Operation Wrath of God

Was Israel’s military operation “Wrath of God” carried out in an ethical and justifiable manner?

A. Plan of Investigation

The assassinations of eleven Israeli athletes during the 1972 Munich Olympics were a major blow to every country worldwide, but none more so than Israel themselves. Soon after the assassinations Israel announced an anti-terrorism military operation, “Wrath of God” .This investigation will thoroughly examine this operation and the motives behind it and finally the manner in which it was carried out. It will touch on the actual attacks in Munich but will not delve in to the actual motive behind the attacks. Two books will be used as the key sources for this investigation, the first Countering Terrorism a thesis by Alexander B. Calahanand the second, Vengeance by George Jonas. Though these are the main sources, many other websites and books will be used to investigate the topic.

B. Summary of Evidence

1. The Munich Massacre

The assassination of the eleven Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympics has come to be known as the “Munich Massacre. On September 5, 1972 eight members of a Palestinian organization called Black September stormed in to the complex of the Israeli athletes and began taking hostages. After the first night on the initial raid three men were already killed for trying to fight back at their captives while trying to make time for their fellow athletes to escape. The captives and negotiators did not meet the demands of Black September and a raid which went awry spelled death for eight more of the hostages before it was all over. After the unsuccessful rescue the games continued but the Israelis were left visibly disgusted.

2. Operation Wrath of God

Operation Wrath of God was a mission allegedly created by Israel soon after the killings in Munich. The goal of the operation was to eliminate anyone who had absolutely anything to do with the Munich Massacre. This included any important Palestinians, any

members of the Palestine Liberation Organization, and all of the members of Black September who were directly or indirectly involved with the assassinations of their athletes. The first assassination took place on October 16, 1972, when a man by the name of Abdel Wael Zwaiter was shot and killed in his apartment in Rome. Abdel was the Palestine Liberation Organization representative in Italy. Whether Zwaiter was actually a terrorist or not is still being debated to date. Over the next twenty years after its announcement the operation went on to kill hundreds of Palestinians. The Israelis were ruthless in their attacks and it is suspected they ended up killing many more innocent men during the operation. The Israeli government was adamant that operation wrath of God was an anti-terrorism program rather than the attempt at revenge the rest of the world thought it to be. Even the families of those who had relatives killed in the Munich Massacre did not like the operation. Even considering the injustice done to them in Munich it is still questionable whether a reaction so severe can ever be justified.