Roth Family Sues Hamas Planner Ahlam Tamimi in U.S. Court Over 2001 Sbarro Bombing

Arnold and Frimet Roth have initiated a civil action in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, accusing Ahlam Aref Ahmad al-Tamimi of responsibility for the 2001 Sbarro restaurant bombing in Jerusalem that claimed their 15-year-old daughter Malki’s life. Filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act, the complaint asks for the highest statutory damages permissible. Al-Tamimi, a Hamas operative who received 16 life sentences in Israel, was freed in a 2011 prisoner-exchange and later obtained Jordanian citizenship, where she hosted a weekly TV program on the Hamas-linked Al-Quds channel.

Despite a $5 million bounty and an outstanding FBI warrant, Jordan has refused to extradite her. Attorneys from the National Jewish Advocacy Center and the Schoen Law Firm argue that a civil verdict can be enforced regardless of Jordan’s stance. The lawsuit has drawn renewed attention from U.S. officials and Jewish advocacy groups demanding Jordan honor its 1995 extradition treaty.