July 17, 2012
Four Prepare for Trip to Tel Aviv and London on Behalf of Munich 11
Four CUA students are preparing to leave Washington, D.C., on July 24 to travel to Tel Aviv on their way to the 2012 Olympic Games.
The students continue to petition the International Olympic Committee to hold one minute of silence during the July 27 opening ceremony of the Olympics in honor of 11 Israeli athletes who were killed 40 years ago at the Munich games.
Since the students began their campaign in December 2011, the governments of Great Britain, Germany, Australia, Italy, Canada, and the United States have joined the call for a minute of silence. Thus far, the International Olympic Committee has refused to grant the request.
In Tel Aviv, the students will meet with their counterparts at Israeli universities and high schools and visit with several families of the Munich victims.
Ankie Spitzer - wife of Andre Spitzer, a fencing coach who was murdered at the Munich Games - invited the Catholic University students and their instructor to join her for a minute of silence at the Israeli Parliament (Knesset) on July 25. A few days later, they will visit the graves of the slain Olympians.
In London, they will attend a memorial service on Aug. 6 sponsored by the Israeli Olympic Committee.
The students have created a website, http://munichinitiative.org , where they will blog about their experiences in Tel Aviv and London.
Read more about why the students started the campaign for a minute of silence at http://publicaffairs.cua.edu/releases/2012/olympics-silence.cfm .
MEDIA: For more information or to interview the students, contact Katie Lee or Mary McCarthy Hines in the Office of Public Affairs at cua-public-affairs@cua.edu or 202-319-5600.
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