Mohammed Safady

Mohammed Safady (1953[1] - ?) was one of eight Black September terrorists that invaded the Israeli quarters at the Munich Olympic Village during the 1972 Munich Olympic Games taking hostage nine of the Israeli Olympic delegation after killing Israeli wrestling coach Moshe Weinberg and weightlifter Yossef Romano in the initial takeover.

Attack at the 31 Connollystraße

In the early morning of 5 September 1972, Safady and seven of his fellow fedayeen broke into the Israeli delegations headquarters at 31 Connollystraße. After the fedayeen had captured the Israel's in apartment number one and three, they led the Israeli's under guard down the stairs to the ground floor of the building.[2] As Israeli wrestler Gad Tsobari reached the bottom of the stairs, he pushed a hooded terrorist aside and made a dash towards the entrance to the underground car park. As Tsobari made his escape, the wrestling coach Moshe Weinberg tackled Safady, landing a devastating punch on the young fedayeen's jaw, fracturing it and knocking out several of his teeth.[3] As Moshe Weinberg attempted to seize Safady's gun, which now lay on the floor, another fedayeen shot Weinberg through the chest with a burst from his Kalashnikov rifle.[4]

Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base

Safady, along with Jamal and Adnan Al-Gashey were the only three of the eight terrorists to survive the firefight between German police and the Palestinian terrorists at Fürstenfeldbruck.

Aftermath

After their release by the German government on 29 October 1972, seven and a half weeks after they were captured, Safady along with Jamal and Adnan Al-Gashey were flown to Tripoli where they gave a press conference to the world's media. Safady can be seen seated to the right of Jamal Al-Gashey in the centre.[5]

Both Safady's and Adnan Al-Gashey's fate after the Munich attack has caused much speculation. The documentary One Day In September (2000) states that he was killed by Israeli assassination squads in the aftermath of the Munich operation. However, in his book Striking back : the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre and Israel's deadly response, author Aaron J Klein claims that during a conversation with Tawfiq Tirawi in Ramallah in 2005 he was told that Safady was "alive as you are".[6] Tirawi did not divulge any further information, only adding that "the Israeli's could still harm him."[7] Klein also claims that members of the intelligence community speculated that Safady could have been killed by Lebanese Christian Phalangists as a 'gesture' to the Israeli Mossad.[8]

References

  1. ↑ Reeve, Simon (2005). One day in September : the story of the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre and Israeli revenge operation 'Wrath of God' (2005 ed.). London: Faber. p. 9. ISBN 0571231810.
  2. ↑ Reeve, Simon (2000). One day in September : the full story of the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre and the Israeli revenge operation "Wrath of God" (1st U.S. ed.). New York: Arcade. p. 7. ISBN 1559705477.
  3. ↑ Reeve, Simon (2000). One day in September : the full story of the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre and the Israeli revenge operation "Wrath of God" (1st U.S. ed.). New York: Arcade. p. 8. ISBN 1559705477.
  4. ↑ Reeve, Simon (2000). One day in September : the full story of the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre and the Israeli revenge operation "Wrath of God" (1st U.S. ed.). New York: Arcade. p. 8. ISBN 1559705477.
  5. ↑ "SYND 31-10-72 INTERVIEW WITH FREED ARAB GUERRILLAS INVOLVED IN THE MUNICH MASSACRE". Youtube. 21 July 2015. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  6. ↑ Klein, Aaron J. (2005). Striking back : the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre and Israel's deadly response. Melbourne: Scribe. p. 225. ISBN 1920769803.
  7. ↑ Klein, Aaron J. (2005). Striking back : the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre and Israel's deadly response. Melbourne: Scribe. p. 225. ISBN 1920769803.
  8. ↑ Klein, Aaron J. (2005). Striking back : the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre and Israel's deadly response. Melbourne: Scribe. p. 224. ISBN 1920769803.
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