Addressing the families of the victims of the 1972 Munich terror attack, as well as German and Israeli dignitaries, President Isaac Herzog hailed today the decision by German authorities to duly commemorate the event and to offer the families what Israel considers appropriate compensation.

After long negotiation, Germany agreed last week to pay a total of 28 million euros to the 11 families of the Israeli victims. It also agreed for the first time to officially take responsibility for the failings that led to the massacre.

“For many decades, as President Steinmeier said, Germany and the International Olympic Committee avoided commemorating the eleven athletes. For the families of the victims, their pain and sorrow for their loved ones’ loss, their agony and tears, and the traumatic scars that the survivors bore for years, were compounded by their anguish about this indifference and cold shoulder,” stated Herzog.

“The decision to take responsibility for the failures surrounding and following the massacre, to allow for an objective and rigorous inquiry, and to compensate the victims’ families is part of that sanctification of the good and triumph over evil. It represents, half a century later, an important step of morality and justice for the victims, for the families, and for history itself,” added the Israeli president, thanking German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier for his personal involvement in the recent German government decision.