Two thousand days

Click image to enlarge

Today is Day 2,000.

That's how long it has been since our Malki's murderer, Jordanian fugitive Ahlam Aref  Ahmad Al-Tamimi, was indicted by the United States Department of Justice on terror charges ["Individual Charged in Connection With 2001 Terrorist Attack in Jerusalem That Resulted in Death of Americans"].

But she remains free.

The consequent demand that Jordan - where she was born, raised and educated and to which she returned in October 2011 - extradite her to be tried in a US court has been refused by King Abdullah II's regime. 

Never mind that the valid US/Jordan extradition treaty cited by the DOJ was signed and ratified by both countries in 1995. And that Jordan breaches it, according to the State Department.

Never mind that Abdullah's own father, the widely respected King Hussein, formally ratified it, declaring via the use of the Royal "we": 

"We further pledge to carry out its provisions and abide by its Articles, and We, G-d willing, shall not allow its violation. 

Never mind that Tamimi is one of the FBI's Most Wanted Terrorists with a $5 million reward for her capture. (But in reality it's hard to see why any reward is called for since her whereabouts in Jordan are public knowledge.)

It would be hard to find a more egregiously defiant reaction by a purported US ally - an ally that depends on generous, ongoing financial backing from its benefactor totaling close to US$2 billion annually.

Jordan's conduct has been variously ignored, excused or justified by nearly every politician and influencer that we have approached.

That stance crosses the aisle, religious lines and geographical boundaries.

It is shared by many respected Jewish organizations and leaders whom we plan to name at some suitable moment. I am certain many of you will be shocked to learn them.

For now, please... remember, condemn and rage with us against this travesty of justice.

Learning from Putin

Tamimi's FBI Wanted poster - and my Malki in a family portrait

If we needed convincing that a single bloodthirsty, hateful individual can inflict widespread carnage and fear, we certainly have it now.

 
One after another, pundits have uttered the same words, "I never believed Putin would do this."

There is another bloodthirsty, hateful individual on the loose. But unlike Putin, she can be easily arrested, tried, convicted and imprisoned. 

Ahlam Tamimi, self-confessed mass murderer, is living a free, charmed life in Amman, Jordan. At any moment she can be found inciting millions to terror and murder from various social media and mainstream media platforms. 

She has already murdered fifteen innocents including eight children - a deed she boasts of repeatedly to her followers.

 
Tamimi, who stole our precious 15 year old daughter, Malki from us, is one of 25 FBI Most Wanted Terrorists. The poster they issued says in bold text: SHOULD BE CONSIDERED ARMED AND DANGEROUS.

In 2017, she was indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice which demanded her extradition to the US by King Abdullah's government. Despite a valid treaty for that purpose signed and ratified in 1995, Jordan responded: Nothing doing.

But then all efforts to halt her campaign of death and destruction ended. And nobody, but nobody, is interested in jump-starting the pursuit.

 
Not the State Department. Not the White House. Not the Jewish American leaders and the influential organizations they run. Not the Israeli government.

King Abdullah, the unelected, authoritarian ruler of Jordan, has succeeded in silencing all of the above. An impressive English accent, wide vocabulary and glib, smooth-talk will get you far in today's realpolitik. Justice doesn't feature too often. Abdullah leaves no doubt about that.

Until now, my husband and I and a small group of friends and supporters have been the only ones determined to tackle this monster and have her brought to justice in a US court.

Perhaps the lesson Putin has taught us all will also alert the powers-that-be to the dangers of a free Tamimi.

Forever fifteen, forever missed

The last photo taken of Malki as she took part in a birthday party of
a classmate on the night of August 8, 2001. Malkiwas murdered at
2:00 pm the next day. 

A slightly different version of this essay was first published on the Times of Israel website a few days ago under the title "Forever fifteen". Malki's birthday is November 27.

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Today we mark yet another agonizing birthday. 

My sweet daughter Malki would now be thirty-five years old if Hamas operative Ahlam Tamimi had made some misstep on August 9, 2001.

But Tamimi was and still is a seasoned, determined, efficient and blood-thirsty terrorist.

In the Sbarro bombing which she confesses she masterminded and which she calls “my operation”, seven babies and children perished with nine adults - some parents alongside their offspring. It was an unmitigated massacre.

Never could we have imagined that her murderer would now be free as a bird - and protected by a ruler who is coddled by both the United States and Israel – King Abdullah II of Jordan.

Tamimi's stated determination to kill Jews is matched only by the determination of world leaders to ignore our pleas to correct the travesty of justice that Tamimi's freedom embodies.

Our letters, phone calls, op-eds, tweets and front-page advertisement have fallen on deaf ears. They have only elicited excuses, evasive double talk, or total silence from most of the people who could easily assist us if they cared to.

There are no obstacles in their path: 

• Legislation has existed for years empowering the US to arrest, try and convict terrorists in US courts under US law if they kill a US national, which Malki was. 
• In 1995, an extradition treaty was signed and ratified between the US and Jordan and accepted valid by both countries. The State Department still takes that view. 
• Tamimi was added to the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorists list in 2017. A $5 million State Department reward for her capture and conviction was announced in 2018. 
• Legislation enacted in 2019 empowers the US to impose a foreign aid sanction on any country failing to abide by its treaty obligation to the US, a measure likely directed at Jordan.

June 2001 - the last family celebration we ever had
with Malki present

None of the steps that could be taken to right this moral wrong has been taken.

It is demoralizing to realize that politicians, religious leaders, community figureheads and journalists across the board just don't care about seeking justice when doing so is unlikely to win them kudos.

Of course, we nevertheless intend to continue this fight. 

On this birthday, we cannot embrace Malki or the family we dreamed she would be blessed with by now. We can only write the next email or make the next phone call with the prayer that it will hasten Tamimi's long awaited extradition.