A group of prominent New York rabbis have met with and written a letter to Rep. Jerrold Nadler and the House Judiciary Committee to enforce the extradition of Ahlam Tamimi from Jordan.
Here's the letter:
Hon. Jerrold Nadler
Chairman, U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary
House of Representatives
Washington, D.C.
Subject: Extraditing FBI Most Wanted Terrorist Ahlam Tamimi
Dear Hon. Mr. Nadler,
The 2001 Sbarro Massacre in Jerusalem has traumatized the Jewish community worldwide. A suicide bomber entered the crowded Sbarro pizza shop and blew himself up, murdering 15 civilians, including 7 children and a pregnant woman, and wounding 130. Malka Roth and Judith Greenbaum, pregnant with her first child, were US citizens and were killed in this senseless act of violence. A third US citizen, Joanne Chana Nachenberg, was left in a vegetative state in the bombing and remains unconscious. She is not counted among the dead. Her toddler daughter has been raised these past 17 years without a mother. It was one of the most vicious and heartless attacks modern society has seen.
Two years ago, on March 14, 2017, Department of Justice officials announced federal charges against Ahlam Tamimi, who took an active role in this horrific massacre. The DOJ announcement says Tamimi, now a Jordanian national, is charged under US federal law with conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction against US nationals outside the US, resulting in death. It calls Tamimi “an unrepentant terrorist who admitted to her role in a deadly terrorist bombing” that resulted in a massive number of casualties.
Despite being listed on the “FBI Most Wanted Terrorist” list, with a $5 million bounty on her head, Tamimi is living fearlessly, in Jordan, taking great pride in the crimes she has committed. Family members of Americans massacred with Tamimi’s help have repeatedly reached out to the DOJ and State Department officials on this matter and have yet to receive a meaningful reply.
We, the undersigned rabbis and community leaders from across the 10th District of New York, appeal to you in your role as Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee to seek the enforcement of DOJ policy and demand the enforcement of the 1995 Jordan-US Extradition Treaty. We demand the DOJ stand by its word and enforce its own policies. We are asking your Committee to inquire into whether the State Department is properly coordinating with the Justice Department as well as taking appropriate action necessary to bring Tamimi to America for justice.
Sincerely,
Rabbi Allen Schwartz, Congregation Oheb Zedek
Rabbi Menachem Genack, Congregation Shomrei Emunah
Rabbi Jason Herman, Hudson Yards Synagogue
Rabbi Dovid Zirkind, The Jewish Center
Rabbi Elchanan Poupko, Congregation Ramath Orah
Cantor Zev Salomon Muller, West Side Institutional Synagogue
Rabbi Gideon Shloush, Congregation Adereth El
Rabbi Mark Wildes, Manhattan Jewish Experience
Rabbi Chezky Wolff, Tribeca Synagogue and Chabad of Tribeca
Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, Founder, Chancellor Emeritus and Rosh HaYeshiva of Ohr Torah Stone; Founding rabbi of the Lincoln Square Synagogue
Rabbi Shaul Robinson, Senior Rabbi, Lincoln Square Synagogue
Rabbi Aaron D. Mehlman, Senior Rabbi Congregation Ohav Shalom
Rabbi Zvi Farber, Congregation Beth Israel
Rabbi Shlomo Kugel, Chabad of the Upper West Side
Rabbi Steven Eisenberg Eisenberg, Director, Jewish International Connection New York
Rabbi Yehuda Lipskier Chabad of Lincoln Center and Riverside South.
Rabbi Avrohom Marmorstein, Congregation Minchas Chinuch of the West Side
Rabbi Moshe Snow, Senior Rabbi, Young Israel Beth El of Borough Park