Israelis simmered with anger today over West Germany’s release of the three Munich terrorists. Three peaceful demonstrations were held outside the West German Embassy here last night and today. Beefed up police details guarded the Embassy premises.
Last night’s demonstrators were Bar Ilan University students. This morning the Embassy was picketed by high school students and this evening by members of the Betar youth organization. The demonstrators handed protest notes to West German officials and carried placards reading “No Legalization of Terrorists”; “Fatah and Gestapo Met in Munich” and “Germans Go Home.”
The Histadrut Executive announced this morning that it was suspending all visits of Israeli delegations to West Germany pending clarification of the situation. However, a Histadrut spokesman said that West German delegations invited to Israel by the trade union federation would still be welcome.
CHARGE W. GERMAN-TERRORIST COLLUSION
Some Israelis, embittered by yesterday’s events claimed that there was evidence of collusion between West Germany and the terrorists. They implied that the hijack of the Lufthansa jet and the release of the three Munich terrorists was pre-planned to rid Germany of the “headache” of trying and sentencing the Palestinian killers.
Especially bitter today were the families of the slain Israeli athletes. The widow of Joseph Romano said she was “shocked that the killers of my husband and his colleagues were set free. The West German authorities have added sin to crime…It seems as if the Germans invited the hijacking to get the three terrorists off their backs.” Shoshana Shapiro, widow of another Munich victim, Amitzur Shapiro, said she was “sick and embittered. It is almost a betrayal by the West Germans. Israel means nothing to them.”
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
