Reuven Rivlin
Reuven RivlinFlash 90

President Reuven Rivlin will depart this evening, Tuesday, for a visit to Germany at the invitation of German President, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, where he will inaugurate a memorial to the Israeli athletes murdered at the 1972 Munich Olympics.

11 Israeli athletes were taken hostage at the Olympic games by terrorists from the Black September movement, a movement linked with the Fatah organization of Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.

President Steinmeier, together with Minister-President of Bavaria Horst Seehofer who initiated the event, will accompany President Rivlin in inaugurated the memorial in Munich, in memory of the 11 Israeli Olympians and trainers murdered by terrorists in 1972, marking 45 years since the attack.

"Forty-five years after the massacre, international terrorism continues to threaten and strike innocent civilians. There are still those who see the massacre of the sportsmen as an heroic act,” said the President before departing.

“The center which we will inaugurate must carry a message for the whole world: There can be no apologizing for terror. Terror must be condemned unequivocally, everywhere. In Barcelona, in London, in Paris, in Berlin, in Jerusalem, everywhere. We, the international community, must stand untied in the struggle against terror, determined to fight and defeat it."

Rivlin is also scheduled to meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel during his visit. It will be Rivlin's second meeting with Merkel. Diplomatic sources believe one of the subjects of conversation will be Israel's purchase of submarines from German company Thyssenkrupp.