This video tells the story of “Black September,” when eleven Israeli athletes were held hostage and murdered at the 1972 Munich Olympics. Only 27 years after the Holocaust, in which some of these athletes’ families were killed, Jewish blood was once again spilled on German soil. The video explains the terrorists’ actions, the botched German rescue attempt, the international reaction and Israel’s response. Together with the educator’s guide, the video will encourage students to consider a pretty scary question: Does terrorism work? If so, how should the world respond to this?
Watch this video and use these prompts to teach students a new story or deepen their understanding of an event they thought they knew.
“I’m proud of what I did in Munich because it helped the Palestinian cause enormously… Before Munich the world had no idea about our struggle. But on that day the word Palestine was repeated all over the world.”
In fact, two years after the massacre, Yasser Arafat, who endorsed the Munich operation, was received by the United Nations, shocking the world by saying:
“Today I have come bearing an olive branch and a freedom-fighter’s gun. Do not let the olive branch fall from my hand. I repeat: do not let the olive branch fall from my hand.”
In the case of Munich, a terribly challenging question emerges: Does terrorism work?
Experiential Learning is a proactive way to educate with a focus on reflection and can take place in any academic setting: day school, supplementary school, camp, youth group, synagogue, college campus or university.
A division of
© 2020 All rights reserved
Get practical ways to unpack and teach complex Israeli current events in your inbox each week
