19-Nov-20: Putting justice back on the agenda

Today's Jerusalem Post

We did something yesterday that we have never done before.

We ordered a display advertisement in a mainstream newspaper: today's (Thursday’s) Jerusalem Post. Our message appears on its front page.

The timing of our ad is intended to coincide with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s visit to Israel that began yesterday afternoon (Wednesday November 18). 

Our hope is that he will see it at breakfast. And that perhaps he will think about the images we included, as well as the scriptural quote at the top of the text: “Justice, justice thou shalt pursue”.

The words from Deuteronomy (the Biblical book called Devarim in Hebrew) will be recited in the Jewish world's annual cycle of Torah reading when we get to Parshat Shoftim, the weekly portion called “Judges”. 

That happens next in August 2021. By coincidence, the same week will include the twentieth anniversary of the Sbarro pizzeria massacre.

There are two images in our Pompeo advertisement. One shows Malki. The other is of the devastated Sbarro pizzeria in the center of Jerusalem, minutes after a bomb placed by Ahlam Tamimi exploded inside. 

Tamimi, a Jordanian woman who arrived from her homeland alone, soon joined Fatah. And then, in June 2001 and aged 21, she switched to Hamas. She was evidently in search of something and found it that summer: the opportunity to kill Jews on a satisfyingly large scale. It was an opportunity she grabbed.

On the morning of July 27, 2001, a Friday, Tamimi carried a smallish made-by-Hamas bomb embedded inside a beer can and surreptitiously placed it on a shelf in what was then a Co-op Supermarket. This was located in the basement of a building on Jerusalem’s King George Street that locals knew as Hamashbir. It's an office building today with some shops at street level. She quickly left the scene.

The bomb fizzed with no serious damage except to the ambitious bomber’s pride. 

By her own account, she raged in fury at her Hamas handlers right afterwards and demanded something much larger. She got it ten days later: a diabolical exploding guitar case and a young religious fanatic eager to carry it on his back into whatever target Tamimi chose.

Tamimi scoured Jerusalem and chose Sbarro. The busy pizzeria with the good hashgacha (certificate of being kosher) was popular among religiously observant youngsters like Malki. Tamimi has for years wanted it to be known that her choice was based on the large number of Jewish children reliably inside at that hour. We don't know why this single fact does not lead every report ever published about this exceptionally cold-blooded murdering Islamist. It should.

Mostly behind the scenes, we have pressed the United States to insist Jordan extradites Tamimi since 2012. She has faced serious federal terror charges since they were unsealed by a team of senior department of Justice officials in a public event in March 2017. They had been issued secretly by a judge four years earlier.

This evidently was known to the senior members of Jordan’s political and royal power structure. That’s because secret – and entirely unsuccessful - efforts were made by high-level American officials for several years to persuade Jordan to hand Tamimi over to the FBI. They knew Tamimi was charged even before we (or even the US Congress) did. And to be clear about this central element: there's been an active and totally valid treaty between Jordan and the US since 1995 for the extradition of fugitives like Tamimi. The State Department said nothing for years about the way Jordan breaches that treaty in the Tamimi case (though not in other cases). It started being open and explicit about it late last year ["03-Nov-19: In Washington, a step towards bringing the Sbarro bomber to justice"]

Why should US charges and American justice even enter the Tamimi story? 

The simple answer: Because Malki had American citizenship via her New York-born mother. And there’s an American law that gives it the right and the obligation to go after terrorists who kill American nationals outside the territorial United States. Once taken into custody, the fugitive terrorist can be flown to the US and tried in a US court under US law. It’s what ought to have happened to Tamimi.

But first the FBI has to get its hands on the fugitive terrorist. 

The good news is the US and Jordan signed a treaty to facilitate extradition in both directions. That was in 1995, and in the years that followed extraditions were carried out on request just as the treaty stipulated. But something about the Tamimi case made it different for the Jordanians. They started refusing as soon as the requests arrived and have continued refusing right up until today [see "16-Nov-20: Justice, the Tamimi extradition and what Jordan tells Arabic media but not the world"]. The US has made clear its view that Jordan is wrong,

Tamimi not only lives in complete freedom under the patronage of the Jordanian government but has become a media celebrity there and in large parts of the Arab world. The details are chilling - almost beyond comprehension.

Our Jerusalem Post ad is a call to action to the Trump administration and specifically to its Secretary of State. There’s no political dimension to it - just a call to compel Jordan to abide by a bilateral treaty to which it is a party. And for pure and simple justice to be done.

We have made repeated efforts to recruit politicians to give our campaign some clout but they have borne no fruit. And it’s not that we’re on the wrong side of politics because we’re not on any side.

It’s also not that people actually refuse our request or argue with us or give us cogent reasons why Tamimi ought to be left alone. That’s of course not true about Jordan. There its media, some of its public officials and citizens enthusiastically stand with her.

What mostly happens is we’re ignored. Many of those we approach don’t return our calls or emails or look right through us if we happen to be speaking face to face.

How likely is it that this time will be different? Hard to know but it doesn’t matter to us. Tzedek tzedek tirdof, as the scripture says. Justice, justice though shalt pursue.

That’s our role.

We’re not alone. As our ad says, we have a petition (here - and it's not too late to sign if you haven't already). Thousands of people from everywhere – a not insignificant number of them from Arab countries and even from Jordan – have signed. Their support encourages and empowers us.

“Secretary Pompeo, it’s not too late to act” reads our banner headline. “We ask that you do what needs to be done so that Tamimi is at last brought to justice in Washington.”

Next week, after the American visitor leaves, we will go, just the two of us, to Malki’s grave. We do that every year on her birthday. This next time, we are going to have to deal with the reality that she would have become 35 years old that day - but instead she was ripped from our grasp and will not come back. 

We remember her precious life when we get together with our children and grandchildren. And we feel gratified and proud when we look at the exceptional work done daily by the Malki Foundation, the charitable organization that for the past nineteen years has served as a non-sectarian memorial to Malki's short but remarkably impactful life.

And at night when we dream that she is alive and hug her lovingly.

Secretaries of State come and go as do ambassadors and presidents, prime ministers and kings. What never goes away is the absolute need to keep justice at the center of our lives as families and as a society. Our advertisement comes to deliver that message to the breakfast table of movers and shakers as well as to the hearts of ordinary people everywhere.

- O -

Here below is the advertisement as published this morning on the front page of the Jerusalem Post's paper edition:

Click to enlarge.

UPDATE December 5, 2020: Not a word of media comment from any of the many reporters traveling with the Secretary of State. And no response from Secretary of State Pompeo or any of his spokespeople, advisers, assistants or relatives.

UPDATE January 19, 2021: Just silence. Nothing but silence.

UPDATE June 16, 2024: As the US election cycle bears down on the first Tuesday in November, and a handful of well-meaning observers publicly tell us to put our faith in the Trump party (one example among many), be aware that Pompeo's contemptible silence - and not only his personally but the silence of those around him in the State Department and in the White House of those years - has continued until today. 

21-Mar-17: Tamimi extradition: When it's claimed that something is illegal in Jordan...

Aljazeera's Arabic-language news did a poll on March 18, 2017.
Its viewers voted Ahlam Tamimi the biggest story of the week
[Image Source: Aljazeera video grab]

The Jerusalem Post has a report today ["Jordan turns down US extradition request for Sbarro terrorist", March 21, 2017] written by Ben Lynfield on efforts to bring our daughter's murderer to justice. It includes a portion of an interview they did last night with Arnold Roth. 

Extracts:

The ruling means that Tamimi will be able to continue her career as a television host admired for striking a devastating blow against the Israeli enemy rather than face trial and possible death penalty in the US. Tamimi caused the deaths of 15 civilians, including eight children and one pregnant woman and the wounding of 130 people. Two of the dead were US citizens...
Arnold Roth, whose 15-year-old daughter Malki was killed in the attack, told The Jerusalem Post in response to the Jordanian decision that “four years have passed since the sealed complaint was filed with a judge in Washington. It seems reasonable that the Jordanians have known for some time that the US had an interest in bringing Tamimi before a US judge and that there were ups and downs in those discussions. Jordan is not a democracy, it is a monarchy where governments are created by the king at will.
“When the rest of the world is told something is illegal in Jordan a discerning observer would understand that the people who run Jordan have decided that such and such is now illegal. What’s beyond doubt is that in 1995 Jordan signed an extradition treaty with the US and nothing changed between 1995 and 2017. They certainly don’t have a new constitution,” he said.
“It’s worth pointing out that Tamimi’s first stop when she arrived in Jordan in October 2011 was to a courthouse, the Family Court of Jordan in Amman, where there was a celebration – a public reception to celebrate her freedom and return home.”

King Abdullah II rules as monarch of the Hashemite
Kingdom of Jordan

We wrote about that extraordinary 2011 Jordanian gala reception two days ago [here]. Of the various challenges facing Tamimi, Jordan's court don't appear to be at the top of the list.

They also appear not to be a major concern of the kingdom's authoritative English-language news site, Jordan Times, which (as far as we can tell and we check daily) has not mentioned her or the extradition process even once since they became an issue a week ago. This is in sharp contrast to the general Arab public which voted strongly in an Aljazeera poll a week ago to declare Tamimi as the news person of the week (see photo at the top of this post).

One more aspect of the Jordanian court's ruling: given the extreme gravity of the charges against Tamimi, and the fact that she confessed in court when first tried and then over and again on television since then, might the Jordanian judges have considered placating the Americans by suggesting she stand trial for the same charges in Jordan? Whatever the merits, the fact is they didn't.

Readers wanting a better understanding of the Jordanian political system and its precious constitution ought to see "Jordan’s 2016 constitutional amendments: A return to absolute monarchy?" on the ConstitutionNet website. Also: "Jordan changes constitution to give King more power" (Aljazeera, April 26, 2016). Lots of choice quotes there that curious reporters and their editors could (but so far don't) use in giving context to Jordan's evasion of its 1995 extradition treaty obligations to the United States.

UPDATE March 23, 2017 at 7:00 pm: Over on Elder of Ziyon's outstanding site, there's a new Daled Amos post today ["Jordan Extradited A Terrorist, A Jordanian National, to the US, For the 1995 World Trade Center Bombing - So Why Not Now?"] that bears on these issues. It starts with this:

The story the Jordanians are telling us is that terrorist Ahlam Tamimi, who masterminded the Sbarro massacre, cannot be extradited to the US, because there is no treaty. The Jordanian High Court recognizes that an extradition treaty was signed with the US in 1995, but that it is null... The problem is that this is not true. The extradition treaty between the US and Jordan may or may not have been approved by the Parliament, but it was signed by King Hussein. More importantly, in 1995 Jordan did recognize the treaty. The New York Times recounts that the same treaty the Jordanian court is now saying is null, was in fact used to allow...

Click to read what it allowed. How likely is it that those learned Jordanian judges in Amman considered what Daled Amos has noticed?

27-Jan-10: Saving lives, getting criticized: same old same old

The Jerusalem Post's Shmuel Rosner hits the nail on the head with blog comments addressing the nonsensical and offensive criticism of Israel's successful efforts to save lives in Haiti.

Some excerpts (the whole article is here):

Here's the Electronic Intifada criticizing the media for its positive spin of this humanitarian effort: "A few media outlets have pointed out the discrepancies in Zionist self-congratulation".

And the estimable NYT showing very little understanding of Israel's true feelings by claiming that "Israelis have been watching with a range of emotions, as if the Haitian relief effort were a Rorschach test through which the nation examines itself. The left has complained that there is no reason to travel thousands of miles to help those in need - Gaza is an hour away". "Range of emotions" meaning what? That 99% support the effort and 1% complain about Gaza? That 99% feel proud about this humanitarian effort and 1% feel the need to politicize even the simplest act of compassion and demonstrate, yet again, that they've lost their collective minds?

Anyway. Since this the why-Haiti-but-not-Gaza nonsense is gaining traction, maybe some reminders are necessary. Here we go:

1. Because Haitians never bombed Israeli towns.
2. Because the government of Haiti never declared that it wanted Israel to be eliminated.
3. Because no Haitian suicide bomber was caught trying to reach an Israel bus stop of cafe.
4. Because while Gazans' suffering should not be belittled, I don't remember any report claiming that 100,000 Gazans are dead because of Israeli blockade. Not even the Goldstone report.
5. Because it's easier sending rescue workers and doctors in uniform into a place in which Israelis in uniform are well received.
6. Because no Israeli soldier is being kept hostage in Haiti, and there's no standing Haitian demand for the release of hundreds of terrorists from Israeli jails.
7. Because Haiti had no way of stopping the earth-quake and the government of Gaza can easily make life better for its people by changing course.

CNN, reporting from the devastated eartrhquake zone on Day 6, pointed out that no one other than the Israelis, had managed to get a properly functioning hospital clinic together in Haiti as of the day of the report. The Israelis, and only the Israelis, were out there successfully leveraging medicine and humanitarian values to save lives.

Skeptics are welcome to step into any Israeli hospital (any one - without exception) and walk into the pediatric ward. From our experience (unfortunately we have a lot of that), many and often most of the children and families getting the benefit of world-class Israeli medicine are Arabs. No Israeli, whether Arab or Jew, thinks this is odd.

25-Sep-06: On Radical Islam and the Global Economy

Writing his weekly column on economic issues in the Jerusalem Post, the business journalist Pinchas Landau makes some original and worthwhile observations (in an accompanying note he calls them mildly apocalyptic) about Islam and the central role its plays in some relation to certain issues that you find surprising:

Looking back over the outgoing Jewish year, it is plain that the outstanding global events shared a common theme – they all involved radical Islam. These events were (a) the publication of and (belated – the fuss started two months later) uproar over the Mohammed cartoons in Denmark; (b) the Israeli campaign against Hezbollah; (c) the protests following the Pope's reference to Mohammed and his legacy in a lecture last week.

Of these, the last seems to me by far the most important, both in itself and because it confirms and extends the implications arising from the others. This conclusion is being borne out by the fallout from 'the Pope incident', as expresssed in every kind of communications medium – but most especially in the rapidly-growing 'blogosphere'. Whereas the response of the West, primarily its secular majority but also its religious minority, to the cartoons was dominated by confusion, embarrassment and ultimately surrender; and whereas the response of the West to the second Lebanon war was, overwhelmingly, to blame Israel and the Jews for causing trouble; this time is very different... The intensity of the response across the Moslem world tells its own story and reinforces the message from the earlier round of rage, inspired by the Mohammed cartoon.

Ironically, the secular world – from neo-liberals to Marxists to post-modernists – has been more shaken by the Moslem fury that followed 'the Pope incident', than it was by the backlash to the Mohammed cartoons. They and other neutral parties – such as Jews, Protestants and even Hindus – to this clash between Roman Catholicism and Islam seem to grasp implicitly that this is not funny, nor is their traditional dislike of the Catholic Church an excuse for some schadenfreude. On the contrary: people finally realised that there is a global war going on after all, and that, despite all protestations to the contrary, it is about religion.

Until this week, enormous efforts have been expended in 'the West' – a very loose term that in this context includes Japan, Russia and probably even China – to deny that the world has a problem with the extremist versions of Islam, which now dominate the Moslem world and agenda. This epiphanic moment is only partially due to 'the Pope incident' and is probably more the cumulative outcome of all the 'incidents' over the last year and indeed decade.

What has all this to do with the global economy? A great deal, actually. 'The Pope incident' may prove to be the turning-point for Europe, when it finally realises that it has a choice between seeking to preserve the culture it developed over the last 1000-1500 years – which is, at root, a Christian culture – and between rolling over and dying under a Moslem demographic and cultural onslaught. If so, everything now taken for granted by economists – such as the primacy of mainstream socio-economic issues in the political life of 'the West', and especially of European Union countries – goes out of the window. When you are fighting for your national, cultural -- let alone spiritual -- existence, inflation targets and debt: GDP ratios become less, dare one say, sacrosanct.

As for the Israeli economy, the idea that we are in peril has reasserted itself powerfully these last two months and is beginning to impact economic and social policy making. But if 'the Pope incident' proves to be the precursor to an anti-Moslem backlash in Europe, the continent's Jews will surely revert to their historic role of being caught in the middle. Expect, therefore, to hear a lot more French in your neighborhood soon.

The whole column's here.

8-Sep-06: Following Up the Almost-Entirely Unreported Story of Yet Another Stabbing

On 5th September, just a few days ago, we wrote about a stabbing in the Atarot industrial zone, not far from our north Jerusalem home.

Today it's reported that a Fatah operative, Ramaz Da'ar Haj, 24, from the village of Beituniya near Ramallah, was apprehended Tuesday. The Jerusalem Post says he had worked at two factories in the zone, had planned the attack well in advance, telling investigators that he had repeatedly practiced stabbing on his bedroom mattress.

Haj told investigators that he planned to carry out an attack on a Jew a year and a half ago in the city's northern French Hill neighborhood but changed his mind after encountering police in the area. On the morning of the attack, he came upon the factory worker and stabbed him in the shoulder from behind. The attacker had also concealed a second knife in the sole of his shoe, planning to stab his police investigators as well.

If, like us, you search for the terms "Palestinian" + "Unemployment" on Google News right now, this minute, you'll get 376 hits. The very first of them starts like this:

Some 75 percent of Palestinians live in poverty while there is a 65 percent unemployment rate...

It's from Socialist Worker Online, and there's nothing on that site about a 63 year-old proletarian Israeli being stabbed by a "desperate", terrorism-minded thug, strangely enough. Many of the other Google News results are along similar lines.

Meanwhile (as you can see from the picture at right, above) other Fatah operatives spent today trashing (again) the Palestinian parliament building in Gaza City. Thousands of them, well armed with expensive, high-power weapons that the PA say they can't afford, smashed windows in a violent protest on the fourth day of a strike called by Mahmoud Abbas over non-payment of civil service salaries.

Stabbing Israelis in the handful of industrial zones which employ Palestinian workers is a sure way to get those salaries paid.