Olympic attack survivor speaks

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Posted on Sat, Oct. 28, 2006

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Israeli fencing champion recalls 1972 events in Munich

By Adam Smeltz

asmeltz@centredaily.com

UNIVERSITY PARK -- At first, Dan Alon assumed the explosions and the shouts that woke him were just another Olympic team's celebrations.

Twenty minutes later, jolted awake again, he realized the truth.

The Israeli delegation in Munich was under attack by Palestinian terrorists. When the siege ended, 11 members of the Israeli delegation were dead.

Alon, one of five surviving Israeli athletes, returned to the Olympic Village and collected the belongings of the deceased.

"That was one of the saddest days of my life," Alon told a Penn State audience Friday.

Alon, a renowned fencing champion, was silent about the 1972 Olympic Games massacre for 34 years. He broke his silence early this year, about the time Steven Spielberg movie "Munich" was released.

"It was very difficult emotionally," Alon said of his first public talk. "I had to stop many times because the words were stuck in my throat."

Since then, he has visited universities and other groups to recount the story.

His hope, he told about 20 people gathered in Osmond Building on Friday, is to prevent history from repeating itself.

"I'd feel better if (the room) were more full because it's very important for everyone to know this history," Alon said.

"When you know, you prevent something like this" from recurring.

He said Spielberg's movie is important in raising awareness.

Scenes that depict the attack in the Munich Olympic Village "are very close to reality," he said.

Alon, 61, wore a dark suit, a blue tie and glasses for his talk, which ran just less than an hour. Penn State Chabad hosted his visit.

What was the Israeli fight on terrorism in the 1970s, he said, has become "a global war." He has gratitude -- "from the bottom of my heart" -- for the United States' anti-terrorism alliance with Israel.

Eventually, Alon said, he hopes the Olympic Games will add a regular moment of silence to recognize the 1972 massacre.

Adam Smeltz can be reached at 231-4631.

'72 Munich massacre talk's topic Olympic fencer to speak at Chabad BY JUDY O'ROURKE, Staff Writer Article Last Updated:10/28/2006 07:13:29 PM PDT SANTA CLARITA - The Israeli fencing champ dreamed of snagging a medal at the 1972 Munich Olympics for his prowess, but was lucky to escape with his life after terrorists stormed Olympic Village, killing 11 of his teammates. Dan Alon, 61, started fencing at 12, but never hoisted another blade or spoke of the trauma after that day - until now. The popularity of Steven Spielberg's 2005 film "Munich" has prompted him to speak out, to tell his story. "He was there when it happened and he gives a detailed firsthand account of his story," said Rabbi Choni Marozov, whose Chabad congregation will host Alon on Thursday. "I was talking to him (via e-mail) right before the High Holidays and he said before Rosh Hashana (in 1972) he brought back the 11 coffins of athletes." Alon's e-mail to the rabbi notes that earlier, "After a botched rescue effort, Dan was given the job of re-entering the Israeli compound and gathering the belongings of his murdered comrades ... (He) flew back to Israel with 11 coffins draped in Israeli flags, as the country watched with broken hearts." The 1972 Games promised to be the largest ever, with more than 7,000 athletes participating from 121 nations. But athleticism Advertisement took a back seat to politics when at 4:30 a.m. on Sept. 5, eight Palestinian terrorists entered the Israeli athletes' compound. Nearly a dozen were killed. The main stadium's pomp was temporarily shelved for a memorial service and competitions were suspended for 34 hours, but they resumed "in defiance of terrorists," according to the official Olympic Web site. Alon, then 27 and a champion Israeli fencer for many years, bested many opponents in the days before the mayhem ensued. Naomi Young, a Chabad congregant and local Hebrew teacher for 23 years, was living in Israel when the massacre happened. She was 18, and a year later served in the Israeli army. "This is part of our history," she said. "Everybody remembers what they were doing when (President John F.) Kennedy was murdered. This was something, at my age, I definitely remember happening. "We always had terrorism fears in Israel. We went to the movies, to public places, the market. Growing up, I remember they had to check our bags; that was a part of our daily reality." Marozov was not born until 1973, but he visited the Olympic stadium while studying in Brussels as a teen. Alon has spoken to crowds in New York and Pittsburg, and at Yale University in New Haven, Conn. Now managing director of a plastics packaging company, he lives in Tel Aviv with his wife Adele and three children. Marozov said fees charged for Alon's engagements help defray travel expenses and the cost of lost income while he's away from work. "It's a wonderful opportunity for a small town like ours to host such a significant lecturer," he said. Alon will speak at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 2 at Chabad of the Santa Clarita Valley, 23120 Lyons Ave., Unit 19. Tickets are $15 in advance or $20 at the door. A private dessert reception at 7 p.m costs $150 for each pair of tickets. For information, call Chabad at (661) 254-3434 or Naomi Young at (661) 296-4566.   judy.orourke@dailynews.com (661) 257-5255