Photo Credit: Yonatan Sindel/Flash90
U.S. President Barack Obama at Jerusalem Convention Center, March 21, 2013.

The “peace talks” between Israel and the Palestinians are foundering—as usual.  When this last round started, Israel was extorted to release approximately 100 certified Palestinian murderers for the privilege of having the Palestinians meet with Tzipi Livni.  The clock is running out on the talks with nothing concrete—other than John Kerry’s frequent flier miles—to show for it.

In order to continue the “peace process” charade, the Palestinians have again been coaxed to make a ridiculous demand, which has now been thrown at Israel.  The Palestinian Authority wants the release of two major terror leaders:  Marwan Barghouti and Ahmed Sadaat.  The request was made directly to President Obama.  As of the time of this writing, we don’t know the President’s views on the subject or whether he has passed along the request to Israel.

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Marwan Barghouti was one of the people responsible for the horrific suicide bombing that twelve years ago changed my life, and that of my then seven-year old son, forever. In an effort to ensure that Barghouti remains in jail, I wrote and sent the following letter:

Hon. Barack H. Obama President of the United States of America White House Washington, D.C.

20 March ’14                                               Sent by FAX

Mr. President:

I am writing for your immediate consideration.  It has been reported in the press and confirmed to me by a Knesset member that President Abbas requested your assistance in securing the release of Marwan Barghouti as a condition for continued peace talks with Israel.  I sincerely request that you please not assist in any way in the release of this unrepentant mass-murderer.  Tomorrow will mark 12 years since our oldest son, then seven years old, and I were wounded in a suicide bombing in downtown Jerusalem.  Yehonathon had the head of a screw pass fully through his right brain, while I had two screws pass through my left arm.  The picture below was taken within minutes of the attack:

Alan Joseph Bauer stands over his son Yehonathon, minutes after they were injured in suicide bombing attack in Jerusalem on March 21, 2002.

The role of Marwan Barghouti in this attack was revealed in indictments against the heads of the Fatah terror cell behind the attack.  The dispatcher was an intelligence officer in the Palestinian Authority; he has moved up three ranks during his incarceration in Israeli prison. His indictment reads in part as follows:

17. On 20 March 2002, Nasser Shawish met in Ramallah with the head of the “Tanzim” of Fatah in the region, Marwan Barghouti. Nasser Shawish passed along to Marwan Barghouti that the accused was ready to send a suicide bomber for the purpose of performing a suicide attack inside the State of Israel. Marwan Barghouti asked to know if the accused and Nasser Shawish needed anything for the purpose of carrying out the planned attack. Though he was answered in the negative, Marwan Barghouti gave Shawish the amount of 600 dollars American.

The media have attempted to portray Marwan Barghouti as some kind of Nelson Mandela.  The truth though is quite the opposite.  Barghouti has never renounced violence as a legitimate means for advancing political goals, and he has never shown any remorse for his prolific terror activities that led to a forty-count indictment against him.  Instead, he has encouraged additional “resistance” (i.e., terror) from his jail cell.  Barghouti’s release may convince the Palestinians to sit around the table for an extra couple of months, but it will not bring peace.  Barghouti’s presence outside of jail will be a driver for new Fatah terror activity, as Barghouti’s only card is terror, a point reinforced by confessions of his lieutenants from the Second Intifada.

Mr. President, we are not the only American citizens to be harmed by the actions of Marwan Barghouti.  His continued incarceration is a small consolation for American terror victims like ourselves.  We cannot re-wind the clock and make the injuries and suffering disappear; the one thing we can do is to pursue justice and to do everything in our power to prevent terrorists from striking again. As such, I ask you Mr. President to please make clear to President Abbas that the US will not support or encourage the release of such a dangerous terrorist as Marwan Barghouti.

Mr. President, as a child growing up just outside of Chicago, I used to watch the CTA trains go into the Linden Street station.  On the side was painted:  The Spirit of Chicago—I Will.  I have worked in vain for the past eight years to convince officials at DoJ and the FBI to prosecute Barghouti and other terrorists who killed and maimed over ten dozen American citizens during the Second Intifada.  Your assistance in keeping Barghouti in jail would be an enormous boost to these efforts on behalf of my family and my fellow American citizens.

With the most sincere of thanks for your time and consideration,

/Alan J. Bauer/

Alan Joseph Bauer, Ph.D.

[email protected]
49 Ussishkin Street, Jerusalem 94542 Israel

CC Heather Cartwright, DoJ
Lisa Skolnick, FBI
Hon. Daniel Shapiro, Ambassador
Hon. Ted Poe, US Congress
Hon. Mark Kirk, US Senate

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Dr. Alan Bauer and his son were wounded in a suicide bombing in central Jerusalem on March 21, 2002. Dr. Bauer lives and works in Jerusalem.