Shots
shattered the air, hostages were taken, the world turned upside down in
an instant that forever taught people everywhere that terror knew no
rules, not even the Olympics
was safe from hate.
But
for one man, Dan Alon, an athlete who had dreams of returning with
medals in his sport of fencing and returned with coffins of his
teammates instead, the 1972 Munich Massacre as
it came to be called was not the end, but the beginning of a journey.
On
March 10,
that journey will take him to Nassau where Alon will share his story
and the lessons learned during a presentation open and free to the
public at the Melia Nassau Beach
Resort at
6 pm.
The
event is organized by the Nassau Jewish Community as part of a
community outreach effort. Three years ago, the group hosted a
Schindler’s List survivor, drawing nearly 700 people
to hear the story of personal strength in the face of atrocity. That
program was also offered without charge.
“In
each of these cases, the survivor from Auschwitz who worked in
Schindler’s factory and with Dan Alon, the lesson they want to share is
that despite what others try to do to you,
you have the inner strength to overcome,” said Rabbi Sholom Bluming.
“Once you reach that place of inner peace, you can share them and with
the constant threat of terror that we face now with terrorist attacks in
Paris, Denmark and other places part of everyday
news, finding ways to join together to combat evil are more important
than ever. Together through peace and unity we will help fight terrorism
and together all the flags of the world will wave in peace."
The story of the 1972 Olympics was memorialized in the 2005 Steven Spielberg movie,
Munich, starring Daniel Craig. It details the incidents that
began with a shoot-out at the airport in West Germany, Palestinians
attacking the Israeli team of athletes, their coaches and families, the
first time Israel had been targeted outside its borders.
The massacre that took 14 lives, including nine Israeli hostages, was
blamed on a group called Black September.
On that September 5th day, Alon, who had begun
fencing when he was 12 years old, had been Israel’s highest hope. At
27, he was
the country’s number one in the sport and his dream of claiming a
ribbon was high when he headed to the Olympic Games in Munich.It was a
dream cut short when Palestinian terrorists attacked the building the
Israeli team was staying in. After a miraculous
escape, Mr. Alon became one of the few survivors of the Israeli team.
Instead of the typical fanfare that greets Olympic athletes when they
arrive home, Mr. Alon returned to Israel with the coffins of his friends
and teammates. Thus began his 40-year struggle to make sense of what
happened and find a sense of peace once more.
He eventually married and he and his wife, Adelle, have three children,
including a son who followed in his footsteps in fencing.
But it has only been in recent years, after the release of the Spielberg movie that he began sharing his story.
The Munich attack “is a piece of history that shouldn’t be forgotten,” he says.
In 2012, Alon released a book entitled Munich Memoir, co-authored
by Carla Stockton, recounting his experiences and the impact on his
life.
The movie will be shown at
2:30 pm, also without charge, with seating at
6 pm in the ballroom at Melia for Alon’s presentation that will start promptly at
6:30. For further information,
please e-mail Rabbi@JewishBahamas.com.
