"50 years ago, on the 5th of September 1972, the Palestinian terrorist group 'Black September' brutally murdered 11 members of the Israeli delegation to the 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany. This devastating attack against members of our Olympic team went down as one of the darkest moments in the history of the Olympic Games.
On this dismal day, the world watched in horror as the games were being used as a vehicle for the expression of hatred and the perpetration of murder, rather than as an event that transcends politics and conflict, in stark contrast to the lofty principles they meant to represent.
In the memory of Israelis and Jews throughout the world, the idea of the Olympic Games cannot be separated from the horrific act of terrorism that tarnished the 1972 Olympiad. Personally, growing up in a street named after the 11 slain members of our Olympic delegation in the city of Lod, Israel, I understood from a very young age the significance of this brutal crime, in which Palestinian terrorists targeted athletes, coaches, and referees just because they were Israeli, thus breaking all boundaries and violating the sanctity of Olympic ideal. I understood, as I carried with me the memory of 11 innocent lives, the undeniable need to ceaselessly combat terrorism.
Many years later, I had the honor to continue my personal journey with this issue, during my time at the Israeli Mission to the UN, by ensuring that the slain members of our delegation to Munich Olympics would be acknowledged in the discussions in the General Assembly.
This crime against sportsmanship, against Israel, and against the Jewish people, was the ultimate example of political abuse. A horrific act of terrorism and murder without precedent in the annals of Olympic history, which represented the very antithesis of the Olympic ideal.
Although nothing can make up for the tragic loss of 11 innocent souls, today, 50 years later, we can take solace in knowing that their families are finally receiving some measure of justice by signing an agreement with the German government. We, and they, can find some comfort in the fact that last year, during the 2020 Tokyo Olympic opening ceremony, they at last received a long deserved official recognition with a moment of silence, and hope that this becomes an established practice in the future, because the world must never allow the Munich massacre to fade from memory."