Posted on 08/01/2002 3:34:42 AM PDT by kattracks
Aug 01, 2002 (AP Online via COMTEX) -- Five Americans were among those killed when a bomb ripped through a crowded cafeteria at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. At least two of the victims were students just days from returning home.
The lunchtime blast Wednesday struck a popular student hangout at the university. Two Israelis were killed and four other Americans were wounded.
Among the dead was Benjamin Blutstein, 25, of Susquehanna Township, Pa., who was on a two-year study program to be a teacher of Jewish studies. He was expected to return to Pennsylvania on Thursday.
"We are shocked and deeply saddened to hear this news," said Ted Bernstein, president of the United Jewish Community of Greater Harrisburg. "His life was taken for an inexplicable reason."
The dead also included Marla Bennett, 24, of San Diego. She had been doing joint graduate work at Pardes Institute and Hebrew University in Judaic Studies. She was due to return home on Friday, said family spokesman Norman Greene.
"Marla was incredibly bright, top of her class. She was extremely outgoing, bubbling young lady, very seriously involved in investigating her Judaism. She was interested in human beings, and finding a peaceful resolution to the Arab-Israeli conflict," Greene said.
Another victim, Janis Ruth Coulter, 36, was an assistant director of graduate studies for the university's Rothberg International School in New York. She had been escorting American students to Israel when the attack occurred.
"Janis Ruth was a wonderful, loving, caring person. Her faith, to which she converted, was at the core of her being. We, her family, are devastated. Her death is such a pointless thing to have happened."
A fourth victim, David Gritz, 24, holds dual American-French citizenship; his hometown was not immediately known. A fifth person with Israeli and American citizenship was not identified.
The Islamic militant group Hamas claimed responsibility for the blast.
President Bush condemned the bombing "in the strongest possible terms," and said it was perpetrated by "killers who hate the thought of peace."
Bennett was in the second year of a three-year master's program in Judaic Studies, and had been at the university to take a final exam in her sole Hebrew University class of the semester, Hebrew Language.
Her parents Michael and Linda had visited their daughter in Israel in June, and Bennett planned to spend about a month at home visiting family before returning to Israel.
Bennett graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with a bachelor's in political science. Greene said her interest in Judaism had grown tremendously since she spent her junior year of undergraduate study in Israel.
Coulter was born in Boston and graduated from the University of Massachusetts in 1991. She had studied at Hebrew University in 1996 and 1997 and had worked for the university in New York since 1999.
"We are all so shocked over the news," said Amy Sugin, Coulter's boss at the Rothberg school. Sugin said Coulter had expressed "slight apprehension" about traveling to Israel before she departed on the trip but had sounded "ebullient" in a phone call after she arrived.
The explosion occurred at the university's Mount Scopus campus, a Jewish enclave surrounded by Palestinian neighborhoods in the eastern part of the city. The university said 23,000 students attend the school, about 5,000 of them Arabs and 1,500 from abroad.
Spencer Dew, 26, an American student from Owensboro, Ky., was lightly wounded by flying glass. He said he had worried about such attacks in Israel, "but it didn't deter me from coming. I assume I'll come back next year."
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On the Net:
Hebrew University: http://www.huji.ac.il
By The Associated Press
Copyright 2002 Associated Press, All rights reserved
Five out of seven killed and four out of 90 wounded. That says to me that the bomber(s) targeted a specific area of the dininig facility.
AMEN!
If we are holding back because we are preparing to invade Iraq soon, that is one thing - but if we're holding back for other reasons, it is shamefull.
If we ARE going into Iraq, it needs to be SOON, otherwise the Palis are going to continue to escalate - taking out Iraq will quiet them.
The attack was exceptionally brutal: A crowded Jerusalem university cafeteria Wednesday became the scene of horrific carnage as a powerful terror bomb blast ripped apart the busy refectory at Hebrew University, flinging chairs and tables as shards from shattered windows and wrenching wails of pain and sorrow filled the heavy air. On the floor, twisted and mangled body parts scattered about, bathed in pools of blood.All told, the gruesome horror at the Frank Sinatra International Center, a favorite student hangout, left seven dead and over 80 wounded, many of them severely.
This bombing episode was a watershed: Among those killed, were five Americans. A group called the American Friends of Hebrew University identified one of the dead as Janis Ruth Coulter. UPI reports she worked as "assistant director at the Office of Academic Affairs of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in New York." American Embassy officials identified Marla Bennett of San Diego and Benjamin Blutstein of Pennsylvania as two of the others killed, while Israeli officials identified David Gritz as another. A la protocol, the State Department is withholding the name of the fifth victim, pending notification of next of kin. Of the 80 or more wounded, four of them include Americans.
Hamas, an Arab Nazi group which vows the total destruction of Israel, including the extermination of every Jew, claimed responsibility for the bombing, the second in as many days. The group, based in Gaza, has carried out the lion's share of bombing attacks against Israel.
This wasn't a homicide bombing, however. Israeli police say the deadly bomb was concealed in a bag and placed on a table in the middle of the cafeteria. To ensure maximum carnage, the bomb would go off during lunchtime.
When news of the massacre reached Gaza, tens of thousands of jubilant "Palestinians" rapturously took to the streets, marching as they chanted anti-Jewish slogans, thrilled that some of the dead included Americans. The marchers called the bloodbath "a gift to the soul". The hate rally was put together by Hamas.
The Palestinian Authority, tongue-planted-firmly-in-cheek, said it "condemns the attack". Evidence tells another story, however. PA documents seized during IDF sweeps of the West Bank show intense PA involvement in Hamas terrorist activities, including planning, coordinating and funding.
To Bush, the bombing at Hebrew University further validates his decision to jettison Arafat as a partner for "peace". On June 24, in a major address on Mideast policy, Bush outlined his blueprint for peace, drawing a line in the sand. He called the PA a terrorist organization and set new conditions before resumption of talks. He demanded new leadership and free elections.
With Baghdad fomenting some of the mayhem -- even rewarding the families of homicide bombers -- Sen. Biden's hearings yesterday questioning U.S. plans to oust Hussein seem, all things considered, particularly foolish and ill-timed.
With five dead Americans, expect popular support for removing Saddam -- already in the 70-80% percent range -- to strengthen further. For American apologists of Palestinian terrorism -- the New York Times springs to mind -- the bombing yesterday makes defending Arafat tantamount to defending Osama bin Laden.
What kind of retaliation should we look for this time? The Associated Press noted there was "no call at the White House and the State Department for Israel to exercise restraint".
Bottom line: Buckle your seat belts.
Anyway, that's...
My two cents..
"JohnHuang2"
I have been among those who have severly criticised the x42 administration for not taking appropriate action against terrorist groups after the numerous attacks against the US. The numbers don't lie. This was clearly an attack against the US. We, the US, must act.
Iraq, shmiraq. It's obvious where the problem is, and the problem is within Gaza and the West Bank. Taking out Iraq will not quiet Hamas and the bomber brigade, it will just provide them with more motivation to ululate in the streets and target Americans. IMHO, we need to quiet the problem directly. Fire up the ol' Pali-Vac, and empty the bag somewhere in the desert.
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