(JTA) — Eighteen major American Jewish organizations have called on the U.S. government to pressure Jordan’s King Abdullah II to extradite the woman who helped carry out a 2001 bombing in Israel that left two Americans dead.
Ahlam Tamimi facilitated the bombing of the Sbarro restaurant in Jerusalem that killed 15 people, including Malki Roth, 15, and Judy Greenbaum, 31. Tamimi is wanted to stand trial in the United States on charges of conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction against American nationals.
The statement, signed by a mix of right-wing and centrist organizations, called on the government “to hold the Kingdom of Jordan accountable to its commitments under its extradition treaty with the United States and bring all pressure to bear, including, but not limited to, recent government legislation significantly impacting U.S. financial aid to Jordan.”
The United States has sought Tamimi’s extradition for years, but the law allowing the State Department to leverage aid to demand extradition did not go into effect until late last year.
Tamimi was sentenced to life in Israel but released in a prisoner exchange for captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in 2011. She has since become something of a celebrity in Jordan.
Roth’s parents have led an effort to make Tamimi face U.S. charges under American laws that allow the prosecution of terrorists who have harmed Americans overseas.
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