2012 Olympics one minute of silence campaign Olympic truce, marking the first time ever that the IOC honored the Israeli victims in a ceremony inside an Olympic village. The Munich massacre occurred during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, in southern West Germany, when members of the Israeli Olympic team were taken hostage and eventually murdered by the Palestinian group Black September. The kidnappers killed eleven Israeli athletes and coaches, as well as a West German police officer. Following the attack, a memorial service was held in the Olympic Stadium, although the International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Avery Brundage did not refer to the athletes during his
1985 Maccabiah Games 1985 Maccabiah Games The 1985 12th Maccabiah Games brought over 4,000 athletes to Israel from 37 nations to compete in 28 sports. The Maccabiah Games were first held in 1932. In 1961, they were declared a "Regional Sports Event" by, and under the auspices and supervision of, the International Olympic Committee. Twenty years after his first appearance in the Maccabiah, Olympic Champion Mark Spitz returned to Israel to carry the Opening Ceremony’s Torch into Ramat Gan Stadium. He was accompanied by Shirli Shapiro, Anok Spitzer, and Shlomit Romano, children of three of the Israelis slain at the 1972 Munich Olympics.