Jewish-American gymnast, Aly Raisman, surmounts Olympics Committee's rejection of televised, 40th memorial for Israeli athletes by dancing routine to "Hava Nagila," earning gold

Aly Raisman presents her gold medal to coach, Mihai Brestyan

American gymnast, Aly Raisman, has revealed the music for her gold medal-winning floor routine at the London Olympics was a tribute to the victims of the 1972 Munich Games terror attack.

Aly was shocked when the judges announced her winning score of 15,600 points that made her the first American woman to strike gold in the Olympic floor exercise. Watch her historic gymnastic routine:


The 18-year-old said choosing "Hava Nagila" (Hebrew for "Let's Rejoice") - was a response to the International Olympic Committee's failure to mark the 40th anniversary of the tragedy.

And for Aly, from Needham, Massachusetts, she said it made her gold even more special.
'I can only imagine how painful it must be for the families and close personal friends of the victims,' she said.
Read more from Leon Watson's article in the UK Daily Mail

Israeli athletes and coaches murdered by Palestinian terrorists

It began on the morning of September 5, 1972, with six days left in the Games, when eight terrorists stormed the Olympic village and raided the Israeli contingent’s apartment. Two Israeli athletes were killed and nine more were seized as hostages. They demanded the release of over 200 Palestinians serving time in Israeli jails, along with two renowned German terrorists. After a day of unsuccessful negotiations, the terrorists collected the hostages and headed for the military airport in Munich for a flight back to the Middle East. At the airport, German sharpshooters opened fire, killing three of the Palestinians. A horrifying gun battle ensued, claiming the lives of all nine of the hostages and two terrorists on board a helicopter. The three surviving assassins were captured, but later released by West Germany following the hijacking a Lufthansa airliner by the Black September group.