While Ahlam Tamimi, the mastermind of the 2001 Jerusalem pizzeria bombing, enjoys legal protection in neighboring Jordan, her 16th victim — 53-year-old Chana Nachenberg — died in a Tel Aviv hospital after 22 years in a coma. New York-born Nachenberg was at the restaurant with her two-year-old daughter, who was also injured in the bombing.
Ahlam Tamimi, a Hamas terrorist of Jordanian nationality, received 16 consecutive life sentences from an Israeli court for orchestrating the suicide bombing. In 2011, She was released in exchange for an Israeli soldier held in Hamas captivity for five years.
According to Tamimi’s own admission, she chose the popular West Jerusalem restaurant because it was well-frequented by religious Jews. The suicide bomber, on Tamimi’s orders, blew himself up inside the Sbarro pizzeria. The blast initially killed 15 people, including seven children and a pregnant woman. More than 130 people were injured in the bombing.
Noting her role in the Sbarro bombing, Professor William A. Jacobson wrote in a 2021 post that “Tamimi picked the restaurant because of the many religious Jews who ate there, surveilled the location using her press pass for ease of transit, and after the bombing went back to her Palestinian TV station to cover the bombing live on air.”
Tamimi remains an unrepentant terrorist. “In multiple interviews over the years, she has repeated that her biggest regret is that she didn’t kill more people, and expressed pleasure in finding out from the interviewer that more children died in the bombing than she originally thought,” Professor Jacobson added.
“The US is still seeking the extradition of a Palestinian woman in Jordan convicted as an accomplice in the 2001 suicide bombing,” The Times of Israel reported Thursday. “Two American citizens were among the victims, including 15-year-old Malki Roth, whose parents have waged a campaign to get the terrorist, Ahlam Aref Ahmad Al-Tamimi, extradited to the US.”
Tamimi is on the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorists list for plotting even deadlier attacks on U.S. nationals. The U.S. is “seeking her extradition on charges of conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction against Americans,” the BBC reported Thursday. Jordan, where Tamimi enjoys a celebrity status for her terrorist exploits, has refused to hand her over.
The Jerusalem Post reported Chana Nachenberg’s death after more than two decades of ordeal:
Chana Nachenberg died on Wednesday, almost 22 years after a Palestinian suicide bomber bombed the Sbarro pizza place, putting her in a vegetative state.New York-born Nachenberg, nee Finer, was 31 years old when the bombing took place. Her two-year-old daughter Sarah was one of the few to survive the attack unscathed.Izz al-Din Shuheil al-Masri bombed the Sbarro pizza place on the bustling corner of King George Street and Jaffa Road in Jerusalem on August 9, 2001, killing 15 people, including seven children and a pregnant woman, and wounding 130.The bomb that he carried to the restaurant included nails meant to cause extra injury.Masri’s accomplice was Ahlam Tamimi, who chose the location for the attack. Tamimi was convicted and given 16 life sentences but was released in the prisoner swap for captive IDF soldier Gilad Schalit.Tamimi is one of the FBI’s “most wanted terrorists,” and her poster says she “should be considered armed and dangerous.” The FBI poster asks for tips, offering a reward of up to $5 million.However, her location is known. She lives in Jordan, where she hosts a talk show on a Hamas-affiliated television channel. Jordan has refused to extradite her.
The sad news comes as First Lady Jill Biden is in Jordan to attend the wedding of the country’s Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II.
“First lady Jill Biden is getting ready for a royal wedding, attending the nuptials of Jordan’s crown prince while on a trip to the Middle East,” The Hill reported Wednesday. “The much-buzzed-about Thursday wedding between the heir to the throne and the Saudi architect is poised to take place at Zahran Palace in Jordan. Biden is also expected to be one of several VIPs attending the couple’s wedding reception.”
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