25 years ago today, the Sbarro bombing opened a wound in Israel that still hasn’t healed

Twenty-five years after the Sbarro bombing in Jerusalem, the article focuses on Arnold Roth's struggle to extradite Ahlam Tamimi, who planned the attack and lives freely in Jordan. Roth criticizes US presidents and Jewish organizations for not pursuing her, and notes he also lost a son-in-law in Gaza after October 7. The piece includes interviews with Roth and Ksenia Svetlova, raising questions about collective memory versus new tragedies.

Twenty-five years after the Sbarro restaurant bombing in Jerusalem, the attack remains an open wound for the families of the 16 victims. The suicide bombing on August 9, 2001, killed 16 people, including eight children and a pregnant woman, and injured 130. One of the terrorists, Ahlam Tamimi, who orchestrated the attack, was released in the 2011 Shalit prisoner exchange and now lives freely in Jordan. Arnold Roth, whose daughter Malki was killed, has spent 15 years campaigning for Tamimi's extradition to the US, where she faces charges for killing American citizens. Roth expresses bitterness at the failure of US presidents and Jewish organizations to pursue the case, fearing that antagonizing Jordan's monarchy is the reason. He also notes the personal toll, having lost a son-in-law in Gaza after October 7, 2023. The article raises broader questions about how Israel balances remembering past tragedies while addressing new ones, and includes perspective from Ksenia Svetlova on the many terrorists released in exchanges.