Journalist Benjamin Weinthal has just produced and published an interesting overview of the American Jewish organizations that have expressed public support for our campaign to get Jordanian terrorist Ahlam Tamimi into a Washington courthouse, and who has not.
His analysis is carried on the i24NewsTV platform as a digital report, dated August 7, 2025. Note that the text below does not include the illustrations, largely drawn from social media, that accompany the article as published.
Benjamin Weinthal | Writing Fellow for the Middle East Forum
August 07, 2025 at 10:16 AM | Latest revision August 08, 2025 at 02:27 PM
Just days before the 24th remembrance of the Hamas-sponsored terrorist attack in Jerusalem, resulting in the murders of 16 people, the father of one of the teenagers killed has launched an activist approach to secure the extradition of Ahlam Aref Ahmad al-Tamimi, the mastermind of the attack, from Jordan to the US.
The female Hamas terrorist, Al-Tamimi, oversaw the terror act that murdered Arnold Roth’s then 15-year-old daughter, Malki, at the Sbarro pizzeria. Malki was an American citizen along with two other victims. I24 reached out to the US State Department and nearly 20 major American Jewish organizations to see what accountability actions they plan to take against the self-confessed terrorist Al-Tamimi who is being protected by Jordan’s King Abdullah II.
A State Department spokesperson told i24 that “The United States has continually emphasized to the Government of Jordan the importance of holding Ahlam al-Tamimi, the convicted terrorist released by Israel in a 2011 prisoner swap, accountable in a U.S. court for her admitted role in a 2001 bombing in Jerusalem that killed 15 people, including Americans Malka Chana Roth, Judith Shoshana Greenbaum, and Chana Nachenberg. The United States continues to impress upon the Government of Jordan that Tamimi is a brutal murderer who should be brought to justice.”
On June 1, 2023, Chana Tova Chaya Nachenberg, of Modi'in, died after being in a coma for nearly 22 years. Hence the most recent number of 16 murdered.
In 2017, the US Justice Department charged Al-Tamimi, "with conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction against U.S. nationals outside the US." The US State Department has a $5 million reward for information leading to al-Tamimi’s capture.
Roth told i24 that “It's clear to us that a different approach has to be adopted. While the organizations keep doing their excellent and vital work, we are now approaching activists who have signed our petition and advocated in the social media and other channels for justice. It's hard for us to be in Washington ourselves. So this is intended as a way to get our message and expectations onto the agendas of the people and offices where the decisions get made.”
There is growing momentum in the effort to secure accountability. Arnold and his wife, Frimet, held a virtual meeting on July 17, 2025 with Jeanine F. Pirro, United States Attorney for the District of Columbia.
Marshall Wittmann, a spokesman for AIPAC, said that “We have long advocated – and continue to urge – the U.S to pressure Jordan to extradite Ahlam Ahmad Al-Tamimi for her horrendous terrorist crime that killed and wounded Americans and Israelis.” When asked if AIPAC could make the advocacy public, Wittmann said “We do not comment on private conversations with officials.”
Mort Klein, President of the Zionist Organization of America, said “I’ve written to Secretary Rubio to extradite to US and prosecute Tamimi and bring her to justice for her monstrous crimes. We have repeatedly urged members of Congress to push for this action. I’ve mentioned it in my speeches and have written about the case.” Klein did not respond to a follow question about providing a copy of the letter to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other documented advocacy material.
The Anti-Defamation League’s spokesman, Todd Gutnick, said "Yes, we continue to advocate for his [sic] extradition. Here’s Jonathan’s latest tweet on the issue, which you are welcome to link to in your story." Greenblatt wrote on X in February: “Justice delayed isn’t always justice denied. We urge King Abdullah to send the unrepentant terrorist Alham [sic] Tamimi to the US to face trial for the murder of Malki Roth z”l and 16 others in the bombing of a Sbarro pizzeria in 2001.”
B'nai B'rith CEO, Daniel S. Mariaschin, said “Twenty-four years after the Sbarro pizzeria bombing that killed 15 people, justice in this horrific act of terror is still unresolved. B'nai B'rith has long advocated for Ahlam Tamimi's extradition in our meetings with diplomats and officials in Washington and abroad. It's important that the administration brings a resolution to this case. The victims' families, and all Israelis deserve to see justice served. All terrorists must face consequences for their crimes. We will continue to raise this issue at the highest levels.” B'nai B'rith declined to provide the names of diplomats and officials with whom it spoke about Tamimi's extradition.
Stephen M. Flatow, President of Religious Zionists of America, whose daughter Alisa Flatow was murdered by Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas near Kfar Darom in 1995, said “In January of this year, I wrote on behalf of the RZA to Secretary Rubio regarding the Tamimi extradition. In 2022, I wrote, in my name, a column for the Jerusalem Post, “Why the US arrests some terrorists but ignores others.’” He added “State and the Department of Justice will use any excuse possible to not ask for Tamimi’s extradition.”
David Weissmann, a spokesman for the Orthodox Union, wrote “You may want to check in with the Conference of Presidents. The OU has participated with their efforts on this matter.”
William Daroff , Chief Executive Officer of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, said "For the record, the Conference of Presidents has been outspoken and consistent in calling for the extradition of Ahlam al-Tamimi to the United States. Reflecting the importance we place on this issue, our very first public communication with the Trump administration, issued on Inauguration Day, January 20, 2025, called on Jordan to honor its extradition treaty and urged the new administration to press for Tamimi’s extradition. "
He noted that that statement read in part: “It is unacceptable that Ahlam Tamimi remains free in Jordan despite the U.S.-Jordan extradition treaty and her FBI Most Wanted Terrorist status. Justice must be served for the victims and their families, American and Israeli alike.”
He added "We also sent a formal letter to Secretary Blinken on January 16, 2024, underscoring that this case is a matter of justice and a test of U.S. credibility in counterterrorism policy."
The letter stated: “Tamimi’s ongoing protection by the Jordanian government is a betrayal of justice and a violation of Jordan’s obligations under its extradition treaty with the United States. It must not be tolerated.”
The following organizations also declined to answer i24 press queries: American Jewish Committee (Ted Deutch, a former Florida congressman oversees the AJC), World Jewish Congress, Jewish Federations, The Coalition for Jewish Values, Bnai Zion Foundation, The Rabbinical Assembly, Religious Zionists of America-Mizrachi [this appears to be wrong - see Mr Flatow's comment above], Rabbinical Council of America, Rabbinical Alliance of America, National Council of Young Israel, and Agudath Israel.
Roth told i24 “With appropriate respect for the various national-level American Jewish organizations who are now assuring us they have been with us in this battle all along, it actually feels very different to my wife and me. So different in fact that in most cases we have never received any indication - not even a clue - of the urging and the pushing and the advocating they have been doing all along so that the Sbarro savage is taken into custody in Jordan and delivered to Washington to face trial on charges that were unsealed in 2017.
"But to be clear: we're ready and willing to be updated so that we can co-ordinate with these well-resourced groups as we move our efforts into higher gear.”