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Briefing on the Pursuit of Justice for American Victims of Palestinian Terrorism

July 18, 2014 @ 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM

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Did You Know that Naftali Frenkel, who was one of the three teenage boys kidnapped and brutally murdered along with Gilad Shaar and Eyal Yifrach, was an American citizen? Did you know that the U.S. has an anti-terrorism law that says that anywhere an American is murdered around the globe, we have the right to bring that suspect to these shores to be charged, prosecuted and punished? Did you know that we have a specific office in the Department of Justice whose primary function is to ensure that American families who have had loved ones who have been the victims of terrorism overseas obtain the swift justice they deserve? Did you know that at least 58 Americans have been killed since the signing of the Oslo Accords by Palestinian terrorists and that none of these terrorists have been brought to justice on our shores?

Please join us for a special briefing as we hear from family members of American victims of Palestinian terrorism, currently living in Israel.

Background:
The Koby Mandell Act, signed into law in December 2004, created the Office of Justice for Victims of Overseas Terrorism (OJVOT) within the Department of Justice (DOJ). The responsibility of the office is to ensure that all US citizens harmed overseas receive equal treatment by the US government, regardless of the terrorists’ country of origin, and to ensure that all terrorists involved in such attacks are pursued and prosecuted; however the Justice Department sorely violated its legislative intent.
Upon the opening of the office in the Justice Department in May 2005, then-Attorney-General Alberto Gonzales stated that “this new office guarantees a voice for victims and their families in the investigation and prosecution of terrorists who prey on Americans overseas.” Gonzales added that “our commitment to these victims is as strong as our dedication to bringing those terrorist attackers to justice.”
However, since the signing of the Oslo Accords, there have more than 71 cases of Palestinian terrorist attacks resulting in American casualties in and around Israel. The number of American victims of attacks in Israel stands at more than 58 killed and 83 wounded. American law gives the DOJ the legal tools to prosecute these terrorists with the Anti-Terrorism Act passed in 1990, which requires the prosecution and punishment, in US courts, of individuals who murder or maim American citizens in acts of international terrorism, and the Koby Mandell Act. Yet the DOJ never indicted, extradited, or prosecuted a single Palestinian terrorist who has harmed an American within Israel or the Palestinian territories.
About the Speakers:
Sherri Mandell 
Sherri Mandell founded the Koby Mandell Foundation which runs programs for bereaved families in Israel, along with her husband, Rabbi Seth Mandell.  Sherri Mandell’s book, “The Blessing of a Broken Heart,” won a National Jewish Book Award in 2004. Mandell’s son, Koby Mandell, was a U.S. citizen brutally murdered at age 13 by Palestinian terrorists near his home in May, 2001. Sherri Mandell was born in New York and writes for numerous magazines and journals, including The Washington Post, The Denver Post, The Jerusalem Post, The Times of Israel, as well as Hadassah Magazine.
Dr. Alan Bauer
Dr. Alan Bauer, an American citizen living in Israel, and his young son were seriously injured in 2002 by a Palestinian suicide bomber in Jerusalem. Bauer and his son Jonathan were walking on King George Street in downtown Jerusalem on March 21, 2002, when a terrorist from Arafat’s Fatah movement blew himself up. His explosive device was packed with metal spikes and nails, in order to inflict the maximum amount of pain and destruction and the defenseless Israeli civilians walking by. Three passersby were killed, 87 were wounded. Dr. Bauer and Jonathan were hit by multiple metal projectiles. Two of the metal spikes penetrated little Jonathan’s brain. Dr. Alan Bauer, a Harvard educated biologist, has been seeking justice ever since the attack.
Sarah Stern
Sarah Stern, the founder and president of the Endowment for Middle East Truth (EMET). EMET educates members of Congress and their staffers through monthly seminars about the Middle East. Sarah has more than 30 years of experience on Capitol Hill, and has helped to draft and pass many pieces of legislation, speeches and congressional resolution including the Koby Mandell Act which resulted in the opening of an office in the Department of Justice entitled the Office for Justice of Victims of Overseas Terrorism which is supposed to be an advocacy group within the Department of Justice for Americans who have been killed and wounded abroad; the Syria Accountability Act; and a Resolution in support of Israel’s right to build a security fence and defend her citizens the way they deem appropriate. Her work has appeared in The New Republic, The Middle East Quarterly, Israel Today, Frontpagemag.com; Breitbart, InFocus, The American Thinker, The Jerusalem Post and the Washington Jewish Week. She has appeared on television and radio, and has spoken throughout the country, in Israel and on Al Hurrah which is carried throughout the Middle East, on The Middle East, terrorism, Post Zionism, Israel, and related issues.
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Details

Date:
July 18, 2014
Time:
10:00 AM - 11:30 AM

Venue

United States Capitol
Capitol Visitor Center
Washington, DC 20007 United States
Phone
(202) 226-8000
View Venue Website

Speaker

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