President of the International Olympic Committee Germany, to continue the Games following the Black September Palestinian terrorist attack which killed eleven Israeli athletes. While some criticized Brundage's decision—including "L.A. Times" columnist Jim Murray, who wrote "Incredibly, they're going on with it. It's almost like having a dance at Dachau")—most did not, and few athletes withdrew from the Games. The Olympic competition was suspended on 5 September for one complete day. The next day, a memorial service of eighty thousand spectators and three thousand athletes was held in the Olympic Stadium. Brundage gave an address in which he stated: Brundage strongly opposed the exclusion of Rhodesia from
Palestine at the 2012 Summer Olympics of 1972 Munich Massacre victim Andrei Spitzer, has requested prior to every Olympic games since those of 1972 that the International Olympic Committee hold a moment of silence during the opening ceremonies to remember the eleven victims of the massacre. However, the IOC has denied all of these requests. As the London 2012 games would be the 40th anniversary of the Munich tragedy, Spitzer spearheaded an online petition for a moment of silence during the games' opening ceremonies, which garnered over 100,000 signatures. Again, however, the IOC denied the request, committee chairman Jacques Rogge affording that "the Opening Ceremony is