Suicide bombing in the Beit Yisrael neighborhood in Jerusalem
March 2, 2002
Ten people were killed and over 50 were injured, 4 critically, in a suicide bombing at 19:15 on Saturday evening near a yeshiva in the ultra-Orthodox Beit Yisrael neighborhood in the center of Jerusalem where people had gathered for a bar-mitzva celebration. The 11th victim, Avraham Eliahu Nehmad, 17, of Rishon Lezion, died of his injuries on June 20.
The terrorist detonated the bomb next to a group of women waiting with their baby carriages for their husbands to leave the nearby synagogue following sundown prayers marking the end of the Sabbath. Those killed included an infant and her six-year-old brother; a mother and her three-year-old son; a 12-year-old boy; and four other adults. Five of those killed were from the same family. The Fatah Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade took responsibility for the attack.
The explosion was a particularly tragic conclusion to what should have been a joyous occasion for the Hazan family of Moshav Bnei Ayish near Ashdod. The family had come to Jerusalem to celebrate the bar mitzvah of their son Naveh, and the bomber blew himself up outside the building just as the family and guests were leaving. Several family members and friends were wounded. The tragedy was even worse for the Hajabi family, which was also celebrating their son's bar mitzvah. Some of the dead were members of this family.
The names of the victims:
- Shlomo Nehmad (40), his wife Gafnit (32), and their daughters Shiraz (7) and Liran (3), of Rishon Lezion;
- Shaul Nehmad (15), nephew of Shlomo and Gafnit;
- Lidor Ilan (12) and his sister Oriah (18 months), of Jerusalem;
- Tzofia Ya'arit Eliyahu (23) and her son Ya'akov Avraham (7 months), of Jerusalem.
- Avi Hazan, 37, of Moshav Adora, died of his injuries on Monday morning (Mar 4).
- Avraham Eliahu Nehmad, 7, of Rishon Lezion, (brother of Shaul Nehmad) died of his injuries on June 20.
News reports:
9 dead, 51 hurt in Jerusalem bombing - Ha'aretz, Mar 3, 2002
Focus / Jerusalem's soft underbelly - Ha'aretz, Mar 3, 2002
Seven funerals for the Nehmad family - Ha'aretz, Mar 4, 2002
Mother and infant son laid to rest - Ha'aretz, Mar 4, 2002
World reactions:
US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher: "The United States condemns in the strongest possible terms this terrorist outrage. Such murder of innocent citizens cannot be justified and can only harm the interests and aspirations of the Palestinian people in progress toward a better future. We call upon Chairman Arafat and the Palestinian Authority to do everything possible to confront and stop the terrorists responsible for these criminal acts."
- US State Department press release, March 2, 2002