(Part of this article originally appeared on JNS.org)
Jordan’s defiance in protecting Ahlam Tamimi—the terrorist who masterminded the 2001 Sbarro Massacre—may be even more appalling than the attack itself. For more than two decades, Jordan has celebrated Tamimi as a hero while rejecting U.S. demands to honor its 1995 extradition treaty and surrender her to face justice. In July 2021, Arnold Roth, whose 15-year-old daughter Malki was murdered in the bombing, posed a painful question in The Free Press: Will Joe Biden Grant My Daughter Justice?
In 1995, Eyad Ismoil was extradited to the US for his involvement in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
In 2006, Mohammad Zaki Amawi was extradited for plotting attacks against US targets.
In 2015, Nader Saadeh was extradited for conspiracy to provide material support to ISIS. Saadeh, along with others, allegedly planned to travel to Syria to join ISIS and engage in terrorist activities.
In past years, there has been political pressure in Washington for extradition, or at least for an explanation of the government's timid acceptance of Jordan's refusal to take action. On March 19, 2019, twenty Congressmen sent a letter to then-Secretary of State Pompeo, requesting the US State Department maintain the extradition of Al-Tamimi as a high priority with the Government of Jordan." On August 22, 2019, Jerry Nadler, then Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to Attorney General William P. Barr, asking that he "provide information regarding the current status of the DOJ's effort to overcome [Jordan's] objections" and that he "resolve this case swiftly." The series of Congressional letters culminated with a letter in April 30, 2020, addressed to the Jordanian ambassador, concluding that "seeing Jordan provide a professed bomber with legal impunity...amounts to a deeply troubling scenario."
The lives of three U.S. nationals and one unborn American child ended in the Sbarro conflagration. One was a newly married young woman, herself an only child, visiting from New Jersey. She was pregnant with her first baby. Next, a young mother was catastrophically brain-damaged, alive but in a vegetative coma to this day. (The toddler daughter she was eating pizza with survived unharmed and grew up motherless.) And finally, our Malki, an American citizen because her mother is a native New Yorker.
The mother succumbed to her injuries and passed away in 2023.
Jordan defends its refusal to extradite Tamimi to the US, claiming the treaty is not valid and was never ratified. Jordan's claim is bogus.
Jordan defends its refusal to extradite Tamimi to the US, claiming the treaty is not valid and was never ratified. Jordan's claim is bogus.
Roth points out that for more than 20 years, Jordan never denied the validity of the treaty. On the contrary, Jordan has extradited 3 Jordanian terrorists to the US in accordance with the agreement:
The treaty's validity was further established in 2021, when Roth and his wife sued the US government for documents related to the extradition treaty under the Freedom of Information Act. Among the documents was the declaration by King Hussein to the US government on July 13, 1995, giving his personal guarantee on the treaty:
With the help of God and His guidance,
We, Hussein I, King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, having reviewed the Extradition Treaty signed in Washington on March 28, 1995 between the Government of the Hashemite [Kingdom] of Jordan and the Government of the United States of America, do hereby declare our agreement to and ratification of that Treaty in whole and in part. We further pledge to carry out its provisions and abide by its Articles, and We, God willing, shall not allow its violation.
Accordingly, we have ordered that Our Seal be affixed to it, and We have signed it properly.
Issued on this day the Fifteenth of Safar, 1416 H, corresponding to July 13, 1995, by the Hashemite Court.
The Roths received the State Department's authorized Arabic-to-English translation:
It was accompanied by a copy of the Arabic original:
In past years, there has been political pressure in Washington for extradition, or at least for an explanation of the government's timid acceptance of Jordan's refusal to take action. On March 19, 2019, twenty Congressmen sent a letter to then-Secretary of State Pompeo, requesting the US State Department maintain the extradition of Al-Tamimi as a high priority with the Government of Jordan." On August 22, 2019, Jerry Nadler, then Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to Attorney General William P. Barr, asking that he "provide information regarding the current status of the DOJ's effort to overcome [Jordan's] objections" and that he "resolve this case swiftly." The series of Congressional letters culminated with a letter in April 30, 2020, addressed to the Jordanian ambassador, concluding that "seeing Jordan provide a professed bomber with legal impunity...amounts to a deeply troubling scenario."
There have been some indications of results from that pressure. On October 1, 2020, Nizar Tamimi, the husband of Ahlam Tamimi, was forced to leave the country when the government refused to renew his residency permit. He currently resides in Qatar, while his wife stays in Jordan.
But more concrete steps are being discussed. On July 17, the Roths met with Jeanine Pirro, the US Attorney for the District of Columbia, who plays a key role in extraditions, in a video conference. They have yet to meet with the Secretary of State in their pursuit of justice, though they did meet with US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on May 13 during a private meeting at the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem on May 13, when they presented him with a petition with over 30,000 signatures urging more pressure on Jordan.
August 9th marked the 24th anniversary of the Sbarro Massacre.
Pressure on the Trump Administration was also evident last month, during the State Department Press Briefing on July 22nd. Mike Wagenheim, the senior US correspondent for I24 News, asked:
Number one, Justice Department officials held a discussion on Thursday with the parents of Malki Roth, the American citizen who was murdered with two others in the Sbarro bombing in Jerusalem back in 2001. The discussion centered around the possible extradition of Jordanian national Ahlam Tamimi. The Jordanians get a billion and a half dollars a year in foreign aid. Democratic and Republican administrations have skated by on this extradition issue for a decade and a half now at least. What’s preventing Secretary Rubio from pushing the Jordanians to finally go through with this extradition?Spokesperson Tammy Bruce promised to get more information. Two days later, Wagenheim was back:
Last question for you. Hopefully I’ll drag an answer out of you on this one. I asked in Tuesday’s briefing about why Secretary Rubio is not pushing harder for the extradition of Ahlam al-Tamimi from Jordan. I was given a written answer by the State Department on that yesterday, after you guys took it back. It basically said we continue to impress upon the Government of Jordan to bring her to justice.
President Trump said on day one – his executive order – American citizens come first in American foreign policy, America and American citizens. Secretary Rubio put out his three questions. Every dollar spent, every program has to answer in the affirmative one of three questions: Does it make America safer? Does it make America stronger? Does it make America more prosperous? I’m sure you have these memorized by heart. A billion and a half dollars of foreign aid to Jordan – how is it conceivable that Tamimi is still there and any of that falls under these dictates of what American foreign policy is supposed to be, with three dead Americans at Tamimi’s hands?
Deputy spokesperson Thomas Pigott responded that the US "has continually emphasized" to Jordan that Tamimi has to be held accountable and that the US "continues to impress" upon them that she should be brought to justice--not the kind of pressure Wagenheim was asking about.
But more concrete steps are being discussed. On July 17, the Roths met with Jeanine Pirro, the US Attorney for the District of Columbia, who plays a key role in extraditions, in a video conference. They have yet to meet with the Secretary of State in their pursuit of justice, though they did meet with US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on May 13 during a private meeting at the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem on May 13, when they presented him with a petition with over 30,000 signatures urging more pressure on Jordan.
August 9th marked the 24th anniversary of the Sbarro Massacre.
For years, Tamimi’s continued freedom has been a blatant symbol of impunity and a painful affront to the victims’ families. Lately, we are again seeing signs of pressure being applied to the Trump Administration. The recent involvement of the U.S. Attorney’s office, continued high-level meetings, and public pressure signal a possible shift and a re-energizing of the push to finally hold Jordan accountable for its obligations. It’s time to put aid on the line and force Jordan to choose between Tamimi and $1.5 billion.
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