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Your tax-deductible donation should be made to: AFHU (American Friends of the Hebrew University) which is a not-for-profit 501(c) 3 organization. • 20 N. Wacker Drive Suite #2020 Chicago, IL 60606 •

• Article published by the AFHU (American Friends
of the Hebrew University, in July 31, 2003.

Hebrew University Terror Attack Victims
Memorialized On First Anniversary
Of Bombing

Jerusalem -- A year to the day that a terrorist attack took the lives of nine people at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, two poignant ceremonies were held today on the university's Mount Scopus campus to pay tribute to the memory of the victims.

In the main ceremony -- held on the Nancy Reagan Plaza, facing the cafeteria at the Frank Sinatra International Student Center where the bombing attack took place -- speakers told of the many attributes of those who perished in the attack, particularly of their acts of kindness and concern for others. The ceremony was held at approximately the same time of day as the explosion a year ago of the powerful bomb placed by Palestinian terrorists that injured nearly 90 people in addition to those killed.

The nine who were killed and who were memorialized today were:

Marla Bennett, from San Diego, CA, a student at the Rothberg International School of the Hebrew University and at the Pardes Institute for Jewish Studies; Benjamin Blutstein, from Harrisburg, PA, also a joint student at Rothberg and Pardes; Dina Carter, from North Carolina, an employee of the Jewish National and University Library at the Hebrew University; Janis Ruth Coulter, from Boston, MA, assistant director of the Office of Academic Affairs of the Hebrew University in New York; David Gritz, from Paris (a French and U.S. citizen), who was about to begin his summer ulpan at the Rothberg School; David Diego Ladowski, from Argentina, a graduate of the Hebrew University who was about to begin a diplomatic assignment for Israel in Peru; Levina Shapira, head of the Student Services Department of the Hebrew University; Dafna Spruch, an employee of the Student Services Department; and Revital Barashi, who worked at the Faculty of Law of the Hebrew University.

Prof. Steven Kaplan, the provost of the Rothberg International School, said, "They were remarkable individuals...who succeeded in touching the lives of all of us." Kaplan spoke at a memorial ceremony held at the Rothberg School -- which preceded the ceremony at the Nancy Reagan Plaza -- as well as at the latter ceremony. Others also spoke of the outstanding human qualities of each of the deceased.

Hundreds of Hebrew University students and staff as well as family and friends of the bombing victims were present for the ceremonies. Also present were the ambassadors or top-ranking officials of the embassies of the U.S., Japan, Italy, the European Union, Turkey and Ireland.

Speaking on behalf of U.S. Ambassador Daniel Kurtzer, who was not in the country, Richard LeBaron, deputy chief of mission of the U.S. Embassy in Israel, called attention to the fact that five of the nine persons killed in the attack were U.S. citizens and that the honoring of their memories "adds another dimension to the common bonds" between Israel and his country. He praised the Hebrew University's historic role as a place where people of all creeds and races came together in an open quest for knowledge and truth. While acknowledging that the threat of terrorism has not ended, LeBaron said there is now "a prospect of hope" for peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

Hebrew University President Prof. Menachem Magidor said that while it is impossible to say that the shock of a year ago has passed and that everything has returned to normal, the university nevertheless is "a tree that cannot be uprooted" and that it will continue in its mission on behalf of all mankind in a spirit of tolerance and openness that cannot be destroyed by the forces of darkness.

Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski also spoke at the ceremony, emphasizing that those who perished in the bombing attack were not specifically targeted by the villains who carried it out, but rather were representatives of all of the people of Israel. The mayor concluded his remarks with a quotation from the comforting prophecy of Isaiah who spoke of a time when "the sounds of weeping will no longer be heard in Jerusalem."

The ceremony at the Nancy Reagan Plaza concluded with the laying of memorial wreaths by the ambassadors, family members and friends of the victims, university officials and others.

For further information: Jerry Barach, Dept. of Media Relations, the Hebrew University, Tel: 02-588-2904. Orit Sulitzeanu, Hebrew University spokesperson, Tel: 052-608016.