Aerial shot of Olympic Park in London. Photo: wiki commons.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) rejected Israel’s request to hold a minute of silence for the 11 Israeli players and coaches killed by Palestinian “Black September” terrorists at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany.

“The IOC has officially paid tribute to the memory of the [Israeli] athletes on several occasions,” IOC President Jacques Rogge said.

This year’s Summer Olympics in London marks the 40th anniversary of the murders in Munich. Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon, who made the request of the IOC, said May 17 that Rogue’s response was “unacceptable.”

Rogge added that “within the Olympic family, the memory of the victims of the terrible massacre in Munich in 1972 will never fade away.”

In addition to Israel’s request, an online petition asking for the minute of silence was launched at www.munich11.org by Ankie Spitzer, the widow of Israeli fencing coach Andrei Spitzer, and the Jewish Community Center of Rockland County, NY.