David Berger (weightlifter)
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, where he won a gold medal.His father, Benjamin, was once quoted as saying, "I used to tell him ‘You may not be the best weightlifter in the world, but you’re certainly the smartest!’" After winning a gold medal in the middleweight weight-lifting contest in the 1969 Maccabiah Games,[1] Berger emigrated to Israel, intending to open a law office in Tel Aviv after completing his compulsory military service.He won a silver medal at the 1971 Asian Weightlifting Championships, and achieved a long time dream when he was chosen to represent Israel as a member of the 1972 Israeli Olympic team.Early on the morning of September 5, 1972, Palestinian terrorists took Berger and his five roommates hostage, after having earlier broken into the Olympic Village and seized six officials in another apartment as well as wounding wrestling coach Moshe Weinberg in the face.While the 10 other Israeli Olympians were flown to and buried in Israel, David Berger's body was returned to the United States on an Air Force jet personally ordered by President Richard Nixon.