Inside the Palestinian university that turned the Sbarro massacre into an exhibit - analysis

Analysis revisits the 2001 Al-Najah University exhibit that celebrated the Sbarro suicide bombing in Jerusalem, which killed 16 people. The article examines how the Palestinian Authority under Yasser Arafat initially failed to shut down the exhibit, the BBC's framing of the event, and the broader normalization of suicide bombings in Palestinian institutions. The piece draws a direct line from this exhibit to the October 7 attacks.

A quarter century after the Sbarro pizzeria suicide bombing in Jerusalem that killed 16 people, analysis revisits the disturbing exhibit held at Al-Najah University in Nablus that celebrated the attack. The exhibit, set up shortly after the August 9, 2001 bombing, featured mock body parts, students dressed as suicide bombers, and required visitors to step on Israeli and American flags. The Palestinian Authority under Yasser Arafat initially failed to shut it down, closing it only after international pressure, which the article frames as 'too little, too late.' The BBC reported that Arafat was 'gravely disturbed' by the exhibit, while also noting that a Hamas student group built it. The article draws a direct line from this normalization of suicide bombings in Palestinian institutions to the October 7 attacks, arguing that celebrating mass murder at a major university was emblematic of the foundations of extremism. It also notes that Ahlam al-Tamimi, convicted for her role in the bombing, was released in the 2011 Hamas prisoner deal and lives in Jordan, with the US offering a $5 million reward for information on her.