AJC Marks Tenth Anniversary of Deadly Terrorist Attack in Tel Aviv

News provided by

May 31, 2011, 11:06 ET

NEW YORK, May 31, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AJC recalls that tomorrow marks ten years since 21 young Israelis were killed and another 132 were wounded in a terrorist attack on a seaside discotheque, the Dolphinarium, in Tel Aviv.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100816/AJCLOGO)

The victims ranged in age from 14 to 32. Most were immigrants from the Soviet Union. The murderer, Saeed Hotari, was a Palestinian, whose action was variously claimed by Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

"I will never forget that night," said AJC Executive Director David Harris. "I was sitting at a Shabbat dinner with European Jewish representatives in Madrid when word of the tragedy arrived. We were all stunned into silence. The joy of Shabbat quickly turned to the grief of mourning. Ever since, each time I am in Tel Aviv, I make a point of passing the small monument to the victims along the waterfront promenade."

As news of the massacre spread, there were spontaneous expressions of joy in the streets of the West Bank city of Ramallah. The murderer's father publicly praised his son's action. And Yasir Arafat's Palestinian Authority was reported to have transferred a sum of money to the father in recognition of his son's "martyrdom."

World leaders expressed outrage. Joschka Fischer, then Germany's foreign minister, who was in a hotel across the street from the Dolphinarium, rushed to the scene. Later, he said, "The Palestinian side must take vigorous action to stop the terror and must credibly and lastingly dismantle the terrorist infrastructure."

The June 1, 2001, terrorist attack was one of many during the months just after Israel and the United States, working closely together, sought to achieve a two-state deal with the Palestinians. Not only were they rebuffed, but Israel was confronted with a new wave of Palestinian terror against Israeli civilian targets, such as city buses, pizzerias, and Passover Seders, throughout the country.

"Shortly after this attack someone came by the targeted discotheque and wrote the words 'They won't stop us from dancing,'" said Harris. "Indeed, even as Israel had to battle murderous suicidal bombings, Israelis, in their determination to embrace life, never stopped dancing."

www.ajc.org

SOURCE American Jewish Committee