Date: 27 Jul 2012
NEW YORK STANDS TOGETHER FOR MINUTE OF SILENCE DURING THE 2012 OLYMPIC OPENING DAY \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ TO COMMEMORATE THOSE KILLED IN THE MUNICH MASSACRE\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Surviving member of the 1972 Israeli Olympic team joins New York elected officials, Consulate General of Israel in New York, and community leaders in remembering the 40th anniversary of the horrendous attack that took the lives of his former teammates. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ WHEN: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Friday, July 27th, 2012 11:00AM \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ WHERE: \\\\\\\\\\\\\ 2nd Avenue between 42nd and 43rd Streets (across the street from Israeli Consulate) \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ WHAT: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\ A moment of silence will be observed by Amb. Ido Aharoni, Consul General of Israel in New York, together with Jewish and other Community Leaders and Elected Officials in honor of the 11 Israeli Olympians who were killed by a terrorist group during the 1972 Munich games. Avi Melamed, a surviving member of the 1972 Israeli Olympic swim team, will provide a firsthand account of the horrific event. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ WHO: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Hon. Ido Aharoni, Consul General of Israel in New York Avi Melamed, Surviving member of the 1972 Olympic team Congress Member Charles Rangel Congress Member Eliot Engel Congress Member Jerrold Nadler New York City Comptroller John C. Liu Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes State Senator Liz Krueger Assemblywoman Grace Meng Councilman Dan Halloran Michael S. Miller, Executive Vice President and CEO, Jewish Community Relations Council of New York Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, Executive Vice President, New York Board of Rabbis Rabbi Linda Henry Goodman, President, New York Board of Rabbis Mark Medin, Senior Vice President, UJA-Federation of New York Malcolm Hoenlein, Executive Vice Chairman, Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations Ethan Felson, Vice President, Jewish Council for Public Affairs Rev. Dr. Peter Heltzel, New York Theological Seminary and Director of Micah Institute Ambassador Aaron Jacob, Associate Director of International Affairs, American Jewish Committee Michael Salberg, Director of International Affairs, Anti Defamation League Steve Gold, Chair, Munich11 Minute of Silence Petition Campaign, JCC Rockland Dr. Paul DeVries, President, New York Divinity School \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ WHY: As the new Olympians march in the opening ceremonies of the 2012 games, New York leaders will gather together for their own minute of silence, hearing the firsthand account of 1972 Israeli Olympian Avi Melamed. The Munich Massacre, as it has come to be known, occurred during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Bavaria in southern West Germany, when members of the Israeli Olympic team were taken hostage and eventually killed by the Palestinian terrorist group Black September. Eleven Israeli athletes and coaches and a West German police officer were killed. Despite a growing international campaign, joined by President Barack Obama, to demand that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) hold a moment of silence at the opening ceremony of the 2012 London games (the 40th anniversary of the massacre), the IOC has refused to do so. The New York community comes together to commemorate those victims with this ceremony. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ PRESS CONTACTS: \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Keren Gelfand, Director of Media Affairs, Consulate General of Israel; kereng@newyork.mfa.gov.il; 312-593-2535 \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Hindy Poupko, Director, Israel and International Affairs, JCRC-NY; poupkoh@jcrcny.org; 646-831-5908 \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ The event is sponsored by the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York (JCRC) and the New York Board of Rabbis. ==================================================== 000000000