Sbarro victim parents counter photo with photo

By · July 20, 2007

The parents of a victim of the Jerusalem Sbarro bombing are distributing photos of the girl to counter what they say is the glamorous depiction of one of her killers in a documentary.

The HBO documentary, Hot House, examines life inside Israeli jails holding Palestinian prisoners and includes an interview with a female Hamas member serving 16 life sentences for her role in the 2001 bombing of the Jerusalem pizzeria, which killed 15 people.

A publicity shot of the bomber appearing on HBO’s website and in the New York Times shows a young woman in a head scarf and lipstick, smiling.

“It’s presumably HBO’s publicity department that was responsible for creating and distributing a glamour-style photograph of a smiling, contented-looking young woman in her twenties to promote the movie,” Frimet and Arnold Roth say in the email they have asked friends and supporters to forward to others. “That female is our child’s murderer.”

The email provides a link to a foundation they set up in memory of their daughter, Malki, who was killed in the blast. “We think Malki was a beautiful young woman, living a beautiful life,” the Roths say. “We ask your help so that other people - far fewer than the number who will see the New York Times, of course - can know about her.”

The HBO publicity describes the Palestinian woman, whom it does not name, as “shockingly unrepentant” and adds: “The cold-blooded testimony of a female Hamas leader, proudly serving 16 life sentences for blowing up a pizzeria in Jerusalem, is perhaps the most chilling.”

Photos of Malki Roth are available at http://www.kerenmalki.org/photo.htm