Munich victim widow wants moment of silence
By GIL SHEFLER
07/02/2012 22:37
Ankie Spitzer launches online petition in support of initiative asking for minute’s silence during opening ceremony in London.
ANDRE SPITZER Photo: MunichII.org
The campaign to hold a minute of silence at the London Olympics for the victims
of the 1972 Munich massacre is gathering steam.
Last week, the movement
received the endorsement of German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, and now
the widow of one of the Israelis killed in the attack has launched an online
petition in support of the initiative.
Ankie Spitzer, the widow of
fencing coach Andre Spitzer, who was killed by Palestinian terrorists during the
1972 Olympics, asked the public to sign the petition calling for a minute’s
silence to be held during the opening ceremony in London later this
month.
“I have no political or religious agenda,” she wrote on the online
petition. “Just the hope that my husband and the other men who went to the
Olympics in peace, friendship and sportsmanship are given what they deserve. One
minute of silence will clearly say to the world that what happened in 1972 can
never happen again. Please do not let history repeat itself.”
So far the
International Olympic Committee has rejected repeated calls for a memorial
service, saying the venue was wrong. It said it would hold a memorial to the 11
murdered Israeli sportsmen at a separate event.