Great Britain?s Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport will not join the growing international campaign for a moment of silence at the upcoming London Summer Olympics for the 11 Israeli athletes murdered at the 1972 Munich Games.

?The decision as to whether a minute?s silence is held during the Games lies with the IOC,? a spokesman for Secretary Jeremy Hunt said, according to the London Jewish Chronicle.

The spokesman added that Hunt will represent the government at a private ceremony at the Guildhall, which is a joint initiative between the Israeli embassy, the Israeli National Olympic Committee and the Jewish community,? the paper reported.

Ankie Spitzer, widow of murdered Israeli fencer Andrei Spitzer, said that Lord Sebastian Coe, chair of the London Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games, had sent her an invitation to the August 6 memorial event at the Guildhall.

?That?s the memorial that we are organizing ourselves! And he wrote to tell me about it?? the paper reported she angrily said.

She called the Guildhall event a ?way out? for the Olympic organizers, according to the newspaper. ?It means the event doesn?t have to be in the Olympic Village or during the opening ceremony, so it will let them off the hook,? she reportedly said.

Another memorial event, organized by the country?s Zionist Federation, will take place this summer as well.

More than 50 British members of parliament have signed a motion calling for a minute?s silence. The effort is backed by the German Bundestag, about 100 Australian members of parliament, the Canadian parliament and the U.S. Senate.

This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.

We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.

This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.

With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.

The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.

Don't just read the Forward - invest in it. Make a matched gift today.

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$120 $180 $360 OTHER AMOUNT