München

1972 lives on.

Steven Spielberg's film has been widely acclaimed as his masterpiece - and a controversial topic among diverse spheres of thinkers (or non-thinkers likewise).

Munich, directed by Steven Spielberg, tells the tragic story of the Israeli athletes to the 1972 olympic games held in Munich. A band of 11 Palestinians broke into the Olympic Villa and took the athletes hostage. Upon taking the athletes to an airport, they were executed ruthlessly during a failed rescue attempt by the German police. 'Munich' tells the story of the Mossad agents who travel far and wide to hunt down the criminals and neutralise them.

I have heard criticisms from Israel complaining about two things:

• Spielberg had not contacted the fa,ilies of the victims of 1972


• Spielberg portrays a moral ambivolence of both the Palestinians and the Israelis involved

I have to say the first point is absolutely disgusting and I fail to see why Spielberg did not contact the relatives of the victims, which would have been ultimately the decent thing to do.

The second point is entirely unjustified. 'Munich' portrays the Palestinian assasins as heartless imbecile sons of bitches, while at the same time portraying the Mossad agents as sensitive people with moral conflicts about their mission.

'Munich' is also criticised in the Arab world as being too 'vengeful'.

I do not see an issue with the Mossad agents killing the Palestinian assasins. In fact, a mind which could have conceived the execution of bleeding athletes belongs to a sick, sick person.

The people of Israel have been forced into an uncomfortable position where they are forced to retaliate with the same force and more as is inflicted upon them.

There are underlying issues which sunshine socialists often forget when adressing the issue of Israel. For one, the Jewish people have been enduring a persecution, humilliation and anti-Semitism no other people on the Earth has had to go through. For 2000 years. And Israel is a country which is ten* kilometres wide - standing back from aggression is fatal for the very survival of the nation.

*correction thanks to Yoav T.

Back on topic, the only criticism I can see in 'Munich' is a criticism to the Goldemeyer administration, raising a fundamental issue. 'Munich' deals with the topic of the Duty to the State, and the personal sacrifice an individual must endure to ensure the livelihood of the status quo. Effectively, 'Munich' deals with a Mossad agent who is very human, a loyal husband with a recently born daughter and human problems. Eventually, the stress of knowing he is being chased by the other side, and the stress of having killed seven people gets to him psychologically, and the film closes with him in exile, living a life of uncertainty and paranoia.

Is the Duty to the State justified? I, personally, would hate to be manipulated by the State as the Mossad agent is in order to endure personal sacrifice of tremendous level, affecting not only me but others.

However, there is the underlying issue of what would happen if someone did not go through this. If the Mossad agent did not sacrifice his own wellbeing, the Palestinian assasins would continue their attack - in fact, throughout the movie, the surviving assasins continue an array off terrorist activities, eventually killing 300 civilians of diverse nationalities until the Mossad operation is called off.

The Duty to the State is painful to endure, and it is undeniably unfair. No man should ever have to go through that kind of physical and emotional pain. However, when it comes to the survival of the system an individual would expect to live in, the Duty of the State is really the sacrifice of one so the rest can live on. The way I see it, the Duty to the State is unfair at a personal level, but an act of heroism that can save a nation at a wider level. The Mossad agents who killed the Palestinian assasins have suffered like no other man - three of the five man team don't make it out alive. But their heroic sacrifice allowed many more to live. It is a difficult balance - unfortunately, a necessary one.

As always, I admire Golda Meir tremendously, who makes an appearance in the film. To soothe the feelings of the pro-terrorist sunshine socialists who want to see the dissolution of Israel, I think a quote from this powerful woman is in order:


"We don't thrive on military acts. We do them because we have to, and thank God we are efficient."


The only way violence is ever going to cease in the Middle East is if the Palestinians take it to themselves to stop hating Israelis. This includes not voting in a bleeding terrorist organisation that vows for the extermination of "Jewdom".

So here are a couple of evening toasts:

To the Israeli athletes in Munich *clink*
To the Mossad agents who carried out Operation Wrath of God *clink*
To Golda Meir *clink*
To the Israelis. May you finally live in peace like you have wished for 2000 years *clink*

I think that compensates for the five days of inactivity I 'committed'.

Ein sozialisticher grüße,

Erich