Good-bye to Jason Greenblatt, a not-so-special representative

Ahlam Tamimi

Jason Greenblatt, the outgoing US Special Representative for International Negotiations, praised Israel and Jordan for their peace treaty which is 25 years old this week.

“The efforts of our two allies - Israel and Jordan - to find common ground and work to build a more peaceful and mutually beneficial relationship for their people is important,” tweeted Greenblatt, who is being fondly farewelled these days.

Sorry but I'm going to be a party pooper: Jason Greenblatt doesn't deserve a warm send-off.

First, it is abhorrent for him to refer to Israel and Jordan both as "our two allies" as if they are equally important and loyal to the US. 

Jordan has, for three years, defied the demand of the US Department of Justice to extradite the confessed mass murderer, Hamas operative, Ahlam Tamimi.

Jordan's current regime has declared the extradition treaty which its previous king signed with the US in 1995, to be null and void. The US says it is perfectly valid.

In 2011, Jordan's dictator, a.k.a.King Abdullah II, gave a red carpet welcome to Tamimi, murderer of eight Jewish adults and eight children in the 2001 Jerusalem Sbarro pizzeria bombing. He has since given her refuge and the unfettered freedom to thrive, travel and incite to terrorism.

It is appalling that Greenblatt swept all that under the carpet to commemorate the peace treaty between terror-abetting Jordan and Israel.

Lest anybody doubt that Greenblatt is aware of the above, please note: My husband and I tweeted Greenblatt not once, not twice but numerous times detailing Tamimi's crimes, the DOJ's futile attempts to bring her to justice and Jordan's stalwart refusal to extradite her. 

We shared with him, of course, that our fifteen year old daughter, Malki, perished in that attack.

Greenblatt has never deigned to respond to us in any manner or form.

It is particularly baffling that a man who professes to be G-d- and Torah-fearing would ignore a heartfelt plea for assistance in achieving justice.

Perhaps in his new role, devoid of honorifics, Mr. Greenblatt will see fit to acknowledge us and our fight.

Speaker Pelosi, please rectify this travesty of justice

Our heartache deepened as yet another US Congressional delegation flew to Amman, Jordan, this weekend to meet with and praise the terror-abetting King Abdullah II ["19-Oct-19: House Speaker Pelosi led an official visit today to the chief protector of our child's killer"]

Notwithstanding the demands of the impeachment inquiries, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi found the time to present the Jordanian dictator with the same adulation she lavished on him in March 2019 and then again in April 2019 in Washington DC.

US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Jordan's King Abdullah
make their way to a podium to deliver statements ahead of a meeting at the US Capitol in Washington, DC on March 13, 2019 (Photo: MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images [Source]

US leaders on both sides of the aisle persist in ignoring the fact that the object of their friendship steadfastly rejects the US Department of Justice's demand for the extradition of mass murderer, Ahlam Tamimi.

The blood of our daughter, Malki, a US citizen, and of the other 15 victims of Tamimi's terror bombing - of whom two more were Americans - cries out for justice.

The Jordan Times ["King meets with US Congress delegation"] reported Saturday night that yesterday's meeting

"also covered regional and international efforts to counter terrorism within a comprehensive approach. For their part, the US lawmakers commended Jordan’s efforts, led by His Majesty, in pursuit of peace and stability in the region, praising the King’s wisdom."

US media have remained mum about the encounter.

However we can probably trust the accuracy of the Jordanian report given that Ms. Pelosi is on record as stating at their March 2019 meeting:

"It is really a great honor, officially, personally, in every way, to welcome back to the Capitol His Majesty, King Abdullah II. With his leadership, America has a true partner: a partner for peace, a partner for progress."

And she is again on record as telling the King in April 2019:

"I had the privilege as my first act as Speaker - on my first invitation - to extend to a Head of State, to extend to His Majesty to be the first person to address a joint session of Congress when I became Speaker. So I think that says to you how important the relationship between our two countries is - between Jordan and the United States - how important the friendship is - that Members of Congress feel toward His Majesty - and how much we value his words of wisdom."

Is that any way to address a man who welcomed a confessed terrorist murderer with open arms and has, since 2011, given her a platform on TV and social media to incite millions of fans to commit fresh murders?

Instead of flattering him, Ms. Pelosi, use your clout to insist he abide by the extradition treaty his father signed and ratified in 1995.

Tamimi has evaded the rule of law for long enough. You, as a lawmaker, can rectify this travesty of justice.

Deal with the devil

Image Source: Haaretz October 19, 2011

On the eighth anniversary (today - October 18, 2019) of the infamous Shalit Deal, remember its painful and outrageous repercussions.

That deal between Israel and Hamas freed 1,027 (1) terrorists including hundreds of convicted murderers, some of whom promptly resumed their evil ways and murdered yet more Jews.

Releasee Ahlam Tamimi, murderer of eight children (including our precious daughter, Malki) and seven adults - and currently on the run from the FBI and the US Department of Justice - has been brazenly urging her fans to emulate her.

We can only guess how many more innocent children have lost their lives due to her incitement.

On this sad day, help us convince Congress and American Jewish leaders to pressure Tamimi's protector, Jordan's King Abdullah II, to extradite her. 

Defying the request made public two and a half years ago by the US Department of Justice that he do just that - and despite an extradition treaty from 1995 - he continues to provide this confessed terrorist with a safe haven.

Let's see an end to the warm relations everybody fosters with this terror-abetting king until he seats Tamimi on a US-bound plane to face justice.

Welcome to my SCN2A world

From a 2017 overview about the current knowledge
of SCN2A disorders, presented by Dennis Lal
of the Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research at the
Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT [via YouTube]

After a hectic period laden with stressful but (thank G-d) joyous events, I can finally refocus on this blog. 

First, to recap.

We now have a pretty firm diagnosis for Haya's symptoms after a 24 year hunt. 

While it is a de novo mutation of the SCN2A gene i.e. not hereditary (yay!), it has been an otherwise distressing discovery. That's because there is simply no effective treatment for it. 

The mutation causes a particularly severe and refractory epilepsy: Epileptic Encephalopathy Early Onset 11. It's sometimes called Early Infantile Epileptic Encephalopathy Type 11, and sometimes EIEE11.

Available anti-epileptic drugs are almost invariably useless, something we'd already concluded on our own after Haya's 24 years of relentless seizing.

Nonetheless, last month we brought Haya to a pediatric neurologist whom our geneticist had recommended highly. (She's booked up for the next year).

At that visit, she assured us she would study Haya's EEG's and her history and would then suggest medication changes as a first step. True, after the years of the med failures we've had, any new ones have no more than a 3% chance of success - but that isn't zero, as the doctor noted. 

So we all agreed it's the wisest first step.

Next, if we find Haya to be in the 97% majority med-wise, this doctor recommended we re-try the Ketogenic Diet. We had Haya on that diet some twenty years ago with minimal success and dropped it after 10 months because of serious, uncontrollable vomiting. 

 
But, as the doctor noted, we had had no professional guidance in calibrating the diet. So giving it a second shot with good medical intervention this time sounds wise.

If that diet fails again, she recommends going with a second VNS implantation. 

That was also a failure back in 2000 and we were bereft of sound medical guidance then too. So while I'm reluctant to subject Haya to surgery but if there's no alternative, we'll try it.

I also set up a Google Alert for the SCN2A gene and Epileptic Encephalopathy Early Onset 11. Not one of the journal articles I've been sent so far are relevant or helpful. Most weren't even about that gene! Are you listening Dr. Google?

Now a request.

The new neurologist, when I asked her, said she has no other patients with this syndrome. Our Haya, I think, may well enjoy the distinction of being the only such person in Israel.

If you know of anybody afflicted with it, please let me know. I will give you my personal details if requested in a blog comment.

A secret scandal

My murdered daughter Malki z"l

About thirty leaders of prominent American Jewish organizations gathered last week ["29-Sep-19: As we prepare for the High Holy Day season"] to honor a world leader they clearly esteem.

They accepted the royal invitation to join the ruler in a swank New York City hotel. The leader undoubtedly valued their acceptance of his invitation because his tightly-controlled news services all accorded the event significant coverage.

Conversely, the Jewish organizations involved made no mention whatsoever of the event.

The leader involved is Jordan's King Abdullah II, the same dictator who refuses to accede to the US demand for extradition of mass murderer, Ahlam Tamimi.

She is the bloodthirsty terrorist who has boasted of killing my child, Malki, along with 7 other children and a total of 15 innocent Jews. 

You may wonder what possessed those Jewish leaders when they chose to participate in King Abdullah's performance; how they could greet him without mentioning the protection and respect he has lavished on Tamimi for the past eight years.

From an Arab source, the Jews who breakfasted with the king

You may even be outraged, as my husband and I were, when one of those Jewish leaders told us he could not possibly divulge any details about the encounter because it was "off the record".

Obviously his and his colleagues commitments to King Abdullah outweigh any loyalty he owes the Jewish constituents he purports to serve.

On these days of awe when Jews the world over daily recite the prayer "Avinu Malkeinu" ["Our Father, Our King"], it is distressing to learn that the king these Jewish leaders actually revere is none other than the protector of the nefarious Tamimi, Jordan's King Abdullah II.