Moshe Weinberg

For the Polish composer, see Mieczysław Weinberg.

Moshe Weinberg (sometimes Weinberger) (September 19, 1939 - September 5, 1972) was the coach of the Israeli international wrestling team as well as being the coach of Hapoel Tel Aviv. He was the Israeli youth champion in wrestling and also the adult champion for a period of 8 years. He began his career in Hapoel Haifa, later becoming a certified coach at Wingate Institute. In his capacity as national wrestling coach, he was sent to the 1972 Summer Olympics at Munich. He was among eleven Israeli team members who were killed by Palestinian terrorists in the Munich massacre.

Death

In the early morning hours of September 5, 1972, Palestinian members of Black September entered the Munich Olympic Village and broke into apartment 1 at Connolystrasse 31, which housed five coaches and two referees of the Israeli Olympic team. The first Israeli they encountered was Weinberg (It is unclear whether Weinberg was actually in the apartment already or was captured as he was entering it). Realizing the gravity of the situation, Weinberg got into a scuffle with the intruders, one of whom shot the wrestling coach through his cheek. The wounded Weinberg was taken by the terrorists to help find more Israelis. Keeping a clear head, Weinberg led the terrorists past Apartment 2, which housed the slimly-built fencers, shooters and track athletes, and instead took them to Apartment 3, which housed Israel's weightlifters and wrestlers. (It is assumed that Weinberg have thought that the stronger men might have a better chance of fighting off the intruders.) However, taken by surprise, the six athletes of Apartment 3 were captured by the terrorists. While the hostages were being marched back to the officials' apartment, Weinberg once again attacked the intruders, knocking one of them unconscious and allowing one of his wrestlers, Gad Tsobari, to escape via an underground parking garage. The terrorists fatally riddled Weinberg with machine-gun fire, then tossed his nude and bloodied body out into the street in order to demonstrate their resolve. Weinberg had thus become the first victim of the Munich massacre.

Weinberg's son Guri, an Israeli actor, portrayed his father in the 2005 movie Munich.