About the Book
What should I buy for the children of the terrorist who tried to kill my wife?
I'm sorry, that was a bit forward. We hardly know each other. Let me explain:
In the summer of 2002, Hamas terrorists, targeting both Israelis and Americans, struck a cafeteria at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. The blast threw my wife, Jamie, across the blood-streaked linoleum floor and killed the two friends with whom she was sitting.
The bombing sent me on a psychological journey which, years later, led me to East Jerusalem and the childhood home of the man who set everything in motion.
Not out of revenge. Out of desperation.
This is the story of one man's personal attempt to heal by understanding his enemy – an enemy who inexplicably expressed remorse upon being captured by Israeli police. It is the story of reconciliation between an American Jew – made uncomfortable by his leftist quest – and the perpetrator's East Jerusalem family. And it is the story of digging, of unearthing shadowy decisions made by Israel which undermined a (possibly) historic cease-fire attempt by Hamas just days before the Hebrew University attack.
This book is a story embedded within a larger historical story: the Israeli-Palestinian conflict which refuses to end.
I'm sorry, that was a bit forward. We hardly know each other. Let me explain:
In the summer of 2002, Hamas terrorists, targeting both Israelis and Americans, struck a cafeteria at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. The blast threw my wife, Jamie, across the blood-streaked linoleum floor and killed the two friends with whom she was sitting.
The bombing sent me on a psychological journey which, years later, led me to East Jerusalem and the childhood home of the man who set everything in motion.
Not out of revenge. Out of desperation.
This is the story of one man's personal attempt to heal by understanding his enemy – an enemy who inexplicably expressed remorse upon being captured by Israeli police. It is the story of reconciliation between an American Jew – made uncomfortable by his leftist quest – and the perpetrator's East Jerusalem family. And it is the story of digging, of unearthing shadowy decisions made by Israel which undermined a (possibly) historic cease-fire attempt by Hamas just days before the Hebrew University attack.
This book is a story embedded within a larger historical story: the Israeli-Palestinian conflict which refuses to end.