Moshe Weinberg
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Moshe Weinberg ( sometimes Weinberger; 19 September 1939 – 5 September 1972) was an Israeli
wrestler Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves diffe ...
who was the coach of the national team, as well as the coach of
Hapoel Tel Aviv Hapoel Tel Aviv () is a sports club in Israel, founded in the 1920s, and part of the Hapoel association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, such as football, basketball, w ...
. He began his career in
Hapoel Haifa Hapoel Haifa Football Club (, ''Moadon HaKaduregel Hapoel Haifa'') is an Israeli professional football club located in the city of Haifa. The club won one championship (1998–99) and 4 Israeli cups (1962–63, 1965–66 and 1973–74, 2 ...
. He was the Israeli youth champion in wrestling. He was also the adult wrestling middleweight champion for eight years. At the
1965 Maccabiah Games The 7th Maccabiah Games in 1965 saw 1,500 athletes from 29 different countries compete in 21 sports. It was the first Maccabiah Games for Iran, Jamaica, Peru, and Venezuela. The United States delegation won the most gold medals, followed by Israel ...
, he won a gold medal in
Greco-Roman wrestling Greco-Roman (American English), Graeco-Roman (British English), or classic wrestling (Euro-English) is a style of wrestling that is practiced worldwide. Greco-Roman wrestling was included in the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 and has been i ...
. He later became a certified coach at the
Wingate Institute Wingate Institute (), officially Orde Wingate Institute for Physical Education and Sports (), is a sports training institute located south of Netanya, Israel. History Wingate Institute was established in 1957. It was named after Orde Wingate. ...
, and served in that role for five years. In his capacity as a national wrestling coach, he was sent to the
1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...
in
Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
. He was among 11 Israeli team members who were killed by
Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...
terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...
s in what is known as "the Munich massacre".


Death

In the early morning hours of 5 September 1972, eight members of
Black September Black September (), also known as the Jordanian Civil War, was an armed conflict between Jordan, led by Hussein of Jordan, King Hussein, and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), led by chairman Yasser Arafat. The main phase of the fight ...
entered the
Olympic Village, Munich The Olympic Village (German: "Olympisches Dorf") was constructed for the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany and was used to house the athletes during the games. The Munich massacre took place in one of its apartment blocks, Connollystraße ...
. They broke into apartment 1 at
Connollystraße The Connollystraße is a street in the Olympic Village and student quarter of the Olympic Park Munich. Description The street was named in 1971 after James Brendan Connolly, the first Olympic champion of the modern era (1896). It leads from ...
31, which housed five coaches and two referees of the
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
i Olympic team. As the terrorists broke into the apartment, Weinberg was confronted by the group's leader,
Luttif Afif Luttif Afif (; 1937 or 1945 – 6 September 1972; alias "Issa"—Jesus in Arabic) was a Palestinian militant who commanded the Munich massacre, a terrorist attack in the Munich Olympic Village on 5 September 1972.David Clay Large. ''Munich 197 ...
, whose own mother was
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
and whose father was a wealthy
Arab-Christian Arab Christians () are the Arabs who adhere to Christianity. The number of Arab Christians who live in the Middle East was estimated in 2012 to be between 10 and 15 million. Arab Christian communities can be found throughout the Arab world, bu ...
businessman from
Nazareth Nazareth is the largest Cities in Israel, city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. In its population was . Known as "the Arab capital of Israel", Nazareth serves as a cultural, political, religious, economic and ...
, in a nearby bedroom. Weinberg picked up a nearby fruit knife and was shot through his cheek after slashing Afif, slicing his left breast pocket open but not reaching through to the flesh. The wounded Weinberg was ordered by the terrorists at gunpoint to show them where the Israelis were. Weinberg led the terrorists past Apartment 2, which housed the fencers, shooters and track athletes, and instead took them to Apartment 3, which housed Israel's weightlifters and wrestlers. However, taken by surprise, the six athletes of Apartment 3 were captured by the terrorists. While the hostages were being marched back to the officials' apartment, Weinberg once again attacked the intruders, knocking one of them, Mohammed Safady, unconscious and allowing one of his wrestlers, Gad Tsobari, to escape via an underground parking garage. The terrorists fatally shot Weinberg, then threw his body into the street. In moving the hostages to the coaches' apartment, the terrorists killed weightlifter
Yossef Romano Yossef Romano (; 15 April 1940 – 5 September 1972), also known as Joseph Romano or Yossi Romano, was a Libya, Libyan-born Israeli weightlifter with the Israel at the 1972 Summer Olympics, Israeli team that went to the 1972 Summer Olympics ...
after he attempted to resist the terrorists. The nine remaining hostages were also subsequently killed in what became known as the Munich massacre. Atif and four other terrorists were killed by German snipers on 6 September. Weinberg’s cousin, Edward
Carmel Eliash Carmel Edward Eliash (; born 24 December 1933 – 8 May 1973) was an Israeli politician, head of the Union of Local Authorities in Israel (ULAI), and mayor of Tirat Carmel. Biography Edward (later Carmel) Eliash was born in Baghdad. His fathe ...
— who was, at the time of the 1972 Olympics in Munich, Mayor of
Tirat Carmel Tirat Carmel (), or Tirat HaCarmel, is a city in the Haifa District in Israel. Throughout the ages, the site of the modern city was controlled by many people, including the Ancient Rome, Romans, the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman, and the United Kingdo ...
(Hebrew: טִירַת כַּרְמֶל‎), or Tirat HaCarmel, a city in the
Haifa District Haifa District () is an administrative district surrounding the city of Haifa in Israel. The district is one of the seven administrative districts of Israel, and its capital is Haifa. The district land area is 864 km2 (299.3 mi2). D ...
in
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
— suffered a heart attack at the public memorial ceremony the following day at the Olympics. Weinberg's actor son, Guri Weinberg, portrayed his father in the 2005 movie ''
Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
''.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weinberg, Moshe Deaths by firearm in Germany Jewish sport wrestlers Jewish Israeli sportspeople Israeli wrestling coaches Maccabiah Games medalists in wrestling Maccabiah Games gold medalists for Israel Competitors at the 1965 Maccabiah Games Sportspeople from Haifa 1939 births 1972 deaths Victims of the Munich massacre Academic staff of Wingate Institute Burials at Segula Cemetery 20th-century Israeli Jews