By now I am sure, you like me, are gearing up for what I hope will be an exciting 2012 Summer Olympics. My family and I are big fans and are avid viewers of even the most mundane of Olympic sports. (My personal favorite is the hammer throw!) There is something exciting, majestic and hopeful about the Olympics and I pray this year will be no different.

However, I am saddened to feel that my prayers will not be answered. Every Olympics since I can remember, the opening stories on TV included images and the story of the murdered Israeli athletes at the Munich games of 1972. Whether it was as a part of some pictorial montage or the movie about the incident, the drama and grandeur of the games was always tempered by the terrible history of that event. This year in London 2012 is no different. The call for the International Olympic Committee to formally and once and for all acknowledge the tragedy through a minute of silence has reached an intense tone. What started out as a discussion at the JCC in New York has reached international proportions. Thank God for that.

In a wonderful and incredibly powerful and important essay, Professor Deborah Lipstadt lambasts the IOC for what she considers blatant anti-Semitism for the refusal to include a moment of silence in the opening ceremonies. If you haven’t had a chance to read her article, you can find it here:

http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/106409/jewish-blood-is-cheap?utm_source=Tablet+Magazine+List&utm_campaign=6ba8ed2865-7_20_2012weekender&utm_medium=email

In addition, Bob Costas, the NBC anchor who will be guiding millions of viewers through the Olympics, has vowed to make his own statement and issue regarding the moment of silence if the IOC refuses to make it happen. While it is not a formal part of the Games, he will have the television pulpit of tens of millions of viewers to make the important case. I pray he and NBC have the courage and fortitude to follow through.

While London may be far away physically, emotionally and spiritually we can connect our thoughts and prayers to the victims and their families of Munich, 1972 by recalling that terrible night and signing a petition, adding your name to hundreds of thousands of others who are still, in this late hour, urging the IOC to reconsider. I have signed this and I hope you will too.