Do you remember?

[MorganGrayson]

On Sept. 5, 1972, in a pre-dawn raid on the Olympic village in Munich, members of the Palestinian "Black September" group attacked the Israeli living quarters, killing two and taking nine others hostage.

I remember. I remember watching in horror. I will always remember Jim McKay's voice. Today, the word "terrorist" is part of the common vocabulary but back then it wasn't. Those were the days when a plane hijacking meant only that the plane would be diverted to some place other than its destination...which is why flight attendents were trained never to resist. Up until Sept. 5, 1972, the Olympics were a sacred thing, the coming together of nations on a "field of battle" where national pride was expressed through the quality of their atheletes.

It all changed that day.

Steven Spielberg is "very proud" of two early endorsements for "Munich," his controversial new movie, from the widows of two of the 11 Israeli athletes killed in the 1972 Olympic massacre detailed in the film.


"Munich" neither dishonors their husbands' memories nor tarnishes their country's image, the women said after a screening this week.

"We had heard their reaction soon after the screening and we were obviously very, very gratified," Spielberg's Los Angeles-based spokesman, Marvin Levy, said Thursday. "That would clearly be the most sensitive screening we would have. When they said that any concern they might have had was satisfied, this was enormously gratifying and Steven is very proud of that."
Ilana Romano, widow of weightlifter Yosef Romano and Ankie Spitzer, who was married to the fencing coach Andre Spitzer, are the only Israelis to see the film here before its official release late next month. The movie opened in the U.S. Friday.

I'm glad that Spielberg has gotten to the point in his career and his craft so that he can use it to help others always remember, as "Schindler's List" did.