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Portrait of Moshe Weinberg

Moshe Weinberg

1939 – 1972

1972 Munich massacre victim

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About Moshe Weinberg

Lived 1939 – 1972 (aged 32). Moshe Weinberg was an Israeli amateur wrestler and coach.

Moshe Weinberg ( sometimes Weinberger; 19 September 1939 – 5 September 1972) was an Israeli wrestler who was the coach of the national team, as well as the coach of Hapoel Tel Aviv.

He began his career in Hapoel Haifa. He was the Israeli youth champion in wrestling. He was also the adult wrestling middleweight champion for eight years. At the 1965 Maccabiah Games, he won a gold medal in Greco-Roman wrestling.

He later became a certified coach at the Wingate Institute, and served in that role for five years.

The wounded Weinberg was ordered by the terrorists at gunpoint to show them where the Israelis were. Weinberg led the terrorists past Apartment 2, which housed the fencers, shooters and track athletes, and instead took them to Apartment 3, which housed Israel's weightlifters and wrestlers.

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, Mohammed Safady, unconscious and allowing one of his wrestlers, Gad Tsobari, to escape via an underground parking garage. The terrorists fatally shot Weinberg, then threw his body into the street. In moving the hostages to the coaches' apartment, the terrorists killed weightlifter Yossef Romano after he attempted to resist the terrorists. The nine remaining hostages were also subsequently killed in what became known as the Munich massacre. Atif and four other terrorists were killed by German snipers on 6 September.

Weinberg’s cousin, Edward Carmel Eliash — who was, at the time of the 1972 Olympics in Munich, Mayor of Tirat Carmel (Hebrew: טִירַת כַּרְמֶל‎), or Tirat HaCarmel, a city in the Haifa District in Israel — suffered a heart attack at the public memorial ceremony the following day at the Olympics.

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

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Important facts

Family & relationships

Child
Guri Weinberg

People in Moshe Weinberg's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Moshe Weinberg's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Moshe Weinberg?

1972 Munich massacre victim (1939–1972)

When was Moshe Weinberg born?

Moshe Weinberg was born on 19 September 1939 in Haifa.

When did Moshe Weinberg die?

Moshe Weinberg died on 5 September 1972 in Munich.

What was Moshe Weinberg's occupation?

Moshe Weinberg was an amateur wrestler and coach.

What nationality was Moshe Weinberg?

Moshe Weinberg was Israeli.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Moshe Weinberg

· Wikidata: Q481329

· DBpedia: Moshe Weinberg

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Moshe Weinberg. https://biography.guide/moshe-weinberg/

MLA: "Moshe Weinberg." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/moshe-weinberg/.

Chicago: "Moshe Weinberg." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/moshe-weinberg/.

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