They are no better or worse than any of the rest of the superstitious pains in the ass over there.

JS, while you make the point more eloquently than most, I would respectfully disagree with you. Unfortunately, the Olympics have a Jew-hating past, going back to Avery Brundage, when he kicked two Jewish members off the American team for the Berlin games in 1936 in order to appease the German reichkanzler.

In addition, I would respectfully remind you that the games have been politicized, whether it be because of boycotts or the marching of the damaged American flag back at Salt Lake City 2002. The problem in this case is that the world (and a lot of people on here) would rather that Jews simply die, and a lot of posters here either don't remember or don't want to remember that the 1972 games were politicized simply by the act of terrorists who killed people simply because of where they were from and what their religion is.

The Palestines that brought murder and what PM Cameron said was a crime against humanity ..used a non political event for their mass murder.Just like any other horrible mass murders comemorations are necessary. 40 years is a good time ..as it is 4 decades and the olympics were being held in a European country.This Begium fellow has a lot to answer for.The cleansing of the olympics must not only be at the bottom for athletes who write racists tweets but at the top for similiar deficiencies.This Belgium also seems to have permitted racist actions by the Lebanese team against Israel. when the Lebanese should have been expelled and sent packing fo grave violations against the spirit of the games,A minute of silence was necessary by any standards.Shame on this Belgian and shame on the whole IOC !

Anytime anyone does not bend over and do what the Israelis want, or say anything against Israel, then they are branded for anti-semitism. This is not anti-semitism. 11 of their people were killed. 34 American sailors were killed on the USS Liberty, 8 June 1967. Do the Israelis hold a minutes of silence for the 34 American sailors killed? No, they don't care.

I see no reason not to have a minute of silence for the athletes who were murdered in 1972, but by the same token I do not see a rejection of the idea as anti-semitism. Perhaps they only wanted to focus on "happy thoughts" as the world is so full of misery?

Implacable is a good name for you.In spite of the warning from Buddhists,Christians,Bahais, Hindus and humanist atheists that you talk like an anti semitc nazi you continue with your obsessed pyscho rant.Yes you are an implacable nazi sounding oaf!

no he didn't want to listen to patsies whine on and on about something from 40 years ago. Chinese don't whine about what Mao did to them, the Native Americans don't whine about what happened to them from early Americans, Indians don't whine about what the British did... but evidently this takes precedent over everything else... This is so SPECIAL!!! LOL

C'mon Dan, they are the "CHOSEN" people, of course they are more special (sarcasm intended)

The anti-smitism crap is getting old.

It's the 21st century and yet if you deny anything to to someone they claim racism/anti-semitism.

Maybe you were denied because it happened 40 years ago and had no place in this years Olympics? I would have assumed that they held a remembrance of some sort at the next Olympics or during those Olympics?

No, they did not have any remembrance at the next Olympics, for the same reason that they don't want to have it now.

And yes, in the 21st century when you deny something to someone for no logical reason, and the only available explanation is bigotry, you get openly accused of that bigotry, as opposed to medieval times, when everyone would take it for granted.

I would also like to commend the Israeli soldiers that shot a 7-year old Palestinian because he happened to be in the wrong area the wrong time.. evidently 7 year olds pass for terrorists to narrow-minded bigots.

Not that I agree with the Israeli's that shot the 7 year old Dan, but children have been known to help terrorists all over the world in different cultures/locations, so it is not that far fetched for them to freak out over a 7 year old.

Again tho, I don't think they should have shot a 7 year old.

Not that I agree with the Israeli's that shot the 7 year old

But that never happened, it's propaganda, it's made up.Everybody heard about the event, but never read the follow up articles.

For those coming here to get background on the Al Durah Affair and the ongoing trials, I offer a quick survey of the material I’ve posted with a few other links (up till July 8, 2008):

The full dossier on both Pallywood and Al Durah can be found at The Second Draft.

For those who have yet to see either of the two “video essays” we’ve done on Pallywood and Al Durah: The Making of an Icon, go to Pallywood and Al Durah Up at YouTube for the easiest links. There is a French version of Pallywood, and of Al Durah: The Making of an Icon, and a Spanish version of Pallywood.

For a general introduction to the upcoming trials and the larger stakes involved, see The Al Durah Trials: Portrait of French Culture at the Beginning of the 21st Century.

In French: Procès Al-Durah : état d’esprit de la France du début du XXIe siècle

For a discussion of the raw footage shot by Talal abu Rahmeh, the France2 cameraman who alone caught the “Al Durah footage,” see Al Durah Affair I: France2 Rushes by Talal Abu Rahmeh. It was viewing these rushes that inspired the term Pallywood.

For a discussion of some of the evidence surrounding the most curious thing about footage depicting a child killed by a bullet to the stomach who bled for twenty minutes in front of the cameraman — the absence of blood — see Blood? We’ve Got Some.

For a discussion of the remarkable resistance to even imagining, much less accepting the “staged” hypothesis, see Al Durah as Staged: The Resistance.

For a discussion of the “five scenarios” and James Fallows current position on the matter, see Fallows on al Durah: What is your Position?

For a long meditation (response to Zombietime) on what’s wrong with the media that such cheap fakes get by so consistently, see Meditations on Reutersgate: What’s Going on in the MSM?.

For a discussion of the impact of Al Durah in the Arab and Muslim world, see:
Al Durah in the Arab/Muslim World: Reception and Consequences Part I

For a discussion of the toxic effect of al Durah on French (and by extension, European) society in the early 21st century (including the advent of the Arab/Muslim “street” in Europe, see: On the hidden costs of Media Error: Muhamed al Durah and the French Intifada, and now en français au site d’Alain Jean-Mairet: Les coûts cachés des erreurs des médias: Mohammed al Dura et l’intifada française.

http://www.theaugeanstables.com/al-durah-affair-the-dossier/guide-to-al-durah-recent-posts-till-september-21-2006/

Dan, I do remember a case where a small child was shot...because he was walking through a firefight to get to school. He certainly was in the wrong place at the wrong time...but I have to wonder why his parents let him go there.

God bless their memories and their families.

Corrupt Language Breeds Bad History and Bad
Policy

Bruce Thornton - Advancingafreesociety.org - May 22, 2011

"...the false
history and its false vocabulary are now taken for reality and made the basis
of policy."

As
the

history
of communism and fascism both illustrate, modern political tyranny has relied
on fabricated history to legitimize its claims and actions, and such history in
turn relies on the debasement of language. Nowhere is this axiom more evident
than in the conflict between Israel and the Arabs––so much so that, as Obama’s
recent remarks about Israel show, the false history and its false vocabulary
are now taken for reality and made the basis of policy.

Start
with the use of “borders” to describe what is in fact the armistice line
marking the farthest advance of the five Arab armies that invaded Israel in
1948. That line is not an international “border” in the strict sense of a line
dividing one sovereign state from another. The territory in question was never
a state. Once a state is established, then the international border will be
settled by negotiations. As Israeli ambassador Dore Gold points out, U.N.
resolution 242, as well as later agreements such as the 1993 Oslo Accords,
preserves this “flexibility for creating new borders.”

Then
there’s “occupation,” used to describe the Israeli presence in the West Bank,
itself a misleading term that obscures the historical fact that this region is
Judea and Samaria, the heartland of the ancient Jewish state. Aside from that,
using “occupation” to describe Israel’s control over a disputed territory whose
final status will be determined by negotiation evokes misleading analogies with
historical events like the Nazi occupation of France during World War II, or
the Soviet occupation of the Eastern bloc during the Cold War. But that analogy
is false: Germany and Russia invaded and then occupied sovereign nations
defined by international borders. Israel ended up in the West Bank territories
as the result of a defensive war against aggressors. Israel’s continuing
control is a defensive necessity, just as after World War I the traditional
launching pad for German aggression against France, the Rhineland, was
demilitarized and subject to Allied military control. Indeed, the Allied decision
to evacuate their forces from the Rhineland was one of many mistakes that led
to World War II. Given that central Israel is only 9 miles wide from the
Mediterranean to the West Bank, it is understandable that it is cautious about
losing control over the traditional Arab launching pad for invasion.

“Palestinian
homeland” is another particularly loaded and historically false phrase.
“Palestine” was the name of a multi-ethnic Roman, Byzantine, Arab, and Ottoman
province, not a people. The name itself reflects Rome’s attempt to alter
historical reality with language. After the destruction of Israel as a
political entity and the scattering of its people in the 2nd Century A.D., the
Romans renamed the territory “Palestine” after the Philistines, a people that
once lived in the region but had been absorbed into other groups for centuries.
Thus the Romans subjected the Jews to a collective damnatio memoriae, the
practice of erasing all public mention or record of an enemy to the Roman
state––exactly what the Arabs have been trying to do to Israel for the last 60
years by denying its historical ties to the land.

Likewise,
just as the Romans named the land after a people that no longer existed, so too
calling the current Arab inhabitants “Palestinians” perpetuates a similar
historical fraud. What constitute a people are a shared language, culture,
customs, traditions, and history distinct enough to set them apart from others.
By these criteria, there is no such thing as “Palestinians.” The average Arab
living in Israel or the West Bank is no more significantly distinct from one
living in Syria, Jordan, or Egypt than a resident from California is
significantly distinct from a resident of Arizona or Nevada. Whatever
differences that do exist do not trump the more important similarities, and
reflect rather the refusal of surrounding Arab nations to integrate their Arab
brothers into their own countries, instead constructing a Palestinian identity
based on victimhood, humiliation, and failure.

That’s
why before 1967, no one talked about “Palestinians” as a distinct people
deserving a homeland, and the Jordanians did not create a Palestinian state
when they controlled the West Bank. That notion of a “Palestinian state” arose
after the Arab defeats in the 1967 Six Day War and the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
Once those debacles made it clear the Arabs could not destroy Israel by force,
the tactic shifted to making the issue one of national self-determination as a
way of chipping away at Israel’s territorial integrity and international
support.

Finally,
the claim that the territory inhabited by Israel is the traditional “homeland”
of those whom we call Palestinians is false. The majority of Arabs who have
lived or are living in Israel and the West Bank are there as the descendants of
conquerors, colonizers, and immigrants. Many of them came after Zionists began
in the 19th Century to develop a mostly desolate, neglected land and to create
economic opportunities. History and archaeology tell us that the territory
comprising Israel and the West Bank is the traditional homeland of the Jewish
people, not a mythical Palestinian people.

The
misleading and false language used to describe the conflict between Israel and
the countries that have tried to destroy it obscures the actual causes of Arab
hatred of Israel, which in turn creates bad policies pursuing false solutions.
A Palestinian state will not bring peace to the region, for the simple reason
that a critical mass of Arabs does not want Israel to exist.

Jerusalem, wrote historian Martin Gilbert, is
not a 'mere' city. "It holds the central spiritual and physical place in
the history of the Jews as a people."

For more than 3,000 years, the Jewish people
have looked to Jerusalem as their spiritual, political, and historical capital,
even when they did not physically rule over the city. Throughout its long
history, Jerusalem has served, and still serves, as the political capital of
only one nation - the one belonging to the Jews. Its prominence in Jewish
history began in 1004 BCE, when King David declared the city the capital of the
first Jewish kingdom. David's successor and son, King Solomon, built the First
Temple there, according to the Bible, as a holy place to worship the Almighty.
Unfortunately, history would not be kind to the Jewish people. Four hundred and
ten years after King Solomon completed construction of Jerusalem, the
Babylonians (early ancestors to today's Iraqis) seized and destroyed the city,
forcing the Jews into exile.

Fifty years later, the Jews, or Israelites as
they were called, were permitted to return after Persia (present-day Iran)
conquered Babylon. The Jews' first order of business was to reclaim Jerusalem
as their capital and rebuild the Holy Temple, recorded in history as the Second
Temple.

Jerusalem was more than the Jewish kingdom's
political capital - it was a spiritual beacon. During the First and Second
Temple periods, Jews throughout the kingdom would travel to Jerusalem three
times yearly for the pilgrimages of the Jewish holy days of Sukkot, Passover,
and Shavuot, until the Roman Empire destroyed the Second Temple in 70 CE and
ended Jewish sovereignty over Jerusalem for the next 2,000 years. Despite that
fate, Jews never relinquished their bond to Jerusalem or, for that matter, to
Eretz Yisrael, the Land of Israel.

No matter where Jews lived throughout the world
for those two millennia, their thoughts and prayers were directed toward
Jerusalem. Even today, whether in Israel, the United States or anywhere else,
Jewish ritual practice, holiday celebration and lifecycle events include
recognition of Jerusalem as a core element of the Jewish experience. Consider
that:


Jews
in prayer always turn toward Jerusalem.


Arks
(the sacred chests) that hold Torah scrolls in synagogues throughout the world
face Jerusalem.


Jews
end Passover Seders each year with the words: "Next year in
Jerusalem"; the same words are pronounced at the end of Yom Kippur, the
most solemn day of the Jewish year.


A
three-week moratorium on weddings in the summer recalls the breaching of the
walls of Jerusalem by the Babylonian army in 586 BCE. That period culminates in
a special day of mourning - Tisha B'Av (the 9th day of the Hebrew month Av) -
commemorating the destruction of both the First and Second Temples.


Jewish
wedding ceremonies - joyous occasions, are marked by sorrow over the loss of
Jerusalem. The groom recites a biblical verse from the Babylonian Exile:
"If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her
cunning,"and breaks a glass in commemoration of the
destruction of the Temples.

Even body
language, often said to tell volumes about a person, reflects the importance of
Jerusalem to Jews as a people and, arguably, the lower priority the city holds
for Muslims:


When
Jews pray they face Jerusalem; in Jerusalem Israelis pray facing the
Temple Mount.


When
Muslims pray, they face Mecca; in Jerusalem Muslims pray with their backs to
the city.


Even
at burial, a Muslim face, is turned toward Mecca.

Finally, consider the number of times
'Jerusalem' is mentioned in the two religions' holy books:


The
Old Testament mentions 'Jerusalem' 349 times. Zion, another name for
'Jerusalem,' is mentioned 108 times.


The
Quran never mentions Jerusalem - not even once.

Even when others controlled Jerusalem, Jews
maintained a physical presence in the city, despite being persecuted and
impoverished. Before the advent of modern Zionism in the 1880s, Jews were moved
by a form of religious Zionism to live in the Holy Land, settling particularly
in four holy cities: Safed, Tiberias, Hebron, and most importantly - Jerusalem.
Consequently, Jews constituted a majority of the city's population for
generations. In 1898, "In this City of the Jews, where the Jewish
population outnumbers all others three to one ..." Jews constituted 75 percent
of the Old City population in what Secretary-General Kofi Annan called 'East
Jerusalem.' In 1914, when the Ottoman Turks ruled the city, 45,000 Jews made up
a majority of the 65,000 residents. And at the time of Israeli statehood in
1948, 100,000 Jews lived in the city, compared to only 65,000 Arabs. Prior to unification, Jordanian-controlled 'East
Jerusalem' was a mere 6 square kilometers, compared to 38 square kilometers on
the 'Jewish side.'

jw, the Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded since 1901, and I believe well fewer than 185 people have been awarded it. Do not confuse the Peace prize with Nobel Prizes in other areas, such as literature and physics.

The Nobel PEACE Prize? You are showing a bit of ignorance on your part by automatically assuming that every Nobel Prize is for "Peace". You aren't the first to do so and probably aren't the last.

They are used to getting their way, especially with the blind support of the US in all matters (including this situation). Hence, you can understand the bewilderment and boo-hoos being expressed toward IOC.

Majick--you´ve been standing on your head.Israelis are not terrorists..They act in self defense.The list of terrorist groups is headed by Iran,,by far # 1 with not only its own killers but others by their proxies hamas and hezbollah..A wide range of Islamic terrorists groups occupy the next places,form the talebans,alquida,and a variety of Islamic terrorists groups operating in Sub Sahara Africa.,Asia,Latin America.Australia .and really the whole world. China is also a terrorist country in its policy towards Tibet.Israel and many countries ar on the front line of stopping terrorism.They act in self defense and take the war to the terrorists if necessary for example in Gaza and hezbollah controlled areas in Lebanon.Stop standing on your head an inventing tall stories or invented history. As for doc´s statement,the arabs in the mideast and Muslims in general are by far the biggest whiners in the world,They blew it in 1948 when they didn´t accept a Palestine state through partition.They are super aggresive and whine and cry when the Israelsi don´t turn over and play dead but defend themselves against constant attacks.I am neither Israeli or a" zionist" but there are billions of people of many religions who defend Israel against the real whiners.and in your face aggression of the Muslims.It´s not just the Jews,but the Hindus,Christians Buddhist.Bahais and many more who defend Israelis and Jews all over the world!!

To answer your question, nothing was done for the 20th anniversary. Nothing could have been done for the 10th (since there were no Olympic games in 1982), or the 25th (since there were no Olympics in 1997). The IOC has done everything it could to downplay this act of terrorism and would rather the world forget about it. A minute of silence now would have been all that was needed for now and forevermore to remember these athletes. Is that too much to ask?

Finally. Thank you Sally!

Yawol, herr von Dorf. Sieg Heil!!! Fortunately the "glory" of what was once the Reichstag and Nuremberg are gone forever and will never repeat itself, despite people such as yourself, and thanks to the existence of Israel. I bet you're hiding somewhere in South America.

Ugh Heinrich.you´ve returned from Iran and your time travels back to nazi Germany.Most people on newsvine will greet your return like they would the return of a large poisonous snake.You and your 5 cliches have people on newsvine retching.Go back to Iran and your buddies so you can hold their hands in the bunker when the bombs from many countries finish off these nazi type islamic terrorists.Have a nice trip!

What a punk!! Robert Alan-(dumbass extraordinaire), you're the scourge of the world!

Welcome to a world where you'll eventually be a moron with missing teeth. Oh... You're already missing teeth... sorry!

Maybe you can understand why you're missing teeth now.. You didn't care, you didn't brush your teeth and probably rarely showered... THAT'S WHO YOU ARE, but don't fret. Educated society is now pushing forward so you'll probably have the benefit of that. However, I hope you choke on it because your ignorance is not just palpable, it's disgusting to all who read it!

Dave, I think Robert Alan is on your side and, IMHO, that you owe him an apology. Also, I don't think cursing people will further the cause of the Righteous.

In reality, ad hominem is unrelated to sarcasm or
personal abuse. Argumentum ad hominem is the logical fallacy of
attempting to undermine a speaker's argument by attacking the speaker instead
of addressing the argument. The mere presence of a personal attack does not
indicate ad hominem: the attack must be used for the purpose of undermining the
argument, or otherwise the logical fallacy isn't there. It is not a logical
fallacy to attack someone; the fallacy comes from assuming that a personal attack
is also necessarily an attack on that person's arguments.

Meaningless to a person who doesn't care... That would be you Robert! You're the problem!

Education leads to intelligence! Education will lead us to peace on earth. Without that, we have so many idiots commenting before this and it shows just how ugly and ignorant many Americans are.

They probably voted for GW Bush, the biggest idiot ever to become a President... I have to thank the South and the ignorant... You're all responsible for the World Economy Meltdown..

I'm sure GW Bush melted down some of you... You're not the smartest and you don't make the highest wage.. You got screwed and yet you still want to take right wing Republicanism with hatred and bigotry.

It all started down south with you idiots!