The History Room
Israel State Archives Reveal: The Secret Protocols of Munich Olympics Massacre
Dozens of classified documents from the Israeli State Archives have been released and shed light on the decision making processes in reaction to the Munich Olympics massacre.
Read the rest of the article at the link. Also the bullets above are links you can access from the article.For 40 years these documents lay in the Israel State Archives in Jerusalem, many of them hidden, kept out of the reach of researchers and the general public. Now, in honor of the 40th anniversary of the murder of 11 Israeli athletes in the 1972 Munich Olympics, which is coming up next week, the State Archives revealed 45 records related to the event.
- From the 1972 Protocols of Munich Massacre: 'Germany Does Not Value Human Life'
- Germany Cooperated With Palestinian
- Terrorists After Munich Massacre, Report Says
On the menu are protocols of a cabinet meeting, consultations held by ministers, and of sessions of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, as well as, various reports and telegram exchanges. Half of the material was never before published, and is now being made public for the first time. In the interest of those readers and researchers interested in these documents, we have chosen to focus on the hitherto unpublished material. The remaining records can be viewed in full on the State Archives website.
The archive and its employees deserve special praise for the initiative to reveal so many high quality, authentic, and classified documents. Their location, selection, categorization, and scanning, as well as, getting the okay to publish them from the different security organization, took both time and expertise.
That said, certain parts of the documents, whose publication was not cleared, were redacted. In addition, an unknown number of records remain unpublished, probably on orders of the Mossad and the Shin Bet security service. These orders can and should be questioned: Whose interest is being served by the suppression of information about an event that took place 40 years ago? What information about this event has not yet been revealed, and how can its publication today harm national security? These questions will have to wait for future revelations.
Perusal of the documents reveals a fascinating, disturbing and thought-provoking story. One could say that the records are every historian’s wet dream, as they provide a rare and unique glimpse into the minds and hearts of the historical leaders of state during what were dramatic and trying moments. In today’s 21st century jargon, the publication of the documents might be called “Wikileaks 1972.”
The records unearth the dilemma Israel faced when it discovered that Israeli citizens were being attacked by Palestinians on German soil. The government deliberated about how to preserve neutrality and passivity, and to avoid meddling in the internal affairs of another state, while, at the same time, saving the lives of its imperiled citizens. How can Israel avoid negotiating with terrorists, while also making them believe that it is willing to open the lines of communications? How should the state react in light of the helplessness and incompetence of German security forces, without jeopardizing the relations between the two countries?
The chilling testimony of former Mossad Chief Zvi Zamir, who had just returned from a nerve-wrecking night at the place where the attack took place, particularly stands out. Zamir’s criticism of the German forces was unprecedented, charging them with incompetence, clumsiness and lack of concern. They didn't even make “a minimal effort,” he said, to save lives.
Also exposed is the report by a committee charged with investigating the Israeli delegation's security breach, as well as, discussions about the report and the attempts made to suppress it. The report suggests that security arrangements were widely neglected in Israel, falling instead on the shoulders of the Israeli embassy’s security officer who was later described as “inept.”
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