Olympic Support
GILEE’s Olympic security support efforts were prompted by the desire to assist the security preparations for the Atlanta Centennial Summer Olympic Games (1996) against the backdrop of the terrorist attack that murdered 11 Israeli athletes on September 5th, 1972, at the Summer Olympic Games (Games of the XX Olympiad) in Munich, Germany. This page is dedicated to the memory of the eleven murdered Israeli athletes and one German police officer. See their names below and watch the “One Day in September” documentary.
Shot during the initial break-in
Moshe Weinberg, wrestling coach
Yossef Romano, weightlifter
Shot and killed by grenade in eastern-side helicopter D-HAQO
According to the order in which they were seated, from left to right:
Ze’ev Friedman, weightlifter
David Berger, weightlifter (survived grenade but died of smoke inhalation)
Yakov Springer, weightlifting judge
Eliezer Halfin, wrestler
Shot in western-side helicopter D-HAQU
According to the order in which they were seated, from left to right:
Yossef Gutfreund, wrestling referee
Kehat Shorr, shooting coach
Mark Slavin, wrestler
Andre Spitzer, fencing coach
Amitzur Shapira, track coach
Anton Fliegerbauer, West German police officer
Starting with the Centennial Olympics Games held in Atlanta (1996), GILEE has been assisting with security planning efforts for the Olympic Games listed below:
Atlanta 1996 Summer Olympics
“In some instances, professional organizations contribute to sustaining the legacy of sharing professional knowledge. Perhaps the best example is the Georgia International Law Enforcement Exchange Program (GILEE).”
Jon Gordon, Deputy Chief (Ret.) Atlanta Police Department, American Military University (in: “Protecting the Games: Law Enforcement’s Olympic Legacy of Information Sharing.” IN PUBLIC SAFETY, January 30, 2014)
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London 2012 Summer Olympics
“We appreciated the openness and honesty of your presentations. lt was particularly helpful to hear about the lessons you have taken forward from Atlanta 1996 and to have the chance to ask questions of law enforcement colleagues with first-hand experience of managing all aspects of a Games time critical incident.”
Janet Williams, QPM, Deputy Assistant Commissioner, Metropolitan Police, United Kingdom
View full statement
Rio 2016 Summer Olympics
“Our delegation was able to exchange experiences that undoubtedly will enable our police officers to better understand the complexity of the safety and security planning process for an event with the magnitude and importance of the Olympic Games.”
Jose Luis Castro Menezes – Colonel, Commander, Rio de Janeiro Military Police
View full statement“I can say that the lessons learned during this exchange program were essential for us to build better public security planning and a successful Rio 2016 Olympic Games taking into into account the public security needs and actions.”
Edison Duarte Dos Santos Junior – Colonel. General Commander, State Military Police of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
View full statement
