David Mark Berger David Mark Berger David Mark Berger (May 24, 1944 – September 6, 1972) was an American and Israeli Olympic weightlifter, and one of the eleven Israeli Olympians taken hostage and killed by the Palestinian group Black September during the Munich massacre at the 1972 Summer Olympics. Born and raised in the United States, Berger was a lawyer by education and had emigrated to Israel after taking part in the 1969 Maccabiah Games. David Mark Berger was born in Cleveland, Ohio on May 24, 1944. His mother was Dorothy Berger, (née Davidson), and his father was Benjamin Berger, who was a
President of the International Olympic Committee years, and was succeeded by Lord Killanin. Michael Morris, 3rd Baron Killanin, was elected as Honorary President of the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) in 1950, and became the Irish delegate at the IOC in 1952. He eventually became senior vice-president of the IOC in 1968, and succeeded Avery Brundage to the presidency on 23 August 1972, being elected at the 73rd IOC Session in Munich, just prior to the 1972 Summer Olympics. The Olympic Movement experienced a difficult period during his presidency, having to deal with the aftermath of the tragedy at the 1972 Munich Games and the financial