President of the International Olympic Committee a minute of silence to be held to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the 1972 Munich Games attack during the opening ceremonies of the 2012 Summer Olympics, despite the standing request of the families of the 11 Israeli Olympic team members who were held hostage and murdered by the Palestinian group Black September. Calls for such a commemoration marking 40 years since the massacre had also come from Jewish organizations worldwide and politicians from the United States, Israel, Canada, Italy, Australia and Germany. He and the IOC instead opted for a smaller ceremony in London that took place on 6
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.