25 years after Sbarro: A mother’s longing
Twenty-five years ago, at precisely this hour, I sat at my computer as I am now, typing an article. My TV was on for background noise but it suddenly distracted me with news of a terror attack in Jerusalem. I had no inkling that my life had just been upended forever.
Twelve more long hours would pass before Arnold and I received the phone call from our sons, Pinchas and Shaya, telling us that the body they had gone to view in the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute in Tel Aviv was indeed our precious Malki.
Today, because of the nice round number of 25 and the catchy sound of “a quarter of a century,” that horrific attack is being widely remembered in the media, both mainstream and social.
For us, though, the loss of Malki, of her radiant smile, her generous heart, her magnificent flute playing and melodious singing, her prolific artistic works, her warm embrace of everyone surrounding her – friends and family – is always a source of pain and longing.
We have lived with that grief alongside the knowledge that on the morning of August 9, 2001, our leaders knew that an armed terrorist was walking the streets of Jerusalem intending to commit an attack. That acknowledgement was officially made both in government records and on the air. Inexplicably, the authorities decided that day to alert the hospital emergency rooms but not us, the ordinary citizens.
And so while we were already in the throes of the bloody Second Intifada, I allowed Malki to travel to the city with her friend Michal Raziel, who stood behind her on line for a pizza. The two are buried side by side.
We have also lived with the knowledge that our current prime minister saw fit to release from prison the mastermind of the Sbarro bombing – in which 16 innocents including eight children perished – in the so-called Shalit Deal. Ahlam Tamimi was repatriated to her home, Jordan, to thrive, boast of her “success” and urge her millions of fans to follow in her bloody footsteps.
We endure the knowledge that the indictment of that evil woman by the US Department of Justice in 2013 and its demand that Jordan extradite her to stand trial in the US have borne no fruit.
Jordan refuses to comply with the valid Jordan/US extradition treaty of 1995. And nobody is pursuing its compliance.
Perhaps “a quarter of a century” and the publicity it has garnered will inspire the outrage this travesty of justice deserves. Perhaps Tamimi will finally be plucked from the “rose garden” in which she revels to stand trial in the US.
Three of her victims, including our Malki, were US citizens.
One indication that this step may be imminent has been the impressive involvement in our struggle of US Ambassador Huckabee, particularly on August 9th, the anniversary. See for instance, this article: US ambassador calls for extradition of Sbarro terrorist on 25th anniversary of grisly bombing
To those of our friends and loved ones who have remembered Malki, commented here and written to Arnold and me privately – thank you so much.
