I never met Daniel Pearl. As a contributor to the Wall Street Journal Europe, the same newspaper as Daniel, I was used to hearing stories about his work and personality.
I’ve always thought that there is only one explanation for why a young, successful, handsome man like Daniel, who was married to a beautiful, young French wife and expecting his first child, Adam, would risk his life in such a way.
Daniel was a very special journalist for one of the world’s most prestigious papers and he wanted to find out “the truth”. In the moments before Pearl was killed at the age of 38, he was videotaped saying bravely: “My father is Jewish, my mother is Jewish, I am Jewish”. In another segment Daniel said, “my family on my father’s side is Zionist”. In the third statement, he said, “My family follows Judaism. Back in the town of Bnei Brak there is a street named after my great-grandfather, Chaim Pearl, who was one of the founders of the town”.
The great-grandfather mentioned on the abductors’ tape was Chaim Pearl, who grew up in Ostrowitz, Poland. According to family history, Chaim was attacked one day by a peasant with an iron bar, went straight home and told his wife, “Start packing, we’re leaving”. And they made alyah to Israel.
The ninth anniversary of Daniel’s killing has just passed and we have read gruesome revelations about his death from an academic US report. We have read with sorrow too many sad details about this wonderful human being.
Processing Daniel Pearl's killer is an important step, but eradicating the hatred that leads to Jihadist violence is the most vital policy that Western countries must pursue.
The Jews honor life and they have no symbolism in death. They honor the dead for their lives.
In fact, videoclips of Daniel's life, screened at a memorial service, showed him celebrating his bar mitzva at the Western Wall and a trip to Moscow in 1986, where he met with Russian-Jewish refuseniks.
The best memorial to Daniel is the special foundation set up by his father and mother and devoted to “cross-cultural understanding through journalism, music and innovative communication”.
Nine years after the Wall Street Journal reporter was murdered in Pakistan, his family continues to mourn Daniel in private. In public, however, Judea and Ruth Pearl speak about the pride Daniel took in their heritage, and they see him as a shining example of the best in the Jewish tradition.
They are the editors of a magnificent book “I Am Jewish: Personal Reflections Inspired by the Last Words of Daniel Pearl” (Jewish Lights).
They coordinate the annual Daniel Pearl Music Day in October, involving millions of people in 400 concerts in 39 countries.
Their desire to perpetuate Daniel's legacy throughout the world is catching and moving.In this epoch of rampant antisemitism and delegitimation of Israel, their work is a powerful corrective to the demonized image of Jews, and especially of Israelis. "It is a mistake to say that anti-Zionism is a disguise for anti-Semitism", Mr. Pearl wrote. "Anti-Zionism is a more dangerous form of racism than that, because it targets the most vulnerable part of the Jewish people, namely, the Jewish population of Israel, whose physical safety and personal dignity depend crucially on maintaining Israel's sovereignty. It seeks the dismantling of the Jewish nation-state: Israel".
This wonderful family was able to use the normal energies of anger and rage, mourn and anguish to construct something hopeful and positive. And this is very much part of the Jewish tradition. “We wanted to demonstrate that his tragedy led to the opposite effect -- pride, dignity, understanding and unity”.
This family is trying to make a better world in memory of their son. Daniel's father, Judea, who is also an internationally recognized authority on artificial intelligence, is sheding light in a world that gets darker every day.
The spirit of Daniel Pearl lives on. He was murdered in a faraway place, but he is close to us all.