Terrorism In The Olympics Essay

Chapter three of Eyal Press’ Beautiful Souls follows Avner Wishnitzer, an Israeli combat soldier serving in the occupied territories during the Second Intifada. In the 6-Day War of 1967, Israel captured the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and has since kept the land under an Israeli military occupation. In 1987 to 1991, a Palestinian uprising involving resistance and civil disobedience, known as the First Intifada, occurred in the occupied territories. Consequently, Israel deployed many soldiers into the occupied territories, and an estimated 1,674 people were killed in total. The Second Intifada, a much more violent Palestinian uprising in the occupied territories, transpired from 2000 until 2005. In response, Israel enacted Operation Defensive Shield, a large-scale military operation, in 2002 to stop the terrorist attacks and suicide bombings of the Second Intifada. An approximate 4,426 people were killed in the Second Intifada. Avner Wishnitzer’s public refusal to serve in the occupied territories was worth getting kicked out of Sayeret Matkal and being disgraced by Israeli society because it made people question the occupation and the treatment towards Palestinians. Even if Avner had been my father, I would have condoned his choices because I could create my own reputation in the military. Additionally, the current controversy over the Israeli occupation legitimizes his stance and actions for many Israeli citizens.

Throughout 1944 many Jewish leaders, domestically and internationally, requested President Roosevelt to bomb Auschwitz’s gas chambers or the rail lines leading to the concentration camp. By November 1944 the report on Auschwitz from the two escapees, Rudolph Vrba and Alfred Wetzler, had reached Washington, DC informing the War Department on the exact setup of the concentration camp and the details of the procedures that took place there. This brought about the last round of appeals for a bombing of Auschwitz (Wyman, 287). The War Department, however, continued to refuse these suggestions time after

The reactions of the French people varied between their work with the Germans and the heartache they felt towards the detained Jews. The French police who had been chosen to do the arrest work with the German authorities. There were only a few people who had chosen not to work with the authorities. They chose to help the captured

Nearly one half of the attackers did not return to their own

Yet again, it becomes evident that no one can be trusted when the prisoners are being marched from the concentration camp due to the Nazis fear that the United States and allies soon would discover their operation. The Jewish prisoners arrange a plan with some of the German guards marching alongside them. The prisoners pay the guards with the agreement that when they try to run the German soldiers will fire over their heads and not kill them. When the time came to run, the prisoners break away from the pack and start towards the woods, however, the same soldiers that promised not to shoot them shot them in the back as they ran (Maus V II 82-83). The Germans that were supposed to be the friends of the Jews and help them escape took their gold and did not hesitate to shoot them in the back as they ran.

They had to make a decision quickly or Germany was in trouble and couldn't sort it out themselves so

You can see this, in the news room. They were talking about the Jewish, were to blame and they need to be punished. Germans did not know the expectant that it was going to lead to. They thought this was a good idea, then they realised what it actually entailed, to it was late.

They were able to take out the two German men and free their men from capture. After they freed their soldiers, they went on to find the rest of the

A little after 4 a.m. on September fifth, as the Israeli athletes slept, eight members of the Black September jumped over the six-foot high fence that encircled the Olympic Village. The terrorists headed straight for 31 Connollystrasse, the building where the Israeli team was staying. Around 4:30 a.m., the terrorists entered the building. They rounded up the occupants of Apartment one and then Apartment three. Several of the Israelis fought back and two of them were killed. A several others were able to escape out windows. Nine were taken hostage (Rosenberg). In another apartment, they captured the Israeli wrestlers and weightlifters Eliezer Halfin, Yossef Romano, Mark Slavin, David Berger, and Zeev Friedman. When the fearless Israelis fought back, the Black September opened fire, killing Romano and one other person (Olympics Massacre). Once the team was taken hostage, the Palestinians dropped a list of demands out the window. In return for the hostages, the terrorists demanded 234 prisoners released from Israeli prisons and two from German prisons by 9 a.m. (Rosenberg).

The dictation of all of the members remains vague throughout the meeting, leaving much of the decisions up to interpretation. This is caused by the use of words such as “cleanse” and “evacuation” instead of directly stating the goals of killing anyone that has been identified as a Jew. One of the main deceptions used is “solving the Jewish question” and it has implications of being an easy question to solve. The goal was to have total “‘physical eradication” and “cleanse the entire continent.” This deception is then followed to the methods used to kill. The ‘T-4 program’ was established as a plan to sterilize any individual with a mental disability. This leads to the conversation of which method of sterilization should be used and is most effective. As the meeting proceeds, the joke is made; “who would want them?” and is responded to with a chorus of laughter. This meeting was accompanied by many lawyers or well-educated men leading to the statement that “it [a law degree] has made me distrustful of language,” giving reason to the limited specifics mentioned. Throughout the meeting the German leaders are not specific in their plan. This allows for them to justify what is being done by claiming it was not their intention for a certain act to happen.

The Soviets felt their request justified as they knew that the conference had dealt with issues concerning the whole of Germany, although they were unaware of the specifics; nevertheless, the Potsdam agreement stated that such issues had to be dealt with by all four nations occupying Germany. The Western Allies refused to disclose what occurred, which the Russians saw as a clear breach of four-power control as agreed to at Potsdam. In protest the Soviet delegation walked out, never to return, marking the end of the cooperation of the four-power control of Germany (Marshal 37).

Gutfreund’s helped Tuvia Sokolovsky escaped by breaking a window with his actions. Moshe Weinberg also fought the intruders, but the invaders shot him through his cheek. The invaders forced him to help them find other people to be hostages. He led them past Apartment 2 by telling the invaders that there isn’t any Israelis in there. Then, he led them to Apartment 3 and the gunmen got six wrestlers and weightlifter as hostages. When they were marching from Apartment 3, Weinberg attacked the gunmen. He helped one of the wrestlers be able to escape by the underground parking garage. Weinberg knocked out one of the intruders and slashed another person with a fruit knife. Then, he was shot to death. Yossef Romano attacked and wounded the intruders. He was also shot. The gunmen left with a total of nine hostages. They were Gutfreund, Kehat Shorr, Amitzur Shapira, Andre Spitzer, Yakov Springer, Eliezer Halfin, Mark Slavin, David Berger, and Ze’ec Friedman. Another member of Israel team,Shaul Lad any woke up in Apartment 2.He woke up due to Gutfreund’s screams. Then, he jumped out of a second-story balcony of his room. He went to the American dormitory and woke up Bill Bowerman.Ladany told Bowerman about the attack. The other people that were in Apartment 2 hide inside the building and then escaped. The attackers were reported to be in the Palestinian Fedayeen from a refugee camp in Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan. The

heavy German counter attacks while only a third of them were left standing at the end still able

National terrorism has been the focus of attention since September 11. But now domestic terrorism is becoming increasingly common among hate groups across the nation. Domestic terrorism can be defined as visible crime, or “street crime.” These acts would consist of violent crimes, (acts against people in which injury or death results) property crimes (acts that threaten property held by individuals or the state) and public order crimes. (acts that threaten the general well-being of society and challenger accepted moral principles) It can also however be described as political crime, (criminal acts by or against the government for ideological purposes) which would include the 9/11 and the Oklahoma City bombing.

At approximately four o'clock in the morning on September 5, 1972 (six days before the end of the games), Yossef Gutfreund, a 275 pound wrestling referee, reacted to the sound of Arab voices behind the door of the apartment where he and other Israeli athletes were staying. The terrorists had accessed the building unnoticed as they were dressed in athletic warm-ups and carried their weapons in gym bags. Gutfreund quickly alerted his roommates that something was wrong and proceeded to push his body against the door in an effort to prevent Arab entrance.