News stories from Wednesday September 6, 1972
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- Israel may request that the U.S. and other teams withdraw from the Olympic games in West Germany due to the murders of Israeli team members by Arab terrorists. Israeli Ambassador Yitzhak Rabin said that the essence of the Olympics is peaceful cooperation between nations. Therefore, due to the atrocities of these games, the Olympics should be canceled. [CBS]
- The Olympic games will resume following a memorial service for the 11 dead Israeli athletes. Members of the Israeli Olympic team visited the Dachau concentration camp 12 days ago and took part in a memorial service there; today a memorial service was held for some of them. Arab terrorists killed two Israelis at the Olympic Village and nine more at an airbase after West German police opened fire. The games are suspended as athletes, officials and fans paid tribute today to the dead Israelis; Arab teams did not attend. Israel team chief Shmuel Lalkin said that his team will leave Munich, deeply shaken. International Olympic Committee president Avery Brundage stated that the games must go on. [CBS]
- Earlier, the Israeli hostages were reported to have been freed at a German military airbase. German sharpshooters tried to pick off the Arabs; the terrorists machine-gunned the hostages. All 11 Israelis are now reported dead; a German policeman and five Arabs are also dead. Three terrorists were captured. [CBS]
- Israeli wrestling coach Moshe Weinberg, who was killed trying to fend off the Arab attackers, was married 10 months ago and was the father of an infant son. Weightlifter Yossef Romano, a father of three, was also killed at the Olympic Village. American David Berger, who also held Israeli citizenship, was killed at the airport. Coach Kehat Shorr, fencing coach Andrei Spitzer, weightlifting instructor Yakov Springer, wrestling referee Yossef Gutfreund, track coach Amitzur Shapiro, wrestler Mark Slavin, wrestler Eliezer Halfin, and weightlifter Ze'ev Friedman were also victims. [CBS]
- Israelis are complaining about the lack of security at the Munich Olympics. American Mark Spitz, a Jew, said that security was adequate, better than at Mexico City four years ago. [CBS]
- Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir said that she approved West Germany's use of force to attempt to free the hostages, and she is sorry that those efforts failed. [CBS]
- Most of the 18 Arab nations are silent regarding the Olympic terrorism, but guerrillas are hailing their dead comrades as heroes and martyrs. The guerrillas condemned West Germany's police action and have threatened more trouble. Lebanon joined Jordan in officially denouncing the terrorist attack. [CBS]
- The Soviet news agency Tass reports that Russian Olympians profoundly deplore the tragedy. In Moscow, police rounded up 30 Jews who were trying to demonstrate in front of the Lebanese embassy; they also prevented Jews from sending condolences via the Dutch embassy. [CBS]
- George McGovern spoke to the Southern California Board of Rabbis and blamed the Olympic tragedy on Egypt and Lebanon; he urged the United Nations to counteract Arab terrorists. President Nixon called the terrorists "international outlaws" and ordered increased protection of Israelis in the United States.
Secretary of State William Rogers appeared at the United Nations anti-hijacking conference and demanded action against nations harboring hijackers as a first step towards thwarting terrorism. Egypt's position against such sanctions is unchanged, however.
[CBS] - The Senate and House passed resolutions condemning the Olympic terrorism and calling for the isolation of nations which harbor terrorists. Senator Mike Mansfield questioned whether the games should be continued. [CBS]
- President Nixon's fundraisers collected $10 million before the new law requiring reports of campaign contributors went into effect. A new lawsuit is using an old campaign finance law to force disclosure of those contributions. The General Accounting Office documented Republican efforts to beat the reporting deadline; John Gardner's "Common Cause" organization claims that disclosure is required under the old Corrupt Practices Act, and has filed a suit in federal court against Republican finance chairman Maurice Stans. Gardner noted the relationship between campaign contributions and government favors. [CBS]
- The Southern Governors Conference ended after selecting Alabama Governor George Wallace as chairman and Virgin Islands Governor Melvin Evans, who is black, as vice chairman. South Carolina Governor John West stepped aside in favor of Wallace. [CBS]
- Olympic officials have taken away the gold medal won by American swimmer Rick DeMont because he had used ephedrine as a treatment for his asthma. He is the first athlete in 60 years (since Jim Thorpe) to have a gold medal taken away. [CBS]
- As schools opened in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Catholic and Protestant children clashed with bottles and stones. [CBS]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 963.43 (-5.94, -0.61%)
Arms Index is the ratio of volume per declining issue to volume per advancing issue; a figure below 1.0 is bullish. | |||||||||||||||
| Market Index Trends | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | DJIA | S&P | Volume* |
| September 5, 1972 | 969.37 | 111.23 | 10.63 |
| September 1, 1972 | 970.05 | 111.51 | 11.60 |
| August 31, 1972 | 963.73 | 111.09 | 12.34 |
| August 30, 1972 | 957.86 | 110.57 | 12.47 |
| August 29, 1972 | 954.70 | 110.41 | 12.30 |
| August 28, 1972 | 956.95 | 110.23 | 10.72 |
| August 25, 1972 | 959.36 | 110.67 | 13.84 |
| August 24, 1972 | 958.38 | 111.02 | 18.28 |
| August 23, 1972 | 970.35 | 112.26 | 18.67 |
| August 22, 1972 | 973.51 | 112.41 | 18.56 |