The parents of a yeshiva student murdered along with four of his friends in a terror attack in the Gush Katif community of Atzmona have written a letter protesting a decision by the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) of Boston to honor Dr. Sari Nusseibeh. The honor is to take place today, Friday.
Nusseibeh has been called a 'moderate' for voicing opposition to the Arab 'right of return' to Israel's pre-1967 borders. However, a Jewish group's decision to honor the PA official has caused some to point to other statements of Nusseibeh's that paint a more radical picture of the man.
In their letter, Yitzhak and Rivka Marcus of Jerusalem, ask the JCRC to consider revoking their invitation to Dr. Nusseibeh, who they say endorsed their son's murder. The text of the letter follows:
"To: Ms. Nancy K. Kaufman (nkaufman@jcrcboston.org),
Mr. Sheldon Goldberg (sgoldberg@jcrcboston.org),
The Jewish Community Relations Council
"It has come to our attention that the Jewish Community Relations Council, the Anti Defamation League, and the American Jewish Committee have decided to honor Sari Nusseibeh on Friday December 10 at 126 High Street Room 912.
"Raba said: He who [wishes] to take a wife should inquire about [the character of] her brothers." [Baba Bathra 110a; Soncino edition of the Babylonian Talmud]. Likewise one should strictly investigate a person one is about to honor.
"On June 29, 2002, Sari Nusseibeh and Uhm Nidal, the mother of a terrorist, appeared on Al Jazeera television. Her son, a terrorist, carried out a suicide attack mission, murdering five students who were studying Torah at Atzmona Yeshiva.
"She was proud that her son who murdered, in cold blood, my son Asher Marcus and his four friends: Eron Picar, Arik Kroglak, Ariel Zana and Tal Kurtzweil. Nusseibeh endorsed the murder. What Sari Nusseibeh said in response was something other than condemnation: 'What comes to mind when I hear my sister Uhm Nidal speak is the verse in the Koran which proclaims that “The Garden of Eden has been designed for these mothers." All the more honor goes to every Palestinian mother, to every fighter, and to all those women who fight for the Palestinian Jihad (Holy War) in our land.'
"Sari Nusseibeh went on to tell the viewers of Al-Jazeera around the world that, 'suicide attacks are often defensive in nature, like the heroes who carried out suicide attacks when they defend their homeland in the refugee camp of Jenin.'
"We received your e-mail, dated Tuesday December 7th, 2004. We appreciate that you wish to meet with Sari Nusseibeh to hear what he has to say and to challenge him with our concerns. I would like to bring to your attention the fact that the greatest honor you can bestow upon an Arab, in the Middle East, is having him over for a meal. Please understand that by inviting Sari Nusseibeh to the 'Brown Bag Lunch' that will take place this coming Friday December the 10th, is the greatest honor you can bestow upon him.
"I don't understand how our Jewish brothers and our Jewish sisters in Boston can honor a person who endorses and praises those who murder our children. I trust that the Jewish community in Boston will do their outmost to cancel the event."
Nusseibeh has been called a 'moderate' for voicing opposition to the Arab 'right of return' to Israel's pre-1967 borders. However, a Jewish group's decision to honor the PA official has caused some to point to other statements of Nusseibeh's that paint a more radical picture of the man.
In their letter, Yitzhak and Rivka Marcus of Jerusalem, ask the JCRC to consider revoking their invitation to Dr. Nusseibeh, who they say endorsed their son's murder. The text of the letter follows:
"To: Ms. Nancy K. Kaufman (nkaufman@jcrcboston.org),
Mr. Sheldon Goldberg (sgoldberg@jcrcboston.org),
The Jewish Community Relations Council
"It has come to our attention that the Jewish Community Relations Council, the Anti Defamation League, and the American Jewish Committee have decided to honor Sari Nusseibeh on Friday December 10 at 126 High Street Room 912.
"Raba said: He who [wishes] to take a wife should inquire about [the character of] her brothers." [Baba Bathra 110a; Soncino edition of the Babylonian Talmud]. Likewise one should strictly investigate a person one is about to honor.
"On June 29, 2002, Sari Nusseibeh and Uhm Nidal, the mother of a terrorist, appeared on Al Jazeera television. Her son, a terrorist, carried out a suicide attack mission, murdering five students who were studying Torah at Atzmona Yeshiva.
"She was proud that her son who murdered, in cold blood, my son Asher Marcus and his four friends: Eron Picar, Arik Kroglak, Ariel Zana and Tal Kurtzweil. Nusseibeh endorsed the murder. What Sari Nusseibeh said in response was something other than condemnation: 'What comes to mind when I hear my sister Uhm Nidal speak is the verse in the Koran which proclaims that “The Garden of Eden has been designed for these mothers." All the more honor goes to every Palestinian mother, to every fighter, and to all those women who fight for the Palestinian Jihad (Holy War) in our land.'
"Sari Nusseibeh went on to tell the viewers of Al-Jazeera around the world that, 'suicide attacks are often defensive in nature, like the heroes who carried out suicide attacks when they defend their homeland in the refugee camp of Jenin.'
"We received your e-mail, dated Tuesday December 7th, 2004. We appreciate that you wish to meet with Sari Nusseibeh to hear what he has to say and to challenge him with our concerns. I would like to bring to your attention the fact that the greatest honor you can bestow upon an Arab, in the Middle East, is having him over for a meal. Please understand that by inviting Sari Nusseibeh to the 'Brown Bag Lunch' that will take place this coming Friday December the 10th, is the greatest honor you can bestow upon him.
"I don't understand how our Jewish brothers and our Jewish sisters in Boston can honor a person who endorses and praises those who murder our children. I trust that the Jewish community in Boston will do their outmost to cancel the event."