Black September Organization

The Black September Organization was a Palestinian group that began in September 1970. The group carried out several serious attacks. One of these was the killing of the Jordanian Prime Minister Wasfi Tal. Another well-known event happened during the 1972 Summer Olympics. This was called the Munich massacre. During this event, eleven Israeli athletes and officials were taken, and sadly they died. A West German policeman also died.

These events had a big effect on the world. Many European countries started creating special teams to stop such attacks. These teams are known as counter-terrorism forces. The Munich massacre became one of the most famous tragedies in Olympic history.

Origin

The Black September Organization got its name from a big conflict in Jordan in September 1970. This started when King Hussein of Jordan declared military rule after some planes were taken over by a group called the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Many Palestinians had to leave Jordan after this.

The Black September group began as a small group from Fatah. They wanted to punish King Hussein and the Jordanian army. Some members came from other groups too. Many of these members had been close to a leader named Abu Ali Iyad, who was later killed.

Structure of the group

Historians and journalists have different ideas about the Black September Organization and how much it was controlled by Fatah, a group led by Yasser Arafat and part of the Palestine Liberation Organization.

Some people said Black September was not a group that used force but a helper for the resistance movement when it couldn’t fully use its military and political power. Members of the group said they had no connection to Fatah or the PLO.

Others believe Fatah was the parent organization of Black September. Members worked in small, separate groups and didn’t know about other groups. This way, if one group was caught, the others were safe.

Finally, Black September was closed down in September 1973 because it was thought that more actions abroad would not help. Later, Yasser Arafat asked the PLO to stop violent actions outside the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and Israel.

Munich massacre

Main articles: Munich massacre, Mossad assassinations following the Munich massacre, and 1973 Israeli raid in Lebanon

The group carried out an attack during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany. During this event, eleven Israeli Olympic athletes were taken and sadly lost their lives, and a German police officer was also killed.

After the attack, Israel worked to find and deal with those responsible. Over the years, several members connected to the group were targeted.

Other attacks

Black September was linked to several other actions during this time:

On 28 November 1971, they killed Jordan's prime minister, Wasfi al-Tal, as a response to Jordan pushing away a group of people from another country.
In December 1971, they tried to hurt Zaid Rifai, Jordan's ambassador to London.
On 6 February 1972, they caused trouble at electrical and gas places in the Netherlands and West Germany.
On 8 May 1972, they took control of a airplane, Sabena Flight 572, traveling from Vienna to Lod.
In September and October 1972, they sent many letters with hidden dangers to Israeli offices around the world.
On 23 January 1973, they killed an officer in Madrid.
On 1 March 1973, they held people at the Saudi Embassy in Khartum, Sudan. Sadly, some people were hurt during this event.
On 2 March 1973, they planned to blow up something in New York.
On 5 August 1973, two people linked to Black September hurt many people at an airport in Athens and took control of an airplane.
On 20 October 1981, they were linked to a big explosion at a place of worship in Antwerp, Belgium, which hurt many people.

In media

The 1977 film Black Sunday tells a made-up story about a plan to attack a big sports event. The 2005 film Munich shows what happened during a serious event at the Olympics and what happened after.

Black September Organization