JOURNAL SPORTS

NATCHITOCHES — Memories of Israeli Olympic weightlifter David Berger, a Tulane graduate and NCAA champion killed in the Black September terrorism attack at the 1972 Munich Olympics, will be shared this evening at the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame museum in a 6 p.m. program free to the public.

Born and raised in Cleveland, he was a pre-law student at Tulane from 1962-66 and was an attorney when he went to compete in Munich. He was one of 11 members of Israel’s Olympic team who died in the 20-hour ordeal.

Berger’s story, as told by a collegiate competitor of his, will be shared in a program featuring that weightlifter, Lafayette attorney Warren Perrin. The importance of reflecting on the Munich Olympic tragedy is magnified by the current war in the Gaza Strip after the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel by the terror group Hamas.

Perrin’s recent book “The Weight of History, the Power of Apology” chronicles his own weightlifting journey alongside that of Berger and 2023 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame inductee Walter Imahara, a Japanese-American who spent nearly four years of his childhood in a California internment camp during World War II.

Perrin’s book focuses on the ways they all understood oppression and trauma – and why it’s important to remember Berger.

The event allows visitors free access to the acclaimed museum in Natchitoches. After the hour-long program, there will be plenty of time to enjoy the world-renowned Christmas lights display in the city’s downtown Historic District.

The museum is located at 800 Front Street, on the traffic circle at the north end of the brick-paved street bordering Cane River Lake downtown.