More than a half-century ago, the world awakened to the threat of terrorism at major sporting events when eight men in jumpsuits hopped the fence at Munich’s Olympic Village and carried out an attack that would ultimately leave 11 of Israel’s athletes dead, along with a West German policeman and five of the eight assailants.

The attackers were members of the group Black September – an affiliate of the Palestine Liberation Organization. They had wanted to hold Israeli athletes hostage and force the release of 236 prisoners held in Israel and two leaders of the West German Baader-Meinhof terrorist group. But their mission failed, and 20 hours after it began, a botched rescue attempt by German law enforcement led to the shocking carnage, with some of the night’s events playing out on live television.

The Munich massacre that took place in the wee hours of Sept. 5-6, 1972, was a wake-up call for Western governments to the threat of terrorism and the dire need for tight security at international athletic events and greater scrutiny when selecting venues.

After the death of his Olympic teammates, legendary Israeli swimmer Mark Spitz, who won seven gold medals and set seven world records at the 1972 Munich games, was forced to flee Germany in haste, hidden under a blanket and fearing for his life.

For Israeli and Jewish athletes, the ever-present threat is once again blinking red in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel by Hamas that left 1,200 people dead, including women and children, and 239 people held hostage. In February, the World Aquatic Federation is set to host an international swimming competition in Doha, the capital of Qatar. The event would normally determine qualifiers for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. But the International Olympic Committee is now facing pressure to either move the event or change the qualifying regulations so Israeli and Jewish athletes will not be forced to attend or be penalized for skipping.

For the last decade, Qatar has served as an asylum for Hamas’ political leadership, and it has long provided the terrorist organization with financial assistance estimated at roughly $1.8 billion in 2021. Though Qatar is a tiny nation – about twice the size of Delaware – its influence is outsized. It’s home to the state-owned Al Jazeera news network, which often airs anti-Israeli and American angles, as well as a large U.S. airbase that played a crucial role in evacuating U.S. citizens and Afghanistan refugees after the fall of Kabul in........

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