The US ‘ally’ that protects a murderer of Americans - by Stephen M. Flatow

We are constantly told that Jordan is crucial to regional security. That may be, but what kind of “ally” shelters a murderer of Americans—and then gives the murderer her own television show?

Stephen M. Flatow..
JNS.org..
02 March '20..

At first glance, you might not think there was anything very significant about the recent trial of a little-known Muslim imam in the Czech Republic.

Samer Shehadeh, a Palestinian Arab who is serving as a Muslim religious leader in Prague, was sentenced last week to 10 years in prison for giving financial assistance to Al-Nusra—the Syrian affiliate of Al-Qaeda—and helping his brother and sister-in-law join that terrorist group.

But the most important part of the story was not the trial, the verdict or the sentencing. It was how Shehadeh was captured. Way down near the end of the news accounts of the case, we learned: “Shehadeh was arrested in Jordan before being flown back to the Czech Republic and taken into custody in November 2018.”

Now compare Jordan’s extradition of Samer Shehadeh with its refusal to extradite another Palestinian Arab terrorist.

On Aug. 9, 2001, terrorists bombed the Sbarro pizzeria in downtown Jerusalem. Fifteen people were killed and 130 wounded. Three of the fatalities were American citizens, including 15 year-old Malki Roth. One of the perpetrators, Ahlam Tamimi, lives in Jordan and used to have her own TV show. The United States has requested her extradition. Jordan’s King Abdullah has refused.

Whenever Malki’s parents have raised this issue with State Department officials or leaders of certain Jewish organizations, they have been told that Abdullah can’t extradite any Palestinian Arab terrorists because the population of Jordan consists mostly of Palestinian Arabs, and they will overthrow him if he surrenders any terrorists.

“And, after all,” these apologists tell the grieving parents, “if Abdullah is overthrown, Jordan could become radicalized and that would be bad for Israel, and you wouldn’t want to hurt Israel, would you?”

Now we see that such excuses are not only insulting and patronizing, they are also patently disingenuous. The Shehadeh case clearly demonstrates that Abdullah is perfectly capable of extraditing a Palestinian Arab terrorist without suffering any repercussions.

Abdullah’s decision to harbor Ahlam Tamimi, a woman who brags about her role in murder, is a matter of choice.

(Continue to Full Column)

Stephen M. Flatow, an attorney in New Jersey, is the father of Alisa Flatow, who was murdered in an Iranian-sponsored Palestinian terrorist attack in 1995.

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