Change: Trump demands Sbarro murderer's extradition, tells 'Palestinians' to end incitement
One of Haaretz's editorials today speculated that ultimately, the 'Palestinians' will have to save Israel from enacting a 'two-state solution.' Israel Radio's midnight news gave two signals that the 'Palestinians' are being put in a position where they will have to behave properly, or there will be no support from the United States for a 'Palestinian state.'
First, the United States has demanded that Jordan extradite Ahlam Tamimi, who planned the Sbarro suicide bombing 16 years ago and drove the bomber to the downtown Jerusalem restaurant.
Tamimi scouted for a target before leading the bomber, Izz al-Din
Shuheil al-Masri, to the Sbarro restaurant. They arrived just before
2:00 pm, when the restaurant was filled with customers, dozens of women,
children and babies, and pedestrian traffic outside was at its peak.
Tamimi
departed before Al-Masri, thought to be carrying a rigged guitar case
or wearing an an explosive vest weighing 5 to 10 kilograms of
explosives, nails, nuts and bolts, detonated his bomb.
She is
currently a television host in Jordan, has hosted Hamas arch-terrorist
Saleh Arouri (who ordered the kidnapping of three Jewish teenagers in
June 2014), bragged of her involvement in others murders of Israelis and
is considered as a symbol of the Palestinians fight.
Israel Radio reported that Tamimi was sentenced to 16 life sentences (15 Israelis were murdered in the bombing and a 16th - Chana Nachenberg - is in a vegetative state to this day), but was released as part of the 'terrorists for Gilad' trade in 2011. Israel Radio said that two of the terrorists' victims were US citizens (I think it was actually more than two - Malki Roth and Shoshana Heyman HY"D were also American citizens).
Jordan may have a tough call to make, honoring its strong alliance to
the US, with trying to avoid offending its majority Palestinian
population and an anti-extradition trend in its court system, according
to Shurat Hadin which is representing the family of the victim Chana
Nachenberg (Finers and Nachenbergs) who was grievously injured in the
bombing and remains in Israel in a coma even until now.
According
to Shurat HaDin President Nitsana Darshan-Leitner: "We are glad that
the US Department of Justice has decided to move forward against this
notorious mass murderer. We have been requesting for a long time that
this unrepentant Palestinian terrorist be rearrested, extradited and
prosecuted by American law enforcement officials."
"It was
outrageous that Israel released this criminal with so much innocent
blood on her hands and who has publicly rejoiced that she killed 8
Jewish children. For too long Jordan has become a safe haven for
Palestinian terrorists and, hopefully, this is a change of policy for
the new Trump administration, to start to pursue the numerous
Palestinians who have killed US citizens in Israel," she said.
Chana
Nachenberg's father, Yitzhak Bennett Finer, has responded: "We applaud
the efforts of the Department of Justice in trying to bring Tamimi to
justice and we hope they'll be successful. Our daughter Chana Nachenberg
had the prime of her life taken from her because she has spent the past
15 and half years in a vegetative state on a respirator as a result of
this inhuman act of the heinous bombing of Sbarros. Her daughter Sarah
has grown up without a mother and her husband David without the love of
his wife."
Jordan is highly unlike to extradite Tamimi. If the royal family is about anything, it's about self-preservation. Extraditing Tamimi (whose clan includes prominent Jordanian lawyers) would bring about fighting that has been unseen since the Black September uprising in 1970. There is almost no chance that King Abdullah will take that risk to keep the United States happy.
In a second report this evening, Israel Radio reported that the United States' Jerusalem Consulate's readout of Trump envoy Jason Greenblatt's meeting with 'moderate' 'Palestinian' President Mahmoud AbbasAbu Mazen today included a demand that the 'Palestinians' stop incitement to terrorism.
During a meeting at the Palestinian
Authority’s headquarters in Ramallah, Abbas committed to combat
Palestinian incitement, the statement said. The Palestinian leader and
Greenblatt also discussed building up the PA’s security forces,
advancing the peace process, and improving the Palestinian economy.
According to the readout, Abbas told
Greenblatt that “he believes that under President Trump’s leadership a
historic peace deal is possible, and that it will enhance security
throughout the region.”
“President Abbas committed to preventing inflammatory rhetoric and incitement,” the statement added.
The government of Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu has been adamant that PA-sanctioned media and school
curriculum are responsible for inciting terrorism.
...
The Palestinian daily al-Quds cited sources in
the US Congress who said Greenblatt warned Abbas that US lawmakers are
working to condition US aid to the Palestinians — with the exception of
security assistance — on ending incitement, including payments to the
families of Palestinian terrorists.
The PA pays monthly stipends to families who
have a member who is considered to have been “martyred,” which usually
means being killed by an Israeli while carrying out a terror attack or
suspected attack, or who is spending time in Israeli prison for
perpetrating a terrorist act.
The US government has already taken measures
to ensure its aid isn’t funneled to the families of terrorists. That
includes paying the debts of the PA directly, rather than transferring
funds into the PA’s coffers.
In the 12th year of his four-year term, Abu Dodobird may have finally found an American President who is willing to stand up to him. The 'Palestinians' must be really disappointed that Hillary Clinton lost the election. Heh.
Congress seeks to hold up Iran sanctions relief until victims of Iranian terror paid
Congress is seeking to hold up the release of moneys to Iran until American victims of Iranian-financed terror are paid some $43.5 billion in compensation. A bill to do just that has been introduced by Representative Patrick Meehan (R-Pa).
Let's go the videotape, and then we'll hear about the bill from Adam Kredo.
Yes, before you click the video, that's my friend Arnold Roth's daughter Malki HY"D (May God Avenge her blood), second row from bottom, second from right (first full picture in the row), who was murdered in the Sbarro terror attack.
Adam Kredo reports on the bill.
The bill, which is expected to be brought to the House floor for a
vote this week, would require Iran to first pay $43.5 billion in legal
penalties awarded by U.S. courts to American victims of Iranian
terrorism.
President Obama would then be in a position to either disregard the
requirement under his executive authority, thereby clearing the way for
Iran to immediately receive $150 billion, or force Tehran to negotiate
settlements for these terror victims.
The legislation, called the Justice for Victims of Iranian Terrorism Act, comes after a lawsuit
filed by U.S. terror victims that argue they should first be paid
damages before Iran sees a dime of the money promised by the Obama
administration.
The victims said they fear that if the money is first released to
Iran, they will never receive the billions in compensation awarded to
them by U.S. courts.
Meehan told the Washington Free Beacon that the legislation
would create a circumstance in which “the president must certify that he
believes it’s more important to pay money to the Iranian terrorists
than it is to compensate the victims of Iranian terror.”
The bill, he said, “would prevent the president from releasing any
sanctions unless or until the full damages, which have already been
awarded in American courts to victims of Iranian terror, are paid.”
“I’d just like to understand why [Obama] thinks it’s more important
to give money back to Iran than it is to first pay the victims of their
past terror acts,” said Meehan, who released a video late last week detailing the stories of several Americans harmed by Iranian-backed terrorism.
While the bill has garnered at least 75 co-sponsors in the House,
Meehan said he is not certain whether supporters will be able to achieve
a veto-proof majority.
After the nuclear sellout, just bringing it to a vote would be an accomplishment.
But you can bet that Obama will veto the bill if it ever passes. His legacy is more important than compensation to ordinary American terror victims. May he rot in hell.
Our Prime Minister is like a little kid who is showing off how much candy he's been given. Yes, 'Bibi' is so proud of himself because the IDF has 'rearrested' 50 Hamas terrorists who were released in the spineless 'terrorists for Gilad' deal because... wait for it... they violated the conditions of their release.
"I wish to extend my congratulations to the troops and commanders of
the IDF and the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) for the complex
operations that they carried out overnight," Netanyahu tweeted on his
Twitter account.
"The operation overnight in which Hamas
terrorists were arrested, including those released in the prisoner swap
for Gilad Schalit, is an element that carries with it an important
message," the prime minister wrote on his Twitter account. "This is all
part of a series of many operations that will continue, and their goal
is to retrieve the kidnapped youngsters and strike a blow to Hamas in
Judea and Samaria."
The prisoners had signed a document on their
release vowing to live up to a set of conditions, which they have since
violated, a senior security source stated.
The former prisoners, all members of Hamas, were selected by the Shin Bet [Israel Security Agency] for arrest.
Since when is someone who is extorted required to abide by the deal he signed while being blackmailed?
Is it just this week that they violated the conditions of their release, or have they been violating them since 2011, but our gutless government ignored the violations until now?
Has Ahlam Tamimi (who led the Sbarro terrorist to the site of his murderous attack and then broadcast the story on television that night) violated the terms of her release? Why isn't Netanyahu going after her?
If the 'talks' are over, why are we still making 'gestures'?
The 'talks' between Israel and the 'Palestinians' would officially have ended today in any event, barring an extension, but it appears that the Israeli government may not yet have gotten the message. Hamas is claiming that Israel is about to turn over the bodies of several suicide terrorist bombers according to the terror organization, including the body of Izz al-Din al-Masri, the perpetrator of the August 2001 massacre at Sbarro's Pizza in Jerusalem. It goes without saying that any body turned over to Hamas will receive a hero's burial.
Hamas media sources were cited by Israel Radio on Tuesday that Israel
plans to transfer the remains of Izz al-Din al-Masri, the suicide
bomber who detonated himself in a Jerusalem Sbarro restaurant in 2001,
to the Palestinian Authority. The attack resulted in the death of 19
people.
According to the report, the funeral is to be held in al-Masri's home village in the West Bank.
Israel is also reportedly in the process of handing over the bodies
of brothers Abdel and Imad Audallah. The brothers were leaders in
Hamas's military wing and were killed by Israeli security forces
outside of Hebron in 2008.
A large funeral procession has been planned by the family honoring the Audallah brothers as martyrs' near Ramallah.
Israel began to exhume the remains of a number of Palestinian terrorists to return them to their families for burial early in January, 2014.
So far no denial from the Israeli government. The terrorists' bodies ought to be doused in pig fat and burned publicly or thrown into the sea wrapped in pig fat. What kind of morons run this country anyway?
Twelve years later... the victims of Sbarro live with their grief
Two weeks ago, a couple of days after the yahrtzeit (day of the anniversary of the death) of the Sbarro terror victims, I ran into my friend Arnold Roth in a shopping mall in Ramot. After he kidded me about being in a mall which is being boycotted by certain members of my community, I told him that I was thinking of coming to the annual ceremony for his daughter Malki HY"D (May God Avenge her blood), which had taken place in the local cemetery a couple of days before (I explained to him that Malki's yahrtzeit was the day before my mother's, and when, as this year, Malki's yahrtzeit comes out on the Sabbath, the observance ends up coinciding with the date of my mother's yahrtzeit, a date on which it is customary to go to a cemetery even if not the one in which one's one relative is buried). He said that it's good that I didn't come - that the yahrtzeit is too sad and depressing. I imagine - God save us - that it is.
15 people were murdered that day in Sbarro's and a 16th - who remains on my prayer list to this day - remains in a coma.
I have mentioned many times on this blog that my eldest daughter was about 100 meters from Sbarro when the terror attack took place. She is about the same age as the person who wrote this, and was not standing right outside only because she decided to wait on one more customer in the bagel shop in which she was working.
Twelev years ago on August 9th, 2001, I went
with a friend down to Yafo Street and into Sbarro’s Pizzeria. There was a
long line, and after looking at the prices on the menu we decided that
it’s too pricey and will take too long to get our pizza, so we headed
out. A few minutes later a suicide bomber blew himself up in the
pizzeria, taking the lives of 15 and injuring over 100 people.
I was young…only seventeen. The concept of
what happened hadn’t really sunk in. When I saw all the ambulances and
police cars rushing down the street to where I stood only a few moments
beforehand, I never fully grasped what had happened at the time, and as a
way of suppressing the thoughts, I simply moved on with life. I
graduated HS, I did Mechina, served in the army, lived abroad, etc.
A lot has changed for me in twelve years. But for some, twelve years ago
time began to stand still. Every day is a day of pain, physical and
emotional. A question of “why?”.
Many of you don't realize how long after a terror attack the physical and emotional wounds of the families of both the dead and the wounded, and of the wounded themselves, persist. The day I ran into Arnold was the 10th anniversary of the suicide bombing of the number 2 bus. We have another friend whose granddaughter was killed and whose son and daughter-in-law (the dead girl's parents) were severely wounded in that bombing. Another daughter was on the bus with them to help them with their children, and was lucky to escape physically unscathed.
Recently, the couple who was hurt had to travel abroad for surgery that's still related to the terrorist attack. I asked our friend whether they still get help from the terror victims' organizations. She said that help dries up after the first few years. There are too many victims and not enough resources to support them all, so for most victims, the support goes away after the first few years.They were taking their nursing baby abroad with them and their oldest child to tend to the baby during the surgery - and leaving the rest of their children with our friend.
But back to the blog post for a minute.
Just as I’ve moved on from that pizzeria up
the block, I’ve moved on with life. But for so many it simply halted,
and sadly many more have joined the horrible club of “victims of
terror”, where life stands still, and even as medicine, technology,
celebrities and the world keeps changing, they’re still living in that
moment, in that day. Some of them remain physically at the scene, while
others remember getting the tragic news of a loved one while at home,
work, on vacation or at school.
Twelve years later our elected government is
continuing the policies of the previous administrations, when in
contrast, the entire point of electing these new officials was to
overturn the policies their predecessors made in the first place.
...
After a dangerous and violent dog attacks innocent people, that dog is
locked away or put to sleep. It’s not the dog’s fault, as he doesn’t
know any better. He just behaves in a way his owner allowed him to, and
since the owner encouraged the dogs aggressive behavior, therefore the
owner should be punished according to the law. If that dog is released
and goes back to attacking people, then the responsibility is now in the
hands of the authorities who authorized his release.
Let's go to the videotape.
Do you still wonder why the terror victims 'made a scene' in the 'supreme court' today? Shame on the 'supreme court' for not giving most of the victims their day in court!
Around half a dozen times, the victims' families, part of the Almagor
Terror Victims Association asked to speak. Each time they were cut-off
by Grunis.
But when Grunis said "the hearing is over," there was a
spontaneous outpouring of anger by the families, yelling and screaming
at the judges.
The victims called out "this cannot happen," "where
is the rule of law," "listen to us, listen to our hearts," "they have
no time for us" and "they threw sweets" (referring to past prisoners
released who had murdered relatives of the families and who were greeted
with sweets upon returning to the Palestinian side). Grunis and the other judges sat for a few moments, turning ashen red and looking shocked or indignant.
After a few moments they walked out of the room, as the victims' families were still calling out to them.
"With
Schalit, we got him back, here we are releasing prisoners with blood on
their hands and receiving nothing in return," the victim's lawyer told
the High Court during the hearing.
"Legal and moral issues cannot be separated in a decision of such monumental importance," he added.
...
The state responded saying that it has no precedent to interfere with
government decisions to release terrorists - even with blood on their
hands. They did add that if the peace process does not go well, future
planned prisoner releases will be canceled.
I'd like to give you a quote, and you can tell me who said it:
“The release of convicted terrorists before they have served their full
sentences seems like an easy and tempting way of defusing blackmailed
situations in which innocent people may lose their lives, but its
utility is momentary at best.”
“Prisoner
releases only embolden terrorists by giving them the feeling that even
if they are caught, their punishment will be brief. Worse, by leading
terrorists to think such demands are likely to be met, they encourage
precisely the terrorist blackmail they are supposed to defuse.”
Arnold and Frimet Roth received an award on Wednesday for what they've done to commemorate their daughter Malki HY"D, who was murdered in the Sbarro terror attack in 2001.
Could you take what is, without a doubt, the worst tragedy imaginable
– the intentional, violent murder of your sweet little girl – and turn
your grief into the impetus to help others?
That is what Frimet and Arnold Roth did after their then-15 year old
daughter, Malki, was murdered in the grotesque homicide bombing of the
Sbarro Pizzaria in downtown Jerusalem. Malki Roth and 14 other innocent
civilans died violent deaths on the 9th of August, 2001. Eight of the
murdered were children. A woman pregnant with her first child also died
in the bombing, and 130 were wounded.
The Roths created Keren Malki (Malki Foundation) within months of the
bombing. What would so understandably have made most parents turn
inwards with grief, instead, for the Roths, became a mission to create
something positive that would reflect the goodness of the daughter whose
future was stolen. Malki’s little sister is severely disabled and
Keren Malki, formed 12 years ago, provides a myriad of services for the
benefit of children with special needs and their families.
This week the Roths were honored for the work that Keren Malki (keren
is the Hebrew word for ‘foundation’) has done over the past twelve
years for the benefit of children with special needs and their families.
Israel’s Minister of Welfare and Social Affairs, Meir Cohen, presented
the Roths with the Minister’s Shield for Volunteerism – Lifetime
Achievement Award.
One can only look with awe at all they have accomplished (and I know Arnold...). May Malki be a voice for good in Heaven for her family and for the entire Jewish people, and may her family's good deeds in her memory continue to place Malki on a higher and higher plane, closer and closer to God.
It's official: Fayyad is gone; replacement head of university that mocked Sbarro massacre?
'Moderate' 'Palestinian' President Mahmoud AbbasAbu Mazen has accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, despite being urged not to do so by the United States and the European Union. Abu Mazen has asked Fayyad to head a 'transitional government' until....
Fayyad submitted his letter of resignation to Abbas during a 20-minute meeting in the PA president's office in Ramallah.
It was not immediately clear who would replace Fayyad. However,
Palestinian sources mentioned two names as possible candidates: Mohamed
Mustafa, head of the PLO's Palestine Investment Fund and Rami Hamdallah,
president of An-Najah University in Nablus.
I'm sure that the US and the Europeans would be thrilled to have Hamdallah. Educated in Jordan and England, Hamdallah has been the president of An-Najah since 1998. The picture below was taken at An-Najah University in September 2001, a month after the Sbarro suicide bombing took place:
On well, if Abu Bluff selects Hamdallah, we all get the message.
In any event, Abu Bluff has accepted Fayyad's resignation.
"President Abbas informed Fayyad that he has accepted his
resignation," the statement said, adding that the PA president asked
Fayyad to head a caretaker government until the establishment of a new
government.
Abbas and Fayyad were scheduled to meet late Thursday
to discuss the crisis. However, the meeting was called off without any
explanation.
Palestinian sources said that the US and some EU
countries tried over the weekend to prevent Fayyad's resignation, but to
no avail.
The sources said that US Secretary of State John Kerry phoned Abbas and urged him to keep Fayyad in office.
...
According
to the official, Fayyad had submitted his resignation to Abbas in
February, but the PA president asked Fayyad to delay his resignation
until after the visit of US President Barack Obama to the region.
Fayyad's
decision to quit is believed to be linked to a sharp dispute that
erupted between him and Abbas over the resignation of PA Finance
Minister Nabil Qassis.
Qassis, who was handpicked by Abbas, was
appointed as Finance Minister last year. While Fayyad accepted Qassis'
resignation, Abbas demanded that the finance minister be reinstated.
Fayyad's decision is also linked to recurring attacks against him and his government by senior Fatah officials.
In
recent weeks, several Fatah officials have publicly demanded the
resignation of Fayyad, holding him responsible for the sharp financial
crisis in the Palestinian territories.
Here's Ahlam Tamimi, who planned and helped carry out the suicide bombing attack at Sbarro's restaurant in Jerusalem in 2001 talking about the joy of the 'Palestinians' in the bombing's aftermath.
Four of the Israeli victims were in their twenties. One was the father of a four month old baby. Another was the father of a ten month old baby.
One victim was older. She was 42, and had been having fertility treatment for some time to try and get pregnant. Her final incoming call was the hospital calling her with the good news: she was pregnant.
Her final outgoing call was to her sister, to tell her the good news and how happy she was.
Her body was flown back to Israel last night and she was buried today.
The story reminded me of another victim of Islamic terror whose yahrtzeit (anniversary of date of death) is coming up in a little less than three weeks.
Here's our request.If you have Hebrew speaking friends or acquaintances who you feel should become aware of what has taken place in this sad and worrying extended affair, please point them totoday's articlein Haaretz - נדיבים לרוצחים. For your English-speaking friends, please refer them to theEnglish version of the same article (here on our blog). We have nothing more than this to ask. People should simply know. [The English article is also here. CiJ].
And please also mention to those friends that the two convicted terrorist/murderers about whom Frimet writes were married in a highly-publicized wedding ceremony (including live TV coverage - this was a major event in the Arab world) in Amman, Jordan, on June 16. As far as we can tell, not a single Israeli news source has reported this until now.
A snapshot of the blissful couple, one of many such pictures to appear in the Arab media, appears at the top of this blog posting.
Any of you who has read this blog for some period of time has seen me use the term NotInMyBackYard, which basically means that if it doesn't affect me personally, I don't care about it. For example, if bombs are going off in Sderot, none of the elites need to care because Tel Aviv is quiet. I have a friend who has a neat name for this kind of behavior - Bishvili Nivra HaOlam syndrome. The name is a takeoff on the Talmudic saying that every person must think that Bishvili Nivra HaOlam, the world was worthy of being created for me. Of course, the Talmud did not intend to say that the world is for me to the exclusion of everyone else.
As a people, we Israeli Jews are afflicted with Bishvili Nivra HaOlam syndrome. We don't timely pay our employees or contractors, we cheat on taxes, we cut in lines at banks and supermarkets, we drive like there are no other cars on the road even in the heaviest of traffic (and especially at night when there seems to be less chance of being caught), we remain indifferent to others' pain.... You all know that at least some of those things describe you... and me to a greater or lesser extent.
Eight months ago, the entire country was endangered to resolve a personal issue belonging to one family that was capable of resolution in other ways. Over 1,000 'Palestinian' terrorists were released in exchange for one kidnapped IDF soldier, Gilad Shalit. What was most striking about the release was the manner in which the families of terror victims were completely ignored. Victim impact statements were nowhere to be found. In fact, families of terror victims were unable to even obtain the most basic information from the government. It was as if they did not exist.
I've known Arnold Roth for about eight years - we were briefly colleagues at the same law firm. My eldest daughter was a couple of years ahead of his daughter, Malki HY"D (May God Avenge her blood) in school. Malki was one of 15 (really 16 - one woman remains in a coma to this day) people murdered at Sbarro's here in Jerusalem ten years ago. The planner of that attack, the woman who brought the bomber into Jerusalem, dropped him off outside the restaurant and then went back to Ramallah to gleefully broadcast the story on the evening news, was Ahlam Tamimi. Tamimi, who was released as part of the Shalit deal despite vehement protests from the Roth's and from many other people, is such a sadistic personality that she smiled with satisfaction at the television cameras when she was told in an interview that eight of the dead were children, and not three as she thought. She is a despicable excuse for a member of the human race.
Eleven days ago, in a move that is simply inexplicable, because it was not part of the Shalit deal, Tamimi's cousin Nizar Tamimi, who is also a murderer who was released as part of the Shalit deal, was allowed to move to Jordan to marry Ahlam, so long as he doesn't return to Israel or Judea and Samaria for five years. Once again, the government moved without consulting with either Nizar's or Ahlam's victims, thereby ensuring the perpetuation of a prominent terrorist family for at least another generation. When one compares this to the pitched battle the government fought to prevent Yigal Amir, the alleged assassin of Yitzchak Rabin z"l (of blessed memory), from consummating his marriage, the contrast could not be more striking. That's because Rabin was 'one of us' and Arnold and Frimet Roth, as immigrants from Australia and the United States, respectively, are not. But what's most striking about the Roths' battle to at least keep Tamimi in jail, or to keep her from procreating, is not that the government has not acceded to any of the Roth's requests, but that they have not even been willing to listen to them.
The article linked below, authored by Ben Cohen of Joint Media News Service, currently appears on the web editions of the Canadian Jewish News and of Algemeiner Journal. It describes the Roths' ongoing battle to force Tamimi to pay a price for her crimes. You can also read it here. I urge you all to read it.
Ahlam Tamimi's husband allowed to join her in Jordan
I have discussed Ahlam Tamimi, the brains behind the Jerusalem Sbarro massacre, more times than I can count on this blog.
When Tamimi, seen above reading a newscast about the Sbarro bombing on 'Palestinian' television shortly after the bombing, was released from prison as part of the terrorists for Gilad trade in October, she was exiled to Jordan, 'never' to return to Israel or the 'Palestinian Authority.' In Jordan, she has become a television star....
Meanwhile, Tamimi's cousin Nizar al-Tamimi, to whom she was betrothed, was released to Judea and Samaria as part of the same deal, and was not allowed to leave the area. Nizar al-Tamimi is also a murderer.
My friend Arnold Roth, whose daughter Malki was murdered in the Sbarro bombing, got wind last week that the Israeli government was preparing to remove the restriction that kept Nizar in the 'Palestinian Authority.' On Wednesday, Arnold and his wife, Frimet, wrote a letter to Prime Minister Netanyahu, which they republished - on Sunday - here.
On Sunday evening, Arnold and Frimet got word that Nizar was quietly permitted to cross into Jordan on Thursday. Did Arnold and Frimet's letter accelerate Nizar's departure? I leave that to the reader to contemplate.
The same government that fought dozens of court battles to prevent there being more Amir's in the world, has quietly facilitated the existence of future Tamimi's in the world.
Ahlam Tamimi hosting talk show on Hamas television
'Palestinian' terrorist Ahlam Tamimi, who is responsible for the murder of 15 people at a Sbarro's restaurant in Jerusalem in 2001, is now hosting a talk show on Hamas television. Tamimi was released from prison in October as part of the terrorists for Gilad deal.
Entitled Nasim Al-Ahrar [Breeze of the Free], Tamimi's show deals with the issue of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
The first program focused on the implications of the Schalit deal and the case of Palestinian female prisoners.
Tamimi hosted Saleh Arouri, who is in charge of the prisoners portfolio in Hamas and participated in the negotiations that led to the signing of the prisoner exchange accord.
Arouri said that the only way to secure the release of more Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails was by continuing the "resistance" and kidnapping IDF soldiers.
Sickening. The unmitigated gall of this woman is just beyond belief.
Chaya Schijveschuurder's remarks on Memorial Day 2010
Chaya Schijveschuurder spoke at the ceremony for terror victims on Memorial Day in 2010. When I read her words, they tore at me. You should read them too. Here's an excerpt. (The picture is from her Facebook page).
It was a Thursday. We went to Jerusalem to go shopping. We all went, all except the older boys. We spent some time walking around in the city, and then we were hungry. At first, we went to Angel’s bakery in the Bell Center, but Ra’aya didn’t want to eat there. I remember that Dad took money out of the instant teller outside, and then we went to eat at Sbarro’s. I remember that we ordered food. My mother, Ra’aya and Chemda went to sit down because they didn’t have the strength to continue standing. My father, Leah, Avraham Yitzchak and I went to pay, and then there was an explosion. Apparently, I fell. I didn’t understand what had happened.
They told me that I lost consciousness immediately, but I remember that I went outside, and just then a pole fell from the shock wave, and I remember that I went over it.
I didn’t see anyone from my family. I don’t remember whether I looked. Medics rushed to me and poured water on my. I was put into an ambulance, and Avraham Yitzchak was lying there, and I called to him, “Avraham Yitzchak! Avraham Yitzchak!” But he didn’t answer.
They took me out on a stretcher, and took me to the hospital. They brought me to the trauma room, and I remember that I yelled, “Bring me my father! Bring me my father!”
They took pictures of me, because they thought that I had lost consciousness, and wrote next to the picture, “Chaya, approximately 8 years old.”
I remember that they tore off my clothes. My leg was full of blood, and I asked them if they would amputate my leg. They answered, “What are you talking about, look what a beautiful leg you have.”
Afterwards, I remember that I saw an operating room there, and I became tense and started crying. They immediately sedated me for the operation.
When I opened my eyes right after the operation, I saw Nechama there, my brother’s girlfriend. I constantly asked her what time it was. That’s what they told me.
When I woke up the night after the attack, there were people from my community next to me. I asked them what had happened to the rest of the family, and they told me that everything was okay, that they were hurt like I was. Afterwards, my brothers came back from the funerals, and I remember that I asked them why their shirts were torn. Then they told me that my parents, Ra’aya, Avraham Yitzchak and Chemda were killed.
The first question I asked was, “What? Who will cook and clean the house?”
I remember that Leah was always crying and I couldn’t understand why. I think that for this reason, it was good I was little. That way, I remember less and I understood less what this was. I didn’t understand what had happened. I didn’t cry, and I didn’t understand at all what this meant. I didn’t feel pain, and all the time there were people visiting me in the hospital.
I remember that whenever they would change my bandages, I would hit the nurses because it really hurt. I would wake up in the middle of the night and ask whoever was with me to take me on a tour of the hospital. Every time, someone else would be watching me. I had three operations, because I had a lot of nails in my body.
...
Mom and Dad! I found the earrings that you bought me. How happy I am. I always miss you, and always when there is something in the class, I shed a few tears. I want the Mashiach to come already as fast as possible so that we can all go together to the Beit Hamikdash.
Video: Rare interview with the surviving members of the Schijveschuurder family
On Tuesday, Israel's Channel 10 showed a rare interview with the surviving members of the Schijveschuurder family, whose parents and three siblings were murdered in the Sbarro suicide bombing. There is now an internet version of the interview, and I have it for you. The interview is in Hebrew, but an English summary will follow. This is not easy to watch.
Let's go to the videotape.
Here's an English summary (which someone who saw the program live sent me):
The programme began with a little biographical detail about the family - olim from Holland. It then moved on to the actual terror attack itself. The three older boys, Ben Tzion (who now lives abroad), Meir and Shvuel were not present. Ben Tzion and Meir were both in the army and Shvuel (who was 16.5 at the time) was on his way back from the Kleizmer festival in Tzfat.
The programme documented their search (alone - no outside help) for the members of their family in various hospitals. As Meir did not have any ID proving his connection to one of his sisters, he was not allowed to see her as she lay dying in the operating theatre, but minutes later was asked to identify her body. He - an 18/19 year old - ended up organising the funerals all by himself. Hevra Kadisha even had the gall to demand money from him (20,000 shekels - later returned) for two burial plots, stating that he could only have three.
He and his older brother took care of the younger surviving children (the youngest was 8) in the family home with no outside help. At some point the social services tried to take the two younger girls into care, but they objected. Afterwards the girls were sent to live with a distant relative in Switzerland for about a year, but were very unhappy there and came back to Israel. Later they were sent to live with another distant relative in Israel, but that didn't last long either and Meir and his wife took them in, whilst also raising their own young family.
Shvuel seems to have 'fallen between the chairs' perhaps most of all... [I deleted something here. CiJ][H]is attempts to get that help from Bituach Leumi have been rejected.
The programme ended with a 'right of reply' statement from Bituach Leumi which the presenters said they had fact checked and found to be lacking on certain points.
Apparently there is a serious problem with people who, as children, lost both parents in terror attacks. (A lady orphaned by the Ma'ale Akrabim attack briefly mentioned similar problems). The system does not cater for them properly ans seems to work on the premise that they will be taken care of by the extended family, but in this case there was not much extended family to help. There is an attempt ongoing to try to change the law, but it is clear that this family has already sustained far too much damage because of the system's shortcomings.
On top of all that, of course, they now have to deal with the insensitivity surrounding the release of their parents' and siblings' murderer.
There's more about this.... But I've given you enough to think about for now.
Ahlam Tamimi, who quarterbacked the Sbarro terror attack ten years ago, tells an interview after her release from prison in the terrorists for Gilad trade that she has no regrets about what she did and would do it again.
US legally required to prosecute released terrorists
David Bedein of the Center for Near East Policy Research says in this interview that the United States is legally required to pursue and prosecute approximately 40 of the terrorists who were released by Israel this week under the Koby Mandell Act.
Let's go to the videotape.
I would start with an extradition request to Obama's good friend and ally Jordanian King Abdullah for Ahlam Tamimi - the quarterback of the Sbarro massacre.
Here's a video about some of the 'Palestinian heroes' who were released as part of the terrorists for Gilad trade on Tuesday.
Let's go to the videotape (Hat Tip: The Beguiling Avigayil - daughter #1, child #1). A transcript follows and I will have a comment after that.
The Palestinians are celebrating! They are getting 1027 of their heroes in a prisoners swap. Who are these heroes? Who are these brave "freedom fighters" and why where they in prison for the first place?
Walid Anjas, was sentenced to 36 life imprisonments for taking the lives of 36 people in 2002 in three separate terrorist attacks at the "Moment" bar in Jerusalem, at a students' restaurant in the Hebrew University and a night club in Rishon Le-Tzion city. All of his victims were innocent civilians, many of them teenagers. Anjas spent 8 years in jail before being released. The Judge wrote in his verdict that "whoever puts all of his efforts in taking the lives of women, men and children with no compassion, does not deserve to be among human beings".
Abdel-hadi Ganaim was sentenced to 16 life imprisonments, after killing 16 bus passengers by high jacking the bus and driving it off a cliff on July 1989.
Hossam Badran was sentenced to17 years in prison for his responsibility for the massacres that took place between 2001 and 2002 at the Tel Aviv Dolphinarium night club, at the Sbarro pizzeria in Jerusalem, at the Matza Restaurant in Haifa and at the Park Hotel in Netanya (during the Passover celebration), killing entire families.
Ahlam Tamimi was sentenced for 16 life imprisonments for her responsibility to the murder of 16 people, among them children and babies at the Sbarro pizzeria in Jerusalem in August 2001. In 2006 she claimed she would have murdered again if had the chance.
Amana Muna was sentenced for life imprisonment after using an Internet chat to tempt 16-year-old Ofir Rahum to come from Ashkelon to Ramallah, where he was ambushed and shot to death (January 2001).
Aziz Zalha was sentenced to 40 years in prison for brutally murdering two Israeli reserve soldiers who on 2000 got lost on their way and accidently arrived in Ramallah. Zalha became famous worldwide when he waved his bloody hands through the window of the building where the murder took place. In his verdict the Judges stated, that this incident revealed human nature in its lowest form. Neither a glimpse of compassion, a bit of humaneness, nor a trace of mercy could be found that day in Ramallah.
Each one of them will be welcomed with ceremonies, flowers, celebrations... Streets will be named after them... These are the Palestinian heroes...
Note that it's not just Ismail Haniyeh and Hamas who are celebrating the terrorists' release. The first celebration was being run by 'moderate' 'Palestinian' President Mahmoud AbbasAbu Mazen.
I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty-five years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 13 to 33 years and nine grandchildren. Four of our children are married! Before I started blogging I was a heavy contributor on a number of email lists and ran an email list called the Matzav from 2000-2004. You can contact me at: IsraelMatzav at gmail dot com
