2004 Jerusalem bus 19 bombing

2004 terrorist incident in Jerusalem yes September 2026 Jerusalem bus 19 bombing הפיגוע בקו 19 בירושלים he the Second Intifada Bus 19.jpg Remains of the charred bus Israel jerusalem 31 46 25 35 12 57 The attack site Israel Jerusalem, Israel Egged bus / Area near Israeli Prime Minister residence 2004 01 29 yes 9:00 am UTC+2 31 46 25 N 35 12 57 E inline,title Suicide bombing 6.8 kg lb Suicide vest 11 civilians (+1 bomber) 50+ Ali Yusuf Jaara, aka Ali Munir Jaara Responsibility claimed by: Hamas Hamas Al-Qassam Brigades Fatah Fatah Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades 1 Linde v. Arab Bank Goldberg v. UBS AG Sokolow v. Palestine Liberation Organization A Palestinian suicide bombing was carried out in Jerusalem, Israel on Egged bus #19, on 29 January 2004. A Palestinian bomber detonated an explosive belt as the bus was traveling between the two campuses of Hadassah Medical Center, when the bus was at the corner of Arlozorov street and Gaza Street. Eleven passengers were killed and over 50 people were wounded, 13 of them seriously. Both Hamas and Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claimed responsibility. The site was chosen to be near the Israeli Prime Minister's residence. It was the most fatal attack in Israel since the Maxim restaurant suicide bombing, and among the top 20 most deadly attacks of the Second Intifada. ZAKA, a voluntary post-disaster response team in Israel, alongside a Christian Zionist group called Jerusalem Connection International, brought the bombed out shell of Bus 19 to The Hague in 2004 during a hearing in the International Criminal Court on the West Bank barrier. They wanted to illustrate the human impact of terrorism felt in Israel. Rabbi Avi Weiss attended the display of the bus at The Hague, and said it was an effective emotive piece to connotate the reality of terror. While the bus was displayed at The Hague, Arab leaders including Balad party Arab Knesset member Azmi Bishara, Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei, and Palestinian National Initiative director Mustafa Barghouti agreed that the timing of the suicide bombing hurt their people's cause. After its display at The Hague, the Bus 19 exhibit was seen as successful by Jewish synagogues and university groups in the United States, and ZAKA received requests for it in the U.S. The bus went on a tour in the country, with memorials held at the National Mall near the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. for the National Day of Prayer in the U.S.; it was subsequently shown at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, San Francisco and Berkeley, California, and at several other cities. The bus was later transported to Adamstown, Maryland, to be incorporated into a Peace Memorial at Camp Shoresh affiliated with Beth Sholom Congregation. The Bus 19 suicide bombing was featured in an exhibition by Dutch curator Nadette de Visser called Objects in Conflict: Israeli and Palestinian Stories. Her exhibition included a damaged jacket in the attack worn by an injured journalist Erik Schechter from The Jerusalem Post, and was shown in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and at the Arti et Amicitiae in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Author Zeruya Shalev based her autobiographical novel Pain on her experiences surviving injuries from the bombing; her book won the 2019 Jan Michalski Prize for literature. Multiple lawsuits were filed by families of victims of the bombing against financial banking institutions under the U.S. Anti-Terrorism Act of 1992 (ATA), including Linde v. Arab Bank in 2004 and Goldberg v. UBS AG in 2008. The United States House of Representatives discussed the Goldberg impact, in a 2025 amicus curiae brief in the Fuld v. Palestine Liberation Organization case before the Supreme Court of the United States. A separate lawsuit, Sokolow v. Palestine Liberation Organization, triggered the treble damages portion of the Anti-Terrorism Act, and families of Bus 19 casualties and other victims of terror from the Second Intifada period garnered an award judgement of US$655.5 million. The defendants attempted to freeze the payout in a request to the US Supreme Court — this was denied by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, in August 2026. Attack thumb|left|Site of bombing in 2023 On 29 January 2004, shortly before 9:00 AM, a Palestinian suicide bomber detonated himself in the back of an Egged bus at the corner of Arlozorov street and Gaza street in Jerusalem.21 September 2026 https://www.baltimoresun.com/2004/01/30/watching-her-gaza-st-bus-explode-2/ Watching her Gaza St. bus explode 30 January 2004 Baltimore Sun https://web.archive.org/web/20250610142802/https://www.baltimoresun.com/2004/01/30/watching-her-gaza-st-bus-explode-2/ 10 June 2025https://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/community/this_day_in_history/this-day-january-29-in-jewish-history-by-mitchell-a-levin/article_004abbcd-3466-5d53-8843-6f5f2f2c65c9.html 21 September 2026 Cleveland Jewish News This Day, January 29, In Jewish History Mitchell A. Levin 28 January 2017 The attack took place near the official residence of then-Prime Minister of Israel, Ariel Sharon.Leonard A. Cole Terror: How Israel Has Coped and What America Can Learn 35–40 Leonard A. Cole 978-0253000019 Indiana University Press Buses 2007https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/jan/29/israel2 Ten killed in Jerusalem suicide bombing The Guardian 29 January 2004 21 September 2026 https://web.archive.org/web/20130827224504/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/jan/29/israel2 27 August 2013https://www.gov.il/en/pages/victims-of-palestinian-violence-and-terrorism 21 September 2026 Victims of Palestinian Violence and Terrorism since September 2000 4 April 2024 https://web.archive.org/web/20240425042352/https://www.gov.il/en/pages/victims-of-palestinian-violence-and-terrorism 25 April 2024 Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs The explosion itself occurred as the bus was approaching Sharon's residence. Sharon was not present in his residence at the time the bomb went off on the bus. The bus had been crowded and nearly full, due to the attack taking place during local rush hour during residents' commutes.Prisoners Swapped After Attack. The Exchange Between Israel and Hezbollah Follows a Suicide Blast Eugene Register-Guard 30 January 2004 A6 The blast tore the bus apart, blowing the roof into the air and breaking all the windows. Bus 19's former color was originally green; it had become charred by the explosion. One side of the bus had been exploded off and separated from its structure. A sanitation employee who had witnessed the bombing at the site stated he had seen parts of bodies fly into the air and up to dozens of meters away from the scene. One of the first journalists to arrive on scene prior to the ambulances was Bret Stephens, who was at the time editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Post.https://www.thetimes.com/world/middle-east/article/bomber-kills-ten-outside-ariel-sharon-residence-t33qhx9mwvd 22 September 2026 The Times Bomber kills ten outside Ariel Sharon residence 29 January 2004 He arrived three minutes after hearing the initial blast from his residence. Stephens recounted seeing "chunks of human flesh" on the ground, a disembodied arm and a leg, and pools of blood. He observed a disembodied torso, three corpses outside of the bus, and three unmoving bodies inside of the bus, in addition to an individual who was rocking with convulsions. He told The Guardian on scene, "There was glass everywhere, human remains everywhere, shoes, feet, pieces of guts. There were pieces of body everywhere." Paramedic Eli Beer stated the impact zone and disbursement covered a large radius: "There were a lot of heavy injuries, a lot of the people who were injured were in bad condition, a lot of people had missing limbs." Injured patients from the bombing were taken to hospitals in Israel including the Ein Karem and Mount Scopus hospitals within the Hadassah Medical Center, Shaare Zedek Medical Center, and Bikur Cholim Hospital. Body parts were collected from the bomb blast scene and transported to Abu Kabir Forensic Institute in Tel Aviv for forensic identification and criminal investigation analysis. Originally the death count was ten individuals deceased from the bombing shortly after the explosion.https://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/30/world/suicide-bomber-on-jerusalem-bus-kills-10-and-himself.html 29 September 2026 The New York Times Suicide Bomber on Jerusalem Bus Kills 10 and Himself 30 January 2004 James Bennet https://web.archive.org/web/20101005034657/https://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/30/world/suicide-bomber-on-jerusalem-bus-kills-10-and-himself.html 5 October 2010Corey Flintoff Corey Flintoff National Public Radio 29 September 2026 Bomber Kills at Least 10 in Israel 29 January 2004 https://www.npr.org/2004/01/29/1624730/bomber-kills-at-least-10-in-israel https://web.archive.org/web/20250731114624/https://www.npr.org/2004/01/29/1624730/bomber-kills-at-least-10-in-israel 31 July 2025https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/2004/01/29/Ten-killed-in-Jerusalem-bus-bombing/69701075391315/ 29 September 2026 United Press International Ten killed in Jerusalem bus bombing Joshua Brilliant 29 January 2004 https://web.archive.org/web/20240623002051/https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/2004/01/29/Ten-killed-in-Jerusalem-bus-bombing/69701075391315/ 23 June 2024 After further analysis of the body parts at the Abu Kabir laboratory, law enforcement raised the total to eleven deceased. Casualties Fatalities thumb|Memorial plaque at site of the bombing The blast killed 11 people and injured more than 50.https://jewishvirtuallibrary.org/casualties-in-suicide-and-other-bombing-attacks-in-israel-since-the-declaration-of-principles 21 September 2026 Casualties in Suicide and Other Bombing Attacks in Israel Since the Declaration of Principles (September 1993 - Present) Jewish Virtual Library 2026 American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise https://web.archive.org/web/20200923163218/https://jewishvirtuallibrary.org/casualties-in-suicide-and-other-bombing-attacks-in-israel-since-the-declaration-of-principles 23 September 2020https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Yona-Rubinstein/publication/239932193_Fear_and_the_Response_to_Terrorism_An_Economic_Analysis/links/5544884b0cf234bdb21bf537/Fear-and-the-Response-to-Terrorism-An-Economic-Analysis.pdf Data Appendix Table 1. List of the 20 Most Fatal Terror Attacks Against Israeli Targets During the "Al Aqsa" Intifada Fear and the Response to Terrorism: An Economic Analysis Gary S. Becker Yona Rubinstein Centre for Economic Performance 2042-2695 September 2011 1079 21 September 2026https://www.haaretz.com/2004-01-31/ty-article/death-toll-of-jerusalem-suicide-attack-rises-to-11/0000017f-e288-df7c-a5ff-e2fa110b0000 23 September 2026 Haaretz Death Toll of Jerusalem Suicide Attack Rises to 11 Jonathan Lis 31 January 2004 Thirteen were in serious condition.American Jewish Yearbook 2005 255 American Jewish Committee 978-0874951356 David Singer Lawrence Grossman 105 The Bus 19 bombing was the most fatal terror attack at the time since the Maxim restaurant suicide bombing in 2003. Prior to the explosion, the city of Jerusalem had not been hit with a similar terrorist attack since the 2003 Café Hillel bombing. The Café Moment bombing from March 2002 which also resulted in 11 fatalities, occurred in the same vicinity. The bus 19 bombing was among the top 20 most fatal terror attacks during the Second Intifada. Terror victims murdered in the bombing included: Eli Zfira, Mehbere Kifile, Dana Itach, Baruch (Roman) Hondiashvili, Yechezkel Isser Goldberg, Natalia Gamril, Viorel Octavian Florescu, Anat Darom, Hava Hannah (Anya) Bonder, Rose Boneh, and Avraham (Albert) Balhasan.23 September 2026 CNN Israelis conduct second day of West Bank raids 31 January 2004 https://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/01/31/mideast/ 14 December 2004 https://web.archive.org/web/20041214144823/https://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/01/31/mideast/https://www.haaretz.com/2004-01-29/ty-article/victims-of-jerusalem-bus-bombing/0000017f-e3c9-d804-ad7f-f3fb43f80000 23 September 2026 Victims of Jerusalem Bus Bombing 29 January 2004 Haaretz Anat Darom was a 23-year-old student who was on the bus on her way to a job interview. Darom was in the midst of her studies in the fields of statistics and sociology. Rose Boneh was thirty-nine and worked in a laboratory alongside her sister. Eli Tzfira worked in janitorial services in education and was on his way to the start of his shift. Baruch (Roman) Hondiashvili worked in Israel as a prize-winning chef.23 September 2026 https://www.chicagotribune.com/2004/01/31/israel-flattens-suicide-bombers-home/ Chicago Tribune Israel flattens suicide bomber's home 31 January 200423 September 2026 https://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/31/world/israelis-mourn-their-dead-and-destroy-bomber-s-house.html The New York Times Israelis Mourn Their Dead and Destroy Bomber's House James Bennet 31 January 2004 https://web.archive.org/web/20150528053835/https://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/31/world/israelis-mourn-their-dead-and-destroy-bomber-s-house.html 28 May 2015 American actor Jon Voight traveled to Israel and met with children victims of terror including the daughter of Hondiashvili; the actor was moved by the young girl's letter in which she wrote: "Creator of the world, please bring peace to the world."23 September 2026 https://www.chabad.org/news/article_cdo/aid/672368/jewish/American-Actor-Brings-Smiles-to-Israeli-Children.htm American Actor Focuses on Children During Weeklong Tour of Israel Tamar Runyan 15 May 2008 Chabad.org News Chabad https://web.archive.org/web/20250520030455/https://www.chabad.org/news/article_cdo/aid/672368/jewish/American-Actor-Brings-Smiles-to-Israeli-Children.htm 20 May 2025 Natalia Gamril emigrated from St. Petersburg, Russia to Israel with her daughter in 1993.Haaretz 23 September 2026 Natalia Gamril 30 January 2004 https://www.haaretz.com/2004-01-30/ty-article/natalia-gamril-53/0000017f-e39e-d9aa-afff-fbde07aa0000 Gamril was on her way to her work caring for an elderly woman as the bomb in the bus killed her. She lived together with her daughter Svetlana in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Kiryat HaYovel. Yechezkel Isser Goldberg, known as "Chezi", was born in Toronto, Canada and immigrated to Israel where he found work in Jerusalem as a counselor to at-risk adolescents and their relatives.23 September 2026 https://jweekly.com/2004/02/06/toronto-born-youth-counselor-42-remembered-after-israel-bus-bombing-last-we/ Toronto-born youth counselor, 42, remembered after Israel bus bombing last week 6 February 2004 The Jewish News of Northern California https://web.archive.org/web/20240422135202/https://jweekly.com/2004/02/06/toronto-born-youth-counselor-42-remembered-after-israel-bus-bombing-last-we/ 22 April 2024The Forward 23 September 2026 https://forward.com/news/6250/suicide-blast-kills-counselor-ten-others/ Suicide Blast Kills Counselor, Ten Others 6 February 2004 https://web.archive.org/web/20190723065911/https://forward.com/news/6250/suicide-blast-kills-counselor-ten-others/ 23 July 2019 Goldberg had himself written journalism two years prior to his death, about the dangers of terrorism in Israel. Writing for Israel National News in 2002, Goldberg commented, "The bomber could very well be someone I have seen in a passing moment. I think we are in this bloody mess because many of the politicos making life-and-death decisions for this country have forgotten that terror is just a five-minute ride from home, anywhere."23 September 2026 Jewish Telegraphic Agency https://web.archive.org/web/20240806140209/https://www.jta.org/2004/02/01/lifestyle/counselor-mourned-after-bombing 6 August 2024 https://www.jta.org/2004/02/01/lifestyle/counselor-mourned-after-bombing Dina Kraft Counselor mourned after bombing 1 February 2004 Injuries ORT Israel computer science instructor, Masha Novikova, sustained heavy injuries in the bombing.The Jerusalem Post 24 September 2026 Peggy Cidor https://www.jpost.com/local-israel/in-jerusalem/article-115654 25 September 2008 Election Diary: Cartoon candidate - Mayoral candidate Meir Porush launched his campaign with a virtual press conference instead of the usual face-to-face encounter.24 September 2026 The Jerusalem Post https://www.jpost.com/local-israel/in-jerusalem/article-118878 Who's who and what's what - The nitty-gritty of the November 11 local elections in Jerusalem. Cidor Peggy 30 October 2008 She had immigrated from Moscow, Russia, to Israel twenty years previous. After the bombing, her concerns for safety improvements for the people of Jerusalem led her to run for city council in 2008 under the political party of Yisrael Beiteinu. She became leader of the local party of Yisrael Beiteinu in Jerusalem. She served on the city council in 2013.https://www.jpost.com/in-jerusalem/city-front/this-week-in-jerusalem-319551 24 September 2026 The Jerusalem Post City Front - This week in Jerusalem 319551 - Peggy Cidor's round-up of city affairs Peggy Cidor 11 July 2013 The Jerusalem Post journalist, Erik Schechter, faced injuries sustained as a passenger on Bus 19.https://www.wsj.com/articles/life-during-wartime-1474328569 22 September 2026 Bret Stephens Bret Stephens The Wall Street Journal 19 September 2016 Life During Wartime - As terrorist attacks become more common, public tolerance for liberal pieties will wane. https://web.archive.org/web/20161217054609/https://www.wsj.com/articles/life-during-wartime-1474328569 17 December 2016https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZE2FPPNvtU Bus 19 - Erik Schechter Story Erik Schechter survived the Bus 19 bombing in Jerusalem, Israel on January 29, 2004. He shared his story of that day and how the tragedy has affected his life. YouTube 31 March 2012 22 September 2026 Adam Edelman Schechter thought his own leg was mangled at the bombing scene, and that he was going to die, until a policeman on scene pulled someone else's flesh from Schechter's leg. Though initially his injuries were classified as "moderate" — Schechter suffered a shattered kneecap, vascular damage, and wounds from shrapnel. Schechter's recovery from his injuries at the suicide bombing took months.Bret Stephens 22 September 2026 https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2025/jul/03/what-globalize-the-intifada-really-means/ What 'globalize the intifada' really means Bret Stephens 3 July 2025 The Spokesman-Review https://web.archive.org/web/20250704093200/https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2025/jul/03/what-globalize-the-intifada-really-means/ 4 July 2025 Schechter's colleague, editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Post Bret Stephens, had arrived minutes after the bombing, and in the chaos failed to spot his fellow journalist at the scene. Israeli author and literary editor, Zeruya Shalev, was severely injured in the bus bombing. She had just finished bringing her daughter to her kindergarten class.24 September 2026 2084-6045 War and Peace: The Theme of Conflict in Modern Hebrew Literature of the Last Seventy Years Elvira Grozinger 10.32798/pflit.578 https://www.journals.polon.uw.edu.pl/index.php/pfl/article/view/578 13 10 26 April 2020 337–352 Prace Filologiczne https://web.archive.org/web/20200705114119/https://www.journals.polon.uw.edu.pl/index.php/pfl/article/view/578 5 July 2020https://dublinliteraryaward.ie/the-library/authors/zeruya-shalev/ 24 September 2026 2026 Zeruya Shalev Dublin Literary Award https://web.archive.org/web/20260308031554/https://dublinliteraryaward.ie/the-library/authors/zeruya-shalev/ 8 March 2026 She was on her way back to her residence in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Rehavia and was on the street outside of the bus when the bomb exploded. She was badly hurt, and her wounds required a four month recovery process.https://www.romaniajournal.ro/spare-time/zeruya-shalev-at-bookfest-a-most-expected-encounter/ 24 September 2026 Romania Journal 1 June 2016 Alina Grigoras Zeruya Shalev at Bookfest-a most expected encounter https://web.archive.org/web/20191023115257/https://www.romaniajournal.ro/spare-time/zeruya-shalev-at-bookfest-a-most-expected-encounter/ 23 October 2019 She was unable to return to her work as an author, and was immobilized and bedridden during her recovery period.24 September 2026 https://www.mihaelafrank.com/blog-3-1/blog-post-title-four-72pdh Elle Romania March 2014 Zeruya Shalev: Bits of Life Mihaela Frank24 September 2026 https://fathomjournal.org/zeruya-shalev-on-pain-and-her-role-as-israels-literary-therapist/ November 2019 Zeruya Shalev: On 'Pain' And Her Role As Israel's Literary Therapist Liam Hoare Fathom Journal https://web.archive.org/web/20191219231654/https://fathomjournal.org/zeruya-shalev-on-pain-and-her-role-as-israels-literary-therapist/ 19 December 2019 Shalev commented on her recovery process: "I was in bed for half a year—for the first time in my life, I had a lot of time. ... I tried to write, but it was impossible." She recalled that her physical recovery parallelled her ability to return to writing: "I remember so well the day I was able to put my feet on the ground, then how slowly I started to walk again, to sit on a chair, to sit in front of the computer." Official reactions Israel Prime Minister of Israel Ariel Sharon was stationed at his farm Havat Shikmim in the South of the country when the bomb went off. Raanan Gissin, spokesperson for the Prime Minister's office, emphasized the West Bank barrier would decrease the prevalence of such terrorist attacks going forwards. Prime Minister Sharon representative David Baker referenced the bus bombing in asserting the Palestinian Authority was doing, "absolutely nothing to stop this terror". Jerusalem police chief Mickey Levy lamented the severity of the terrorist attack's impact, "It was a very serious attack on a bus packed with passengers." Shlomo Aharonishki, commander of the national police in Israel, stated to journalists that the bus bombing, "proved once again that there is no change of strategy on the other side. They are still trying to carry out attacks, any way they can. He emphasized similar bombings had been prevented by Israeli security services: "The thin line that divides between today's severe attack and dozens of cases in which attacks were thwarted is (formed by) the security forces, the Israel Defense Forces, the Shabak (security service) and the police." Prime Minister Sharon met with the Defense Minister of Israel, Shaul Mofaz, in Lod on the day of the bombing to discuss their country's response.29 September 2026 Yedioth Ahronoth 29 January 2004 Efrat Weiss Eyal Hareuveni Hebrew language י-ם: 11 הרוגים בפיגוע בקו 19 https://web.archive.org/web/20251115112017/https://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-2866703,00.html 15 November 2025 https://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-2866703,00.html During the bombing, Mofaz had been in the midst of a meeting in Tel Aviv, with U.S. diplomats John Wolf and David M. Satterfield on the peace process. After the meeting, Mofaz gathered the heads of the country's defense apparatus to map out their plan. They decided not to close entry and exit from the Palestinian territories in response to the attack. The day of the bombing, Israel had a previously scheduled prisoner-hostage exchange planned with the Lebanese Shia Islamist paramilitary group Hezbollah. The Israeli government decided to go ahead with the exchange after the bombing, and coordinated the prisoner release four hours after the explosion. They released 400 Palestinian prisoners of Israel into the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. The country also released another 29 individuals primarily from Lebanon, in a deal brought about through participation of diplomats from Germany. Some of the Arab and Lebanese citizens released were taken by airplane from Israel to Germany. Through the same coordinated deal, Hezbollah released Israeli businessman Elhanan Tannenbaum who they had kidnapped, and the bodies of three soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces who had been ambushed by the paramilitary group in 2000.https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CREC-2004-03-03/pdf/CREC-2004-03-03-pt1-PgE292-2.pdf#page=1 30 September 2026 Congressional Record Edward L. Schrock Ed Schrock https://web.archive.org/web/20260818173303/https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CREC-2004-03-03/pdf/CREC-2004-03-03-pt1-PgE292-2.pdf#page=1#page=1 18 August 2026 Article by Rabbi Israel Zoberman 3 March 2004 E292 United States House of Representatives The IDF soldiers: Omar Suad, Adi Avitan, and Benny Avraham, had been used by Hezbollah for external messaging when their bodies were in the group's possession. Avraham had previously participated in a joint communal program with the Jewish community of the Tidewater Region, Virginia. The exchange deal between Israel and Hezbollah had been negotiated over several years prior. As part of the exchange deal, Hezbollah pledged to reveal information about the disappearance of Ron Arad, an Israeli Air Force weapon systems officer missing in action. Prime Minister Sharon attended the reception of Tannenbaum and the IDF soldiers' remains at Ben Gurion Airport later the same day as the bombing. He made public remarks contrasting the somber nature of the bombing, the reception of the soldiers, and the recovery of the kidnap victim. Sharon stated, "The reality of our lives enforces upon us at times the dreadful mixing of sadness with sadness, of sadness with joy." He explained the Israeli government's decision to continue the prisoner-hostage exchange deal the same day as the bombing, stating the choice was motivated by "Jewish sentiment" and a commitment by the country to "bring the boys home, to the soil of our homeland". Sharon canceled a planned meeting between Palestinian and Israeli government officials and countries providing funding to both, as a result of the bus bombing. The meeting would have been about improving living conditions for Palestinians. Silvan Shalom, Israeli Foreign Minister, released a joint statement with the Prime Minister explaining their rationale for canceling the meeting: "There is no room for such discussions on this difficult day where innocent civilians were murdered on the streets of the capital of Israel." Shalom requested the Palestinian Authority government carry out their assertions they would work to decrease terrorist acts by Palestinian people, or, "there will not be progress in the peace process". Palestinian Authority Officials representing the Palestinian Authority condemned the Bus 19 bombing. Saeb Erekat, a Palestinian negotiator who served the PA in international relations, stated, "This vicious cycle can only be broken by renewal of a meaningful peace process." He commented without the reengagement of the peace process, the cycle would escalate, saying: "Otherwise, violence will breed violence, bullets will breed bullets." Erekat stated, "We condemn any harm to civilians, Israelis and Palestinians alike." Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority Ahmed Qurei offered without any preconditions to reach out and meet with Prime Minister Sharon to discuss the matter. Prime Minister Qurei condemned bus bombing, and "the continued violence against our people". International United States Secretary of State Colin Powell was critical of the taking of innocent lives, and lamented the impact of the terrorist attack on the peace process, commenting: "Once again, terrorists have killed innocent people and at the same time they have struck a blow once more against the aspirations of the Palestinian people to have a homeland of their own. "This kind of action has got to stop." Secretary-General of the United Nations Kofi Annan exhorted both sides to focus on the Israeli–Palestinian peace process. Annan released a statement from Brussels, Belgium: "Once again I appeal, to Israelis and Palestinians alike, to rise above feelings of anger and vengeance, however natural, and to devote all their energies to negotiating a true and lasting peace in which two peoples will live side by side, each in their own state." Perpetrators and investigation 2004 law enforcement response Intelligence gathering In 2004, the Israeli intelligence community estimated that on any given day, approximately 300 Palestinians were in the act of planning terrorist attacks.John Vause John Vause 30 September 2026 https://transcripts.cnn.com/show/pzn/date/2004-02-26/segment/01 https://web.archive.org/web/20211204105556/https://transcripts.cnn.com/show/pzn/date/2004-02-26/segment/01 4 December 2021 CNN Paula Zahn Now - John Vause reports from Jerusalem. The country had faced 139 suicide bombings over a period of 3.5 years. During the Second Intifada period comprising September 2000 through March 2002, Israeli intelligence foiled a total of 31 attempting bombings. This increased from 2002 through 2004, when it successfully stopped 283 additional attempted bombing terror attacks. CNN characterized the bus 19 bombing as an Israeli law enforcement oversight gap, with journalist John Vause reporting: "Bus 19 blown apart in Jerusalem ... Despite an average of 60 terrorist alerts a day, Israel authorities were caught totally off-guard, 11 people dead, 50 wounded. ... Here, when there's an intelligence failure, it can often have deadly consequences." Both Hamas and the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack, which occurred less than 24 hours after eight Palestinians were killed in an Israeli army raid on the outskirts of Gaza. Dore Gold, advisor to Prime Minister Sharon, told CNN the Israeli government uncovered planning regarding the suicide attack that had gone on for weeks prior to the bombing, and that it was not in response to the IDF military raid in the Gaza Strip. Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades maintained ties with President of the Palestinian National Authority at the time, Yasser Arafat. The bomber was identified as Ali Yusuf Jaara, a 24-year-old Palestinian policeman from Bethlehem.21 September 2026 https://web.archive.org/web/20041208102455/mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/2000_2009/2004/1/Suicide%20bombing%20of%20Egged%20bus%20no%2019%20in%20Jerusalem%20- http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/2000_2009/2004/1/Suicide%20bombing%20of%20Egged%20bus%20no%2019%20in%20Jerusalem%20 Suicide bombing of Egged bus no. 19 in Jerusalem Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs 29 January 2004 8 December 2004Chronologies of Modern Terrorism 2015 Barry Rubin Barry Rubin Judith Colp Rubin Taylor & Francis 978-1317474647 January 29, 2004 234 He was also known as Ali Munir Jaara.Los Angeles Times 21 September 2026 https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-jan-30-fg-busbomb30-story.html 30 January 2004 Israel Blast Marks Return of Violence Ken Ellingwood https://web.archive.org/web/20211022125751/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-jan-30-fg-busbomb30-story.html 22 October 2021http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3440265.stm Suicide attack on Jerusalem bus - At least 10 people have been killed in a suicide bomb attack on a bus in west Jerusalem, along with the bomber. BBC News BBC 29 January 2004 https://web.archive.org/web/20260827034001/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3440265.stm 27 August 2026 21 September 2026https://web.archive.org/web/20260214192920/https://www.osenlaw.com/content/bus-19-bombing-jerusalem 14 February 2026 https://www.osenlaw.com/content/bus-19-bombing-jerusalem 2026 Bus 19 Bombing Jerusalem Osen Osenlaw.com He left his will and testament with the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades. The U.S. had previously identified the group on the United States Department of State list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations. Jaara had resided in the Palestinian refugee camp of Dheisheh as well as at Aida Camp.https://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0130/p07s01-wome.html 21 September 2026 Bus No. 19, and hope, blasted in Jerusalem - Talks between US, Israeli, and Palestinian officials were canceled Thursday after a suicide bombing. The Christian Science Monitor 30 January 2004 Ilene R. Prusher https://web.archive.org/web/20040211220117/https://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0130/p07s01-wome.html 11 February 200445825 Keesing's Record of World Events 50 2004 Roger East Longman University of Michiganhttps://www.thetimes.com/world/middle-east/article/policeman-kills-10-with-bus-bomb-near-sharons-home-ms0xsx2b6xs 21 September 2026 The Times Policeman kills 10 with bus bomb near Sharon's home Ian MacKinnon 30 January 2004 His family expressed surprise at his suicide bombing act.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3444705.stm 21 September 2026 BBC News From policeman to suicide bomber - The family of the latest Palestinian suicide bomber have expressed shock at his involvement in the attack because he was due to be married next week. 30 January 2004 4 June 2004 https://web.archive.org/web/20040604211948/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3444705.stm21 September 2026 https://iol.co.za/news/world/2004-01-30-i-wanted-to-see-him-married-not-buried/ 30 January 2004 Independent Online 'I wanted to see him married, not buried'https://www.news24.com/bomber-about-to-be-married-20040129f Bomber about to be married 30 January 2004 21 September 2026 News24 His father his son had been scheduled to be married the week after his death.3100-5071 https://www.proquest.com/openview/790e868add316acf67e23e39c335b7a5/1 Nicolae Radu Land Forces Academy Review 16 3 296–301 Terrorist's Personality. Cruelty and Self-Control Introspection 2011 ProQuest His father stated, "This does not benefit the Palestinian people. The solution is not such operations but the path of negotiations. I'm sad, I'm angry. I'm against killing innocent people." The bomber's family stated he was proud of his work as a local Palestinian police officer. Jaar's uncle was Jihad Jihara, who had previously been expelled to Europe after the Siege of the Church of the Nativity by the IDF in response to Palestinian militants that had attempted to hide there in 2002. Hamas military unit the Al-Qassam Brigades released a statement claiming responsibility for the bombing, shortly after one released by Fatah's Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades.ABC News Australia 29 September 2026 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2004-01-31/hamas-makes-rival-responsibility-claim-for/128264 Hamas makes rival responsibility claim for Jerusalem bus bombing 30 January 2004 https://web.archive.org/web/20161027204621/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2004-01-31/hamas-makes-rival-responsibility-claim-for/128264 27 October 2016 They said that Jaar was a member of Hamas before his death. Hamas released a photograph and statement after the bombing acknowledging its role and that of the suicide bomber Jaara. The picture showed Jaara holding an automatic rifle, standing beside a belt of explosives, and wearing a bandana associated with Hamas. In the picture, Jaara's bandana stated in Arabic, "the Al-Qassam Brigades" — the Hamas military wing. Hamas criticized Fatah's Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades for its "hasty claim" that Jaara had carried out the bombing on their behalf instead of Hamas. Both Hamas' Al-Qassam Brigades and Fatah's Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades had previously worked together to carry out a joint attack in collaboration with the 2004 Erez Crossing bombing. Jaara carried a bag onto the bus that contained metal shrapnel pieces in a bag along with 15 pounds of explosive materials. He was given the bomb by Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades and they drove him to the bus. Prior to the bombing, he was known in his local community to be a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization political group Fatah. Hamas published a statement explaining their location choice near the official residence of Prime Minister of Israel Ariel Sharon. Hamas stated explained the suicide bombing, "sent a clear message to the Zionist war criminal Sharon: that he is not far from the hands of our fighters.". Military operations The day after the attack, Israel Defense Forces entered Bethlehem to conduct operations.30 September 2026 https://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/01/29/jerusalem.blast/ CNN At least 10 dead in Jerusalem terror attack - Palestinian sources: Police officer set off blast 30 January 2004 https://web.archive.org/web/20041209015254/https://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/01/29/jerusalem.blast/ 9 December 2004 IDF troops went into Aida Camp, where they demolished the residence of the suicide bomber and also made five arrests in the area.Israel Mounts a Limited Response to Bus Attack Los Angeles Times 31 January 2004 21 September 2026 Ken Ellingwood https://web.archive.org/web/20230524071413/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-jan-31-fg-mideast31-story.html 24 May 2023 https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-jan-31-fg-mideast31-story.htmlIsrael Destroys Home Of Suicide Bomber Sarasota Herald-Tribune 30 January 2004 5A Operations by the IDF in response to the attack continued for a second day, where the soldiers arrested three suspects and searched the area door-to-door in their investigation. Forces used in the operation included army tanks, armored troop transports, jeeps, and approximately 20 other IDF military vehicles.25 September 2026 Associated Press YouTube 30 January 2004 WRAP Israeli incursion, house demolitions, bus blast site https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdR7kHpPncs On 2 February 2004, the Shin Bet acted in conjunction with the Israel Defense Forces in a counterterrorist operation in Aida Camp.https://web.archive.org/web/20040706051822/http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Government/Communiques/2004/Terrorist%20leader%20responsible%20for%20last%20Thursday-s%20J 6 July 2004 2 February 2004 Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs Terrorist leader responsible for last Thursday's Jerusalem suicide bombing killed in Bethlehem http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Government/Communiques/2004/Terrorist%20leader%20responsible%20for%20last%20Thursday-s%20J During the operation the Israeli forces killed Muhammad Abu Ouda, leader of the Bethlehem district chapter of Izadin al-Kassam. Abu Ouda was a member of Hamas and involved in leadership of the bus bombing plot. He reported to Hamas member, Ali Alaan. Abu Ouda had been educated under Ali Alaan in bomb building and deployment. He rose to become the top bombing consultant of Hamas in the Bethlehem region. He was involved in gathering additional terrorists and motivating them to carry out suicide bombings. Prior to the Bus 19 bombing, in mid-2003, Israel had given the name of Abu Ouda to security officials within the Palestinian Authority, but they did not action on the intelligence. Israeli officials told The New York Times in February 2004 that Al Aqsa terrorist cells behind suicide bombings including Bus 19, particularly those out of the Bethlehem area, were being financed and organized by Iran, through its proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon.22 September 2026 Suicide bomber hits Jerusalem bus James Bennet https://www.capecodtimes.com/story/news/2004/02/23/suicide-bomber-hits-jerusalem-bus/50940772007/ The New York Times 23 February 2004 Cape Cod Times Further investigation into the bombing identified other Hamas terrorist cell members, including Muhammad Kayed Khalil al-Nashash and Nufal Jihad Nufal Adawin. Adawin was indicted by a military court in Israel for his role in the attack. The indictment stated Adawin acted in coordination with another member of Hamas and was helped by the terrorist organization called Tanzim-Fatah. Both Adawin and al-Nahash were convicted for their crimes and membership in terrorist groups.23 September 2026 https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-nyed-1_05-cv-03738/pdf/USCOURTS-nyed-1_05-cv-03738-20.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20240806045747/https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-nyed-1_05-cv-03738/pdf/USCOURTS-nyed-1_05-cv-03738-20.pdf 6 August 2024 Courtney Linde v. Arab Bank PLC United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York Memorandum Opinion and Order 8 April 2015 Brian Cogan Brian Cogan 2025 prisoner-hostage exchange Criminal mastermind behind the planning and orchestration of the attacks, Hilmi Abdul Karim Muhammad Hammash, was arrested and convicted for his leadership role in the Bus 19 bombing.27 September 2026 https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/israel-hamas-ceasefire-deal-who-are-the-key-prisoners-slated-for-release-by-tel-aviv-as-part-of-truce-key-details/articleshow/124493712.cms Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal: Who are the key prisoners slated for release by Tel-Aviv as part of truce -- Key details 12 October 2025 The Times of India https://web.archive.org/web/20260830091152/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/israel-hamas-ceasefire-deal-who-are-the-key-prisoners-slated-for-release-by-tel-aviv-as-part-of-truce-key-details/articleshow/124493712.cms 30 August 2026https://themedialine.org/headlines/israel-hamas-ceasefire-and-prisoner-exchange-key-figures-named-in-controversial-release-list/ 27 September 2026 The Media Line 11 October 2025 Israel-Hamas Ceasefire and Prisoner Exchange: Key Figures Named in Controversial Release List https://web.archive.org/web/20251014010250/https://themedialine.org/headlines/israel-hamas-ceasefire-and-prisoner-exchange-key-figures-named-in-controversial-release-list/ 14 October 2025 Hammash received a total of 12 life sentences for his role in orchestrating the Bus 19 bombing.https://www.timesofisrael.com/pa-minister-visited-terrorist-families-over-ramadan/ 27 September 2026 The Times of Israel https://web.archive.org/web/20170802164123/https://www.timesofisrael.com/pa-minister-visited-terrorist-families-over-ramadan/ 2 August 2017 15 August 2013 Elhanan Miller PA minister visited terrorists' families over Ramadan - TV and official Fatah Facebook pages also extol attacks against Israelis, Palestinian watchdog finds In 2013, the Palestinian National Authority official daily newspaper Al-Hayat al-Jadida reported that Palestinian Minister for Prisoner Affairs named Issa Karake spent the Ramadan period visiting the family of Hammash. While their relatives are jailed in prisons in Israel, their families garner a monthly allowance of funds from the Palestinian Authority. Upon release from prison, the prisoner additionally receives a stipend higher than the usual salary given to workers residing in the Palestinian territories. During the same period of Ramadan in 2013, the terrorism orchestrators were praised on Palestinian television and Fatah social media pages including Facebook. Leadership representative from Fatah, Tayseer al-Bardini, was shown in media releases characterizing the terrorists as "heroes" in praise extolling their actions. In 2025, while in the midst of serving his life imprisonment sentences, Hammash was selected for release as part of a prisoner-exchange by Israel for hostages taken by Hamas during the Gaza war hostage crisis.https://www.firstpost.com/explainers/palestinian-prisoners-release-israel-hamas-hostages-explained-13941665.html Firstpost Mass bomber, Hamas commander and more… The Palestinian prisoners to be freed by Israel 13 October 2025 27 September 2026 https://web.archive.org/web/20251017110650/https://www.firstpost.com/explainers/palestinian-prisoners-release-israel-hamas-hostages-explained-13941665.html 17 October 2025 His release was chosen during the slated round for 13 October 2025, included in a total of 250 prisoners with life sentences for release by Israel as the first phase of implementation of the 2025 Gaza peace plan.27 September 2026 Gazeta do Povo Quem são os terroristas soltos por Israel na troca dos reféns com o Hamas John Lucas 15 October 2025 https://www.gazetadopovo.com.br/mundo/quem-sao-os-terroristas-soltos-por-israel-na-troca-dos-refens-com-o-hamas/ https://web.archive.org/web/20251201103444/https://www.gazetadopovo.com.br/mundo/quem-sao-os-terroristas-soltos-por-israel-na-troca-dos-refens-com-o-hamas/ 1 December 2025 Brazilian Portuguese Upon Hammash's slated release, The Daily Telegraph characterized him among the more noteworthy of the 250 individuals discharged from prison in the Hamas-Israel exchange.The Daily Telegraph 1836-0203 Jubilant scenes as Palestinian prisoners freed in hostage swap - Crowds flocked to Palestinian prisoners as they tasted freedom after years behind bars, while Israel revealed the most notorious inmates released under the ceasefire deal. 14 October 2025 Writing for The Spectator, Middle East human rights campaigner Tom Gross was critical of Hammash's planned release by Israel, cautioning about worries of recidivism.Tom Gross The Spectator 27 September 2026 https://spectator.com/article/the-folly-of-releasing-hamas-terrorists-for-peace/ The folly of releasing Hamas terrorists for peace 12 October 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20260515082459/https://spectator.com/article/the-folly-of-releasing-hamas-terrorists-for-peace/ 15 May 2026 Aftermath Bus display The Hague, Netherlands thumb|The Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands, seat of the International Court of Justice Originally the wreck of Bus 19 was maintained and stored by the Israeli voluntary post-disaster response organization ZAKA in Jerusalem. ZAKA is responsible for the collection of body parts in Israel after terrorist attacks occur. The Jerusalem Connection International, a Christian Zionist organization also known as Christians for Israel, assisted ZAKA to bring the bus to be displayed at The Hague in the Netherlands.https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/feb/24/israel 22 September 2026 The Guardian Ian Black Ian Black (journalist) 23 February 2004 Middle East conflict hits The Hague - Court hears case against Israeli barrier https://web.archive.org/web/20130827233911/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/feb/24/israel 27 August 2013https://jewishjournal.com/israel/9241/ 22 September 2026 Jewish Journal 4 March 2004 Avi Weiss Avi Weiss Bearing Witness at The Hague https://web.archive.org/web/20260606163451/https://jewishjournal.com/israel/9241/ 6 June 2026 The wreck of the bus was on display first at the Hague for the International Court of Justice hearing about the Israeli West Bank barrier.21 September 2026 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2004/2/22/bomb-mars-world-court-hearing Bomb mars world court hearing - The bus bombing in Jerusalem cast a dark pall over The Hague as the town readied itself for the opening of the world court tribunal into Israel's “separation wall”. 22 February 2004 Al Jazeera 12 April 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20250412164144/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2004/2/22/bomb-mars-world-court-hearing2007 72 Contested Spaces: Sites, Representations and Histories of Conflict 978-0230013360 Palgrave Macmillan Graham Dawson J. Aulich Louise Purbrick The bus arrived at The Hague just prior to the 23 February 2004 hearing on the West Bank barrier Israel was building at the time. Display of the bombed out bus in The Hague had to first get confirmation from Dutch government authorities, and they approved its display during the ongoing debates over the West Bank barrier in Israel.https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2004/2/23/israeli-wall-hearing-stokes-pr-battle 22 September 2026 Israeli wall hearing stokes PR battle - As the International Court of Justice (ICJ) begins its controversial study of Israel's separation barrier, a battle for perceptions is raging outside. Al Jazeera 23 February 2004 https://web.archive.org/web/20260615183108/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2004/2/23/israeli-wall-hearing-stokes-pr-battle 15 June 2026 In addition to the bus itself, the display showed posters with photographs of the eleven people murdered in the bombing. Ten members of the ZAKA organization stood around the shell of the bus wearing yellow uniforms.https://www.jta.org/archive/demonstrators-outside-the-hague-mirror-opposing-sides-in-middle-east Jewish Telegraphic Agency 22 September 2026 24 February 2004 Demonstrators Outside the Hague Mirror Opposing Sides in Middle East 14 May 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20250514154041/https://www.jta.org/archive/demonstrators-outside-the-hague-mirror-opposing-sides-in-middle-east Israelis hoped that by bringing the bus to The Hague, they could show the West Bank barrier was utilized to prevent terror attacks such as the one that killed the passengers on Bus 19. Haim Fuchsman, a representative of the ZAKA organization who came with the bus during its tenure in the Netherlands, gave his impression of the impact of the bus display at The Hague: "People from all over the world had come to the Hague. The atmostphere was almost holy, as if the world had been silent, but now they were seeing how the Israelis had been suffering." Fuchsman noted he had observed the emotive nature on the bus 19 display at the Hague on attendees: "Many people saw the bus and shed tears. I felt that I was a representative there for everyone who had been killed." ZAKA director in Europe, Iris Boker, noted the emotive power of the husk of the bus, and observed while at The Hague her organization had already fielded requests from multiple organizations in the United States to display the wreckage. Rabbi Avi Weiss attended the display of the destroyed bus at The Hague, alongside 700 pro-Israel demonstrators and 1,200 Christians holding signs of Israeli terror victims. Weiss saw the bus being moved into the area during their protest against terrorism, observing, "While we were gathering to make our protest, the remains of Bus No. 19, a bombed-out Israeli bus from a recent terrorist attack in Jerusalem, was slowly towed into the area where we stood." Weiss commented that the display of the bus was an effective addition to the protest against terror: "The sight of the charred and mangled remains of the bus injected a powerful sense of reality into the scene." While the remnants of the bombed out vehicle were on display at The Hague, Balad party Arab Knesset member Azmi Bishara commented that the suicide bombing act on the bus did not further his group's political cause, and hurt their message at the International Court of Justice. Bishara stated, "It is the worst thing that could have happened in terms of the battle for public opinion. But these attacks, which are so hurtful to innocent people, have nothing to do with the Palestinian argument against the wall. Actions against civilians only help the Israelis to make life more severe for Palestinians." Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority Ahmed Qurei was not supportive of the bombing campaign. He observed that events such as these suicide bombings decreased empathy around the world for Palestinians at the international level. He went on to assert the bombing was actually carried out intentionally to weaken the case of his fellow Palestinian leadership during their argumentation at The Hague. Palestinian National Initiative director Mustafa Barghouti agreed that the timing of the suicide bombing hurt his people's cause in their argumentation at The Hague. He commented, "I feel angry because the bombing was wrong. It was not necessary. The whole world was respecting our self-restraint after what Israeli did in Gaza. We declared that we wanted a ceasefire and that Israel was the party which violated it all the time." Barghouti went on to emphasize the bombing illustrated the need for unity when attempting to express their political message, saying, "What happened has proved again, if the launch of the Geneva Accord did not settle the issue last time, that we need unified leadership and strategy. We cannot have three different lines at the same time." United States tour thumb|Bus frame on display at University of California, Berkeley (16 January 2005) The bus was on display at The Hague for three days during the hearings on the West Bank barrier, and it was subsequently returned back to Israel. Christians for Israel and ZAKA were both motivated by the response they received from peoples' reactions to the bus display at The Hague in the Netherlands. This impact motivated the two groups to bring the bus to the United States in May 2004. U.S. Brigadier General James M. Hutchens served as president of the Jerusalem Connection organization, and was involved with bringing Bus 19 to the U.S.Inna Rogatchi 24 September 2026 The Times of Israel Bilvavi, the tribes, and the connection of us all https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/bilvavi-the-tribes-and-the-connection-of-us-all/ 29 September 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20180929114624/https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/bilvavi-the-tribes-and-the-connection-of-us-all/ Hutchens explained his motivation to display the bus in the United States: "There is a global threat that we are facing today. We want to come together and say this is unacceptable." The original intended stops included Manhattan, New York, Chicago, Illinois, Denver, Colorado, Indianapolis, Indiana, and the District of Columbia. Bus 19 first came to be displayed in the U.S. in Washington, D.C.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2w5nP7cFq7k 22 September 2026 YouTube Associated Press Suicide bomb bus on display 7 May 2004 Washington, D.C. A stark symbol of terrorism was presented to visitors to The Mall in Washington on Thursday. The remains of Bus #19, lying on a flat bed truck was parked near the US Capitol as the focal piece of a rally against terrorism sponsored by Christians for Israel and ZAKA, the Israeli emergency response volunteer service. While in Washington, D.C., the remnants of the bus was displayed on the National Mall near the United States Capitol. The event was held in conjunction with the National Day of Prayer in the U.S. The sister of one of the victims attended the Washington, D.C. event on 6 May 2004. Yechezkel Goldberg was one of the eleven individuals murdered in the bombing, and his sister Carrie Devorah was at the event. Her brother was the first Canadian to die in a suicide bombing attack in Israel. Zelig Feiner attended the event as a spokesperson for the ZAKA organization. Feiner commented to the Associated Press, "Here in Washington, which is the centre of the Western world, we feel this is the right place to bring over the message that terror will not be tolerated." Feiner emphasized that his organization ZAKA volunteered to assist at similar terror events around the world: "Especially as volunteers who have attended to terrorist attacks, not only in Israel, but all over the world, if its a 9/11, if its in Turkey, if its Mombassa, we feel that we have not only the right, but the duty to bring out the strongest message against terrorism, and terrorism of any kind because terror is terror. There's no such thing as good terror or bad terror. Terror is evil and we have to do all that we can to condemn terrorism." After its exhibition in the District of Columbia, the bus was displayed in Baltimore, Maryland in July 2004.https://www.baltimoresun.com/2004/07/19/groups-exhibit-of-bombing-relic-seeks-to-drive-home-the-horrors-of-terrorism/ 24 September 2026 The Baltimore Sun Group's exhibit of bombing relic seeks to drive home the horrors of terrorism 19 July 2004 It was shown in Baltimore at the Yeshivat Rambam Maimonides Academy. While not on memorial display, the bus was stored near Washington, D.C., in Ashburn, Virginia. Under the co-sponsorship of many Jewish and Christian organizations, churches, and synagogues, it was put on display in several cities and at various US universities.http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/2004/10/bus19_1004_print.htm Bombed Israeli Bus on Display at Duke Oct. 12-13 https://web.archive.org/web/20060622114611/http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/2004/10/bus19_1004_print.htm 22 June 2006 Duke University News and Communications 11 October 2004 21 September 2026 Duke University At stops along its tour, the bus was held out as a focal point for rallies against terrorism. Palestinian and Muslim organizations in the U.S. protested against the display of the bombed out bus, stating its husk of its original chassis represented one piece of an ongoing political dispute over time. The Jewish campus organization Chabad brought the shell of the bus to Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, in October 2004.30 September 2026 https://www.worldjewishcongress.org/en/news/jewish-group-to-protest-pro-palestinian-gathering-at-duke-university Jewish group to protest pro-Palestinian gathering at Duke University World Jewish Congress 12 October 200421 September 2026 https://www.lubavitch.com/jewish-students-at-duke-university-to-pre-empt-negative-publicity/ Jewish Students at Duke University to Pre-empt Negative Publicity 11 October 2004 https://web.archive.org/web/20201115171105/https://www.lubavitch.com/jewish-students-at-duke-university-to-pre-empt-negative-publicity/ 15 November 2020 Lubavitch.com The exhibit was titled, "Bus 19 Memorial Exhibit" and it was located in front of the Duke Chapel in the Main Quad of the campus. Executive Director of Chabad at Duke University Rabbi Zalman Bluming explained the purpose of the memorial: "Its display at Duke reflects students' pride and solidarity with the people of Israel and the sorrow for the victims and their families." Rabbi Bluming went on, "It also conveys students’ condemnation of the ruthless tactics that have been used by Israel’s neighbors in this conflict to derail the possibility of peace." Duke University graduate student Jonas Rosenblum led a silent candle-light memorial vigil in front of the shell of the bus. Bus 19's wreckage came to San Francisco, California, and the University of California, Berkeley in Berkeley, California, in January 2005.San Francisco Chronicle 23 September 2026 https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/berkeley-critics-plan-to-protest-as-bombed-bus-2707387.php https://web.archive.org/web/20211022063654/https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/berkeley-critics-plan-to-protest-as-bombed-bus-2707387.php 22 October 2021 Berkeley - Critics plan to protest as bombed-bus tours - Pro-Israel group says display decries terror Patrick Hoge 6 January 2005https://web.archive.org/web/20240806213727/https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2005/01/05/display-of-mangled-israeli-bus-draws-opposition/ 23 September 2026 https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2005/01/05/display-of-mangled-israeli-bus-draws-opposition/ 5 January 2005 6 August 2024 Display of mangled Israeli bus draws opposition Bender Kristin J. East Bay Times It was called the "Rally Against Global Terrorism".Jihad Groupies and Other Wrong Numbers https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/333290 Jack Engelhard 23 September 2026 23 January 2005 Israel National News The event was criticized by Pro-Palestinian groups. Program director of the San Francisco chapter of the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, Rayan Elamine, stated, "We think they are playing into people’s fears and not their hopes for a better future." Israel Action Committee of the East Bay sponsored the display at Berkeley. The group's representative Susanne "Sanne" DeWitt organized the event. DeWitt explained her intentions for the event to the East Bay Times, "The message I want to get out is terrorism can come to any ordinary person going to work, school or shopping. Ordinary citizens going about their daily lives. It's shocking ... one second they were going to their destinations, and the next second they were literally blown to pieces." The 16 January 2005 memorial services event incorporating the bus was located at the Martin Luther King Jr. Park in the Berkeley Historic Civic Center District. Approximately 700 people attended the event.Suicide bombing exhibit from Jerusalem draws hundreds to Berkeley The Press Democrat 17 January 2005 Associated Press Michelle Locke https://www.pressdemocrat.com/2005/01/17/suicide-bombing-exhibit-from-jerusalem-draws-hundreds-to-berkeley/ 23 September 2026 The bus exhibit in Berkeley briefly became violent with an altercation between protesters of opposing sides, until they were successfully separated by riot police.https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2005/01/17/israeli-and-palestinian-activists-clash-in-berkeley/ East Bay Times 17 January 2005 Laura Ernde Israeli and Palestinian activists clash in Berkeley https://web.archive.org/web/20240806215110/https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2005/01/17/israeli-and-palestinian-activists-clash-in-berkeley/ 6 August 2024https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/berkeley-violence-flares-briefly-at-2737768.php 23 September 2026 San Francisco Chronicle Berkeley - Violence flares briefly at anti-terrorism event - Police keep order as Mideast turmoil sparks altercation 17 January 2005 Patrick Hoge https://web.archive.org/web/20140911113935/https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/berkeley-violence-flares-briefly-at-2737768.php 11 September 2014 The violence was started when aggressive counter-demonstrators holding Palestine flags attempted to enter into the Israel supportive side of the previously separated groups. Counter-demonstration officials had previously asked their own attendees not to interfere with the anti-terror rally itself. Master of ceremonies David Meir-Levi commented of the violent counter-protestors, "They attempted to disrupt the rally through the same kinds of intimidation and indiscriminate violence that are the hallmarks of our 21st century scourge, global terrorism." After its display at Berkeley, a similar event with Bus 19 was held the following day at Civic Center Plaza in San Francisco. The bus was displayed in front of San Francisco City Hall. The bus was featured in a display outside of the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, California, on 30 January 2005.24 September 2026 http://www.jewishjournal.com/home/preview.php?id=13569 https://web.archive.org/web/20060314124107/http://www.jewishjournal.com/home/preview.php?id=13569 14 March 2006 21 January 2005 Marc Ballon Bus No. 19 Making Controversial Stop The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles The memorial event at the Museum of Tolerance was supported by StandWithUs, the Israeli Consulate General, and the Simon Wiesenthal Center. A memorial event with Bus 19 was held in Hampton Roads, Virginia in April 2005.https://www.pilotonline.com/2005/04/08/does-bus-educate-or-place-blame/ 23 September 2026 The Virginian-Pilot 8 April 2005 Does bus educate or place blame? In addition to the District of Columbia, North Carolina, and California, Bus 19 was displayed in Florida and Texas to illustrate the reality of the impacts from terrorism. Peace Memorial at Camp Shoresh The shell of the bus made its way to a metal scrapyard in Frederick County, Maryland, called Reliable Junk. Scrapyard president, Brian Sclar, was a member of Beth Sholom Congregation of Frederick, Maryland. Sclar heard the story of the bus bombing and the history of the bus and reached out to his local synagogue Rabbi Morris Kosman, who contacted Rabbi David Finkelstein. Finkelstein was the camp director for Jewish summer camp facility in Adamstown, Maryland, called Camp Shoresh. Bus 19 was moved to become located as a Peace Memorial, at Camp Shoresh.https://www.qualitydigest.com/inside/metrology-article/3-d-scanning-bus-19-peace-memorial-033011.html 21 September 2026 3-D Scanning for Bus 19 Peace Memorial - Laser scanning and digital modeling deliver detailed models for visualizations and more QualityDigest 30 March 2011 Michael Raphael 12 June 2024 https://web.archive.org/web/20240612212213/https://www.qualitydigest.com/inside/metrology-article/3-d-scanning-bus-19-peace-memorial-033011.htmlhttps://www.fredericknewspost.com/archives/vehicle-of-peace/article_9fa85d23-7e2e-5bc3-8df0-29f304bceb6c.html 21 September 2026 Karen Gardner Vehicle of Peace - The remains of what is known as Bus 19 sat in a back corner at the Reliable Recycling Center in Frederick last week. The bus is now a part of Camp Shoresh near Adamstown and will become part of a memorial. 19 March 2006 The Frederick News-Post It arrived at the camp in Frederick County, Maryland, in March 2006. Finkelstein commented, "We're not bringing this here as a confrontational thing, but as a peaceful memorial for all sides." Cultural impact Objects in Conflict exhibition The Bus 19 suicide bombing was featured in an exhibition by Dutch curator Nadette de Visser in a 2006 presentation in the Knight's Palace in the Old City of Jerusalem's Christian Quarter.https://www.jpost.com/israel/intimate-objects-tell-tales-of-ongoing-conflict/article-25603 22 September 2026 The Jerusalem Post Intimate objects tell tales of ongoing conflict Yoav Appel 22 June 2006 Beside her hung the shredded remains of a jacket belonging to former Jerusalem Post reporter Erik Schechter, who was moderately wounded when a suicide bomber detonated his charge on a crowded No. 19 bus on Jerusalem's Rehov Aza in January 2004.https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/conflict-in-the-middle-east-symbols-of-life-and-death-426372.html 22 September 2026 Conflict in the Middle East: Symbols of life and death - In themselves, they are worth nothing. But everyday objects take on a new meaning when something terrible happens to their owner, as a poignant exhibition in Tel Aviv shows. Donald Macintyre The Independent 30 November 2006 https://web.archive.org/web/20220707135805/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/conflict-in-the-middle-east-symbols-of-life-and-death-426372.html 7 July 2022 Or the Israeli reporter Erik Schecter, who was badly wounded in a suicide bombing while working for the Jerusalem Post, if the ripped leather jacket he keeps as a symbol of his survival, because he believes it saved his life, disappeared?https://www.bidoun.org/articles/objects-in-conflict-israeli-and-palestinian-stories 22 September 2026 Objects in Conflict, Israeli and Palestinian Stories Nat Muller Bidoun 4 June 2006 https://web.archive.org/web/20260609143837/https://www.bidoun.org/articles/objects-in-conflict-israeli-and-palestinian-stories 9 June 2026 Titled, Objects in Conflict: Israeli and Palestinian Stories, her exhibition was displayed in Jerusalem in June 2006 and in Tel Aviv in November 2006. The exhibit featured 16 items that by themselves seemed ordinary in nature but together were representative of trauma from both Palestinians and Israelis from the ongoing conflict in the region. de Visser decided to include the mangled remnants of a jacket from The Jerusalem Post journalist Erik Schechter, who had been injured on the bus. She wanted to emphasize, "to get away from that stereotypical enemy image and realize that in the end, we're all dealing with human beings here, and that notion is getting lost more and more on both sides." The exhibition curator explained her thought process behind the pieces she chose for the exhibit: "The selection is based on the idea that you want people to understand each other better and to renew a small base of empathy for each other's story and each other's experience." After its exhibition in Jerusalem, de Visser took the piece be shown in Amsterdam at the Arti et Amicitiae — followed by a display at the Masa Aher-Geo Photo College in Tel Aviv. The curator later developed her piece into a book of the same name.de Visser Nadette Objects in Conflict 2006 978-9081047210 Stichting Building Bridgeshttps://search.worldcat.org/title/1255416680 22 September 2026 Objects in conflict = Objecten in conflict = Ḥafatsim be-sikhsukh = Aghrāḍ min al-ṣirāʻ WorldCat 2006 The book featured photographs of the objects including Schechter's jacket damaged by the bus bombing, from Israeli Associated Press photographer Oded Balilty. Pain: A Novel thumb|Pain by Zeruya Shalev, inspired by her experiences as a survivor of the Bus 19 bombing, won the Jan Michalski Prize for literature in 2019. Author and literary editor Zeruya Shalev based her fifth novel on her experiences as a survivor of the Bus 19 bombing. It took the form of an autobiographical novel.Inspired by traumatic experience The Jewish Chronicle 19 July 2013 30 0021-633X The 2019 book, titled: Pain: A Novel, featured the protagonist heroine named Iris who had survived an act of terrorism.https://fondation-janmichalski.com/en/prix-jan-michalski/edition-2019/ 24 September 2026 https://web.archive.org/web/20200813084044/https://fondation-janmichalski.com/en/prix-jan-michalski/edition-2019/ 2019 Laureate 2019 - Zeruya Shalev Jan Michalski Foundation 13 August 2020 The book was the first time Shalev felt she was readily able to write about her own experiences surviving the bombing.24 September 2026 https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Best-selling-Israeli-author-Zeruya-Shalev-14568466.php 28 October 2019 Best-selling Israeli author Zeruya Shalev discusses her profound new novel, 'Pain' Linda Tuccio-Koonz SFGate 1932-8672 The work begins with her character visiting a pain clinic on the tenth memorial of the original terror attack that had left her severely wounded.Words Without Borders 24 September 2026 Zeruya Shalev Connects Private Woes with Political Strife in 'Pain' 14 January 2020 Yael Halevi-Wise https://web.archive.org/web/20250712043727/https://wordswithoutborders.org/book-reviews/zeruya-shalev-connects-private-woes-with-political-strife-pain-halevi-wise/ 12 July 2025 https://wordswithoutborders.org/book-reviews/zeruya-shalev-connects-private-woes-with-political-strife-pain-halevi-wise/https://worldliteraturetoday.org/blog/book-reviews/wagering-love-zeruya-shalevs-pain-dinah-assouline-stillman World Literature Today 24 September 2026 5 December 2019 Wagering on Love in Zeruya Shalev's Pain Dinah Assouline Stillman https://web.archive.org/web/20191230214929/https://worldliteraturetoday.org/blog/book-reviews/wagering-love-zeruya-shalevs-pain-dinah-assouline-stillman 30 December 201924 September 2026 ReformJudaism.org Book Review: Pain: A Novel 2026 https://reformjudaism.org/reviews/pain-novel Marcia R. Rudin https://web.archive.org/web/20260822093954/https://reformjudaism.org/reviews/pain-novel 22 August 2026 The character was recovering from multiple fractured bones, burns, and many surgeries over a period of months to fix a fractured pelvis.24 September 2026 https://www.forewordreviews.com/reviews/pain-9781590510926/ Foreword Reviews Review of Pain December 2019 Michelle Anne Schingler https://web.archive.org/web/20240617101520/https://www.forewordreviews.com/reviews/pain-9781590510926/ 17 June 202424 September 2026 https://www.jpost.com/arab-israeli-conflict/love-and-pain-are-intertwined-in-zeruya-shalevs-newly-translated-novel-607966 The Jerusalem Post Love and pain are intertwined in Zeruya Shalev's newly translated novel Cassandra Gomes-Hochberg 15 November 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20191116143642/https://www.jpost.com/arab-israeli-conflict/love-and-pain-are-intertwined-in-zeruya-shalevs-newly-translated-novel-607966 16 November 2019 In an analysis of the book in the academic journal Prace Filogiczne, Elvira Grozinger wrote: "Her description of the terror attack is striking and penetrating". Shalev wrote of "the intensity of the detonation, this almost volcano-like eruption of the explosive, not the nails, the screws, bolts, and nuts mixed with rat poison in order to cause heavier bleedings, which deafened her ears". The book followed the character's ten-year-period of emotionally coping with the fallout of physical and psychological recovery from the bombing. Jewish Book Council noted, "the specter of tragedy in Israel is presented as a simple fact of life — just as Iris’s pain is for her."24 September 2026 https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/book/pain-a-novel Pain: A Novel Jewish Book Council 27 April 2020 Sarah Crowther https://web.archive.org/web/20210416082543/https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/book/pain-a-novel 16 April 2021 For her work on the book, Fathom Journal called the author, "Israel's Literary Therapist". Shalev's book won the Jan Michalski Prize for literature.24 September 2026 https://www.ithl.org.il/writer/zeruya-shalev/ Zeruya Shalev The Israeli Institute for Hebrew Literature 2026 https://web.archive.org/web/20260311004152/https://www.ithl.org.il/writer/zeruya-shalev/ 11 March 202624 September 2026 https://www.ifcj.org/news/fellowship-blog/zeruya-shalev-terror-attack-survivor-and-best-selling-author The Fellowship Terror Attack Survivor and Best-Selling Author 9 December 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20250909031015/https://www.ifcj.org/news/fellowship-blog/zeruya-shalev-terror-attack-survivor-and-best-selling-author 9 September 2025 The Jan Michalski Foundation jury in awarding Shalev the prize called her book, "a dizzying novel in which the author explores the physiological and emotional territories of suffering". The jury characterized the work as reflecting the psychological trauma of terrorism: "Shalev’s book also represents the novel as the scar tissue of a country." Anti-Terrorism Act lawsuits Linde v. Arab Bank Bus 19 bombing victims and their families filed multiple lawsuits against banks and financial institutions to recover money for supporting terrorism.https://case-law.vlex.com/vid/goldberg-v-ubs-ag-885026809 23 September 2026 Charles Proctor Sifton Charles Proctor Sifton 24 September 2009 Goldberg v. Ubs Ag, 660 F.Supp.2d 410 (E.D. N.Y. 2009) Memorandum Opinion and Order United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York These lawsuits were possible through a provision of the United States Congress federal law, United States Anti-Terrorism Act of 1992 (ATA). The ATA provides for individuals negatively impacted by US-identified foreign terrorist groups to request money for difficulties due to terrorism incidents.https://www.timesofisrael.com/ny-court-plo-pa-to-blame-for-terror-attacks-a-decade-ago/ 24 September 2026 The Times of Israel NY court: PLO, PA to blame for terror attacks a decade ago - In landmark verdict, American victims awarded $218.5 million in damages; Palestinian leadership held accountable for six attacks Jennifer Peltz 23 February 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20250621021430/https://www.timesofisrael.com/ny-court-plo-pa-to-blame-for-terror-attacks-a-decade-ago/ 21 June 2025 The Bus 19 bombing was included in a lawsuit by U.S. victims of terror in a case against the Arab Bank.22 September 2026 https://www.osenlaw.com/case/arab-bank-cases https://web.archive.org/web/20260418075237/https://www.osenlaw.com/case/arab-bank-cases 18 April 2026 2026 Arab Bank Cases Osen Osenlaw.com The victims were represented by the law firm Osen LLC, which filed the lawsuit Linde v. Arab Bank in July 2004 in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. The terror victims represented in the case attempted to hold the Arab Bank responsible for injuries and fatalities suffered from Palestinian terrorist groups during the Second Intifada of 2000-2004. Litigation procedures and appeals proceeded for ten years. A jury trial was presented in Brooklyn, New York in 2014. The trial focused on terrorist incidents the victims stated were carried out by Hamas. A jury of eleven people was unanimous in their 22 September 2014 decision, in finding the Arab Bank responsible for deliberately giving financial assistance to Hamas. The jury's unanimous decision was the first and only instance where a financial organization was found liable at civil trial for abetting terrorist activities. Goldberg v. UBS AG thumb|Goldberg v. UBS AG discussed by United States House of Representatives, in Supreme Court of the United States case Fuld v. Palestine Liberation Organization in 2025. The family of Bus 19 terror fatality Yechezkel Isser Goldberg (Stuart Scott Goldberg) filed a lawsuit against UBS bank under provisions of the ATA in 2008.2859 Christian Leuprecht Arthur Cockfield Pamela Simpson Maseeh Haseeb Tracking Transnational Terrorist Resourcing Nodes and Networks 2019 Florida State University Law Review https://www.fsulawreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/TRANSNATIONAL-TERRORIST-RESOURCING-.pdf 23 September 2026 2 July 2024 https://web.archive.org/web/20240702113609/https://www.fsulawreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/TRANSNATIONAL-TERRORIST-RESOURCING-.pdf 46 223 September 2026 https://thecjn.ca/news/financial-firm-sued-aiding-hamas-terror/ The Canadian Jewish News Lungen Paul Financial firm sued for aiding Hamas terror 28 February 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20241009013020/https://thecjn.ca/news/financial-firm-sued-aiding-hamas-terror/ 9 October 2024 The case, Goldberg v. UBS AG was also filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Plaintiffs included Goldberg's wife, Karen Goldberg, and their seven children. The plaintiffs in the federal lawsuit sought to see UBS bank responsible for giving financial assistance to the terrorist group Hamas. Goldberg described a network of charities under an umbrella called the "Union for Good", founded in 2000 to provide support for Hamas. One of those organizations within the Union for Good was the Association de Secours Palestinien (ASP) located in Basel, Switzerland.No Complicity Liability for Funding Gross Human Rights Violations? Sabine Michalowski Berkeley Journal of International Law 2012 30 2 451 1085-5718 23 September 2026 10.15779/Z38W07W https://lawcat.berkeley.edu/record/1125034?v=pdf The United States Department of the Treasury characterized ASP as the main source of financing for Hamas in Switzerland. President of the United States George W. Bush formally categorized ASP as a Hamas fundraising entity on 22 October 2003 and put ASP on the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) list and designated it as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT). Plaintiffs asserted that in spite of the United States federal government formally identifying ASP as a global terrorist group, UBS kept on providing it with financial services. Goldberg wrote that UBS transferred money from ASP to a local organization controlled by Hamas in the West Bank called Tulkarem Zakat. It found the last of three payments to the local organization of Hamas in the West Bank was made a few weeks prior to the Bus 19 bombing. The lawsuit survived a motion to dismiss in a ruling by the judge in 2009.https://www.law360.com/articles/124875/suit-saying-ubs-supports-hamas-stays-mostly-intact 23 September 2026 Ryan Davis Suit Saying UBS Supports Hamas Stays Mostly Intact 28 September 2009 Law360 https://web.archive.org/web/20150708103902/https://www.law360.com/articles/124875/suit-saying-ubs-supports-hamas-stays-mostly-intact 8 July 2015 Judge Charles Proctor Sifton issued a ruling finding that on the majority of counts in the Goldberg complaint, the plaintiff's wife and children adequately argued that UBS bank willfully ignored due notice that it was abetting terrorism through its financing of Hamas organizations. A 2019 analysis of the lawsuit's significance in the Florida State University Law Review noted, "The significance of this case rests in the lack of compliance by financial institutions and their collaboration with designated terrorist groups despite being fully aware of the repercussions." According to the U.S. Treasury Department, UBS settled with the U.S. federal government related to the bank's financing of terrorist organizations, for about US$1.7 million. In a 2025 amicus curiae brief filed by the United States House of Representatives before the Supreme Court of the United States in a separate case, Fuld v. Palestine Liberation Organization, the U.S. House cited the Goldberg v. UBS case in emphasizing the importance of the Anti-Terrorism Act.https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/24/24-20/341885/20250204111514312_Amicus%20Brief%2024-20tsacTheUSHouseOfRepresentatives%20TO%20FILE.pdf 23 September 2026 Supreme Court of the United States United States House of Representatives Fuld v. Palestine Liberation Organization Brief for the U.S. House of Representatives as Amicus Curiae in Support of Petitioners 4 February 2025 7 7 August 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20250807132726/https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/24/24-20/341885/20250204111514312_Amicus%20Brief%2024-20tsacTheUSHouseOfRepresentatives%20TO%20FILE.pdf In their Supreme Court brief, the U.S. House drew upon the federal court ruling in Goldberg v. UBS case which emphasized, "[t]here can be no dispute that combating international terrorism is a paramount interest of the United States". Sokolow v. PLO In a separate lawsuit, Sokolow v. Palestine Liberation Organization, against the Palestine Liberation Organization and Palestinian Authority, the Goldberg family was combined with multiple other victims of terrorism during the Second Intifada period.Eric Lipman Eric Lipman https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tl0UXjm2Aho YouTube Minnesota State Law Library Sokolow v. PLO: The U.S. Courts and the War on Terror 2 March 2016https://www.timesofisrael.com/the-11-families-at-the-heart-of-the-landmark-palestinian-terror-trial/amp/ 24 September 2026 The Times of Israel The 11 families at the heart of the landmark PA terror trial - Plaintiffs include kin of 4 victims of Hebrew University cafeteria attack, widow and 7 kids of a Canadian social worker, a 9/11 survivor Marissa Newman 24 February 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20250621143722/https://www.timesofisrael.com/the-11-families-at-the-heart-of-the-landmark-palestinian-terror-trial/amp/ 21 June 2025 Sokolow v. PLO was initially filed in 2004, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Lead plaintiffs in the lawsuit were Mark and Rena Sokolow and their children Jamie and Lauren, who had been injured in a separate bombing in Jerusalem during the Second Intifada in 2002. During the September 11 attacks, Mark Sokolow had survived after being in the South Tower when it was struck by United Airlines Flight 175. His family changed a planned vacation to Florida to instead visit his daughter in Israel, and were subsequently impacted by terrorism the following year in Jerusalem, in the Jaffa Street bombing. The case focused on the Palestinian Authority Martyrs Fund, whereby the PA made payments to terrorists and their families after inflicting harm on individuals including U.S. citizens. This link helped tie the case to legal jurisdiction within the U.S. During the trial, Karen Goldberg and her children testified on behalf of her deceased husband. She stated her seven children ranged in age from eldest 16 to youngest one year old at the time of the Bus 19 suicide bombing. Goldberg explained to the jury that her children faced serious psychological trauma due to the death of her husband. She said her one year old child had delayed speaking until the age of three, whereupon his first utterance was, "Did someone kill my father?"https://web.archive.org/web/20260531083843/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/24/nyregion/damages-awarded-in-terror-case-against-palestinian-groups.html 31 May 2026 Benjamin Weiser The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/24/nyregion/damages-awarded-in-terror-case-against-palestinian-groups.html Palestinian Groups Are Found Liable at Manhattan Terror Trial 23 February 2015 27 September 2026 Symptoms suffered by Goldberg's children were recounted by his wife as including anger management, family disruption, depression in childhood and adolescence, and difficulties with education. Goldberg testified to the mental state of her son, "He wanted to know, 'Where is the bad man?'" In 2015, the lawsuit was initially successful, and the families of the terror victims were awarded a judgement of US$218.5 million. The Palestinian Liberation Organization and Palestinian Authority were both found liable for the terror attacks during the Second Intifada in the Jerusalem area from the years 2001 through 2004. According to the Anti-Terrorism Act, the damages were able to be tripled in size. The 2025 ruling for the plaintiffs by the Supreme Court of the United States in the Fuld v. Palestine Liberation Organization decision, strengthened the legal standing of the parties in the Sokolow case as well. In April 2026, after a period of protracted litigation, legislation, and appeals, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reinstated the initial judgement value, plus treble damages — in the total amount of US$655.5 million.https://www.ynetnews.com/article/rkhki7ehwe Yedioth Ahronoth US appeals court reinstates $655M terror verdict against PLO, Palestinian Authority - Ruling revives 2015 jury award to American victims of Second Intifada attacks after the Supreme Court cleared the way for US courts to hear the case, including over the Palestinian Authority's 'pay for slay' payments policy Eichner Itamar 5 April 2026 https://web.archive.org/web/20260405185039/https://www.ynetnews.com/article/rkhki7ehwe 5 April 2026 25 September 2026https://www.jpost.com/international/article-892177 24 September 2026 The Jerusalem Post PA ordered to pay $655.5 million to Intifada victims after NY Appeals Court reinstates prior ruling - Last week, a federal Court of Appeals judge ruled to reinstate the original 2015 decision of Sokolow v. the Palestinian Authority. 5 April 2026 Mathilda Heller https://web.archive.org/web/20260406051003/https://www.jpost.com/international/article-892177 6 April 2026https://israel365news.com/420312/a-655-million-judgment-two-decades-in-the-making-inside-the-sokolow-case-against-the-pa-and-plo/ 24 September 2026 Israel365 News A $655 Million Judgment, Two Decades in the Making: Inside the Sokolow Case Against the PA and PLO Tamar Stein 7 August 2026 The PLO and PA then made an emergency request to the US Supreme Court in July 2026 in an attempt to freeze the judgement and avoid the payout of the US$655.5 million, and argued the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit did not have the authority to enforce the ruling plus treble damages.https://www.law360.com/employment-authority/articles/2507902/plo-asks-justice-sotomayor-to-halt-655m-terror-judgment 24 September 2026 Law360 Y. Peter Kang 30 July 2026 PLO Asks Justice Sotomayor To Halt $655M Terror Judgment https://web.archive.org/web/20260805020043/https://www.law360.com/employment-authority/articles/2507902/plo-asks-justice-sotomayor-to-halt-655m-terror-judgment 5 August 202624 September 2026 Tech Times https://www.techtimes.com/articles/322467/20260731/terror-victims-655m-award-risks-palestinian-authority-collapse-plo-tells-supreme-court.htm Terror Victims' $655M Award Risks Palestinian Authority Collapse, PLO Tells Supreme Court Joshua Mitchell 31 July 2026 https://web.archive.org/web/20260805020046/https://www.techtimes.com/articles/322467/20260731/terror-victims-655m-award-risks-palestinian-authority-collapse-plo-tells-supreme-court.htm 5 August 202624 September 2026 VIN News 4 August 2026 Reuven Rosenfeld Sotomayor Declines to Pause $655.5 Million Judgment Against Palestinian Authority https://vinnews.com/2026/08/04/sotomayor-declines-to-pause-655-5-million-judgment-against-palestinian-authority/ https://web.archive.org/web/20260805084910/https://vinnews.com/2026/08/04/sotomayor-declines-to-pause-655-5-million-judgment-against-palestinian-authority/ 5 August 2026 In August 2026, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States Sonia Sotomayor denied an emergency motion before the US Supreme Court from the defendants, in their unsuccessful attempt to freeze the payment to the plaintiffs in the Sokolow case.https://www.scotusblog.com/cases/palestine-liberation-organization-v-sokolow/ 24 September 2026 SCOTUSblog 3 August 2026 Decided - Palestine Liberation Organization v. Sokolow Application for stay denied by Justice Sotomayor on Aug. 3, 2026. https://web.archive.org/web/20260805122924/https://www.scotusblog.com/cases/palestine-liberation-organization-v-sokolow/ 5 August 2026https://www.supremecourt.gov/docket/docketfiles/html/public/26a141.html 24 September 2026 Supreme Court of the United States Sonia Sotomayor Sonia Sotomayor 3 August 2026 Application (26A141) denied by Justice Sotomayor. Palestine Liberation Organization, et al. Applicants v. Mark I. Sokolow, et al. Analysis thumb|The Jerusalem Post editor-in-chief Bret Stephens reflected on his experiences responding to the Bus 19 bombing minutes after the explosion. The Guardian journalist Ian Black reported on the display of the bus from The Hague in 2004, "outside the neo-gothic building, the fury of the Middle East raged unabated. Evidence of the conflict's human cost was everywhere." When the charred remnants of the bus was displayed near the United States Capitol on the National Mall in 2004, the Associated Press called it, "A stark symbol of terrorism". The news agency went on to note the bus came to represent Israel's actions protesting its criticism of the West Bank Barrier while at The Hague, and more broadly of the impacts of terror: "The hulk of the bus has become a symbol of Israel's defiance of the World Court in the Hague as well as a potent symbol of the remains of a terrorist attack." After successfully bringing the shell of the bus to be displayed as a memorial exhibit at Duke University in 2004, the Chabad organization noted, "Bus 19 has become a global symbol for the dread of life under terror, both in Israel and throughout the world." A Theory of International Terrorism: Understanding Islamic Militancy (2006) by author L. Ali Khan examined the bus usage after the bombing by ZAKA and Jerusalem International in what he referred to as a form of propaganda.116–118 Suppressive Entities A Theory of International Terrorism: Understanding Islamic Militancy L. Ali Khan 2006 Brill Publishers 978-9004152076 He acknowledged the gruesome nature of the bombing itself, while simultaneously lamenting usage of the shell of the charred bus on the global stage. Khan wrote, "The journey of Bus No. 19 is a remarkable story of real suffering and its dramatization for discrediting the Palestinian liberation movement in occupied territories. He was critical of display of the bus at The Hague to "dramatize the horrors of terrorism". After leaving The Hague and traveling on exhibits around the U.S., Khan characterized the bus display usage as gaining in fame, writing, "Thereafter, Bus No. 19's wrecked remains acquired a celebrity status. ... — to furnish visual effects of terrorism." In his 2007 book, Terror: How Israel Has Coped and What America Can Learn, political scientist and expert on bioterrorism and terror medicine author Leonard A. Cole interviewed The Jerusalem Post journalist Erik Schechter about his own experiences dealing with his injuries as a passenger from Bus 19. Cole asked the journalist if his impressions of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict or politics more broadly had shifted, as a result of directly himself being a victim of a Palestinian suicide bombing. Reflecting back, Schechter observed his own views had principally remained the same, "I'm still a secular classical liberal — sort of capitalist, separation of church and state, that sort of thing." Schechter commented generally about the Palestinian use of suicide bombers in an attempt to affect political change: "The only thing I feel, really, is pity for a society that makes heroes of people like suicide bombers. What are they going to say in their history books? That when they get to this period in their history their most popular people, their heroes, were mass murderers?" In a 2008 article on the lawsuit of the victim's family in Goldberg v. UBS AG, The Canadian Jewish News noted the path of Bus 19 from The Hague at the International Court of Justice, to display at cities and universities in the U.S. organized by ZAKA and Christians for Israel, and finally its movement to Camp Shoresh in Adamstown, Maryland. The paper pointed out that, after the bombing, "The wrecked bus, meanwhile, has had something of a second life." The case was analyzed in a 2011 issue of the academic journal, Land Forces Academy Review, in a behavioral analysis piece examining the psyche of the terrorist, their personality, and their degree of introspection and self-control of their impulses. Writing in 2015 for The New York Times, author Matthew Levitt cited the attack in commentary saying the Palestinian Authority "was tied to terrorist activities through lower level officials", noting the suicide bomber was a P.A. police officer.https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/02/24/terror-and-the-palestinian-authority/the-plo-verdict-should-be-no-surprise 21 September 2026 The New York Times 24 February 2015 The P.L.O. Verdict Should Be No Surprise https://web.archive.org/web/20150227135130/https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/02/24/terror-and-the-palestinian-authority/the-plo-verdict-should-be-no-surprise 27 February 2015 Matthew Levitt Matthew Levitt In a 2016 piece for The Wall Street Journal, reporter Bret Stephens reflected back on the impact of witnessing the scene on the ground of the bus bombing, prior to the arrival of any ambulances. As then-editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Post, he had been one of the first reporters on the scene of the bombing. Stephens observed, "Living in those circumstances had a strange dichotomous quality. Things were absolutely fine until they absolutely weren’t." He commented on the emotional aftereffects of witnessing a suicide bombing, "The sense of normality was achieved through an effort of will and a touch of fatalism. Past a certain point, fearing for your own safety becomes exhausting. You give it up." In 2025, Stephens again reflected back on witnessing the aftermath of the bombing on scene. He noted he had been directly on the scene and in the chaos failed to spot his fellow journalist, Erik Schechter. Stephens cited being a direct witness to the suicide bombing, in his piece critiquing use of the phrase, "Globalize the intifada". See also Café Moment bombing 2004 in Israel 2004 in Palestine Fuld v. Palestine Liberation Organization List of terrorist incidents in 2004 List of Palestinian suicide attacks Palestinian political violence Sokolow v. Palestine Liberation Organization Timeline of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict Timeline of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict in 2004 Zeruya Shalev References Further reading Leonard A. Cole Terror: How Israel Has Coped and What America Can Learn 35–40 Leonard A. Cole 978-0253000019 Indiana University Press Buses 2007 de Visser Nadette Objects in Conflict 2006 978-9081047210 Stichting Building Bridges 116–118 Suppressive Entities A Theory of International Terrorism: Understanding Islamic Militancy L. Ali Khan 2006 Brill Publishers 978-9004152076 Chronologies of Modern Terrorism 2015 Barry Rubin Barry Rubin Judith Colp Rubin Taylor & Francis 978-1317474647 January 29, 2004 234 Dark Hope: Working for Peace in Israel and Palestine David Shulman David Dean Shulman 978-0226755748 University of Chicago Press 244 January 29, 2004 Abu Dis American Jewish Yearbook 2005 231; 254–255 American Jewish Committee 978-0874951356 David Singer Lawrence Grossman 105 External links Suicide bombing of Egged bus no 19 in Jerusalem - 29-Jan-2004 - published at the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs Suicide attack on Jerusalem bus - published on BBC News on 29 January 2004 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZE2FPPNvtU Bus 19 - Erik Schechter Story Erik Schechter survived the Bus 19 bombing in Jerusalem, Israel on January 29, 2004. He shared his story of that day and how the tragedy has affected his life. YouTube 31 March 2012 22 September 2026 Adam Edelman https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2w5nP7cFq7k 22 September 2026 YouTube Associated Press Suicide bomb bus on display 7 May 2004 Washington, D.C. https://web.archive.org/web/20260214192920/https://www.osenlaw.com/content/bus-19-bombing-jerusalem 14 February 2026 https://www.osenlaw.com/content/bus-19-bombing-jerusalem 2026 Bus 19 Bombing Jerusalem Osen Osenlaw.com https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iz0eGNEHPzo 25 September 2026 YouTube Suicide attack Bus 19 Highlight Films Israel 3 September 2012 Category:2004 mass murders Category:2004 in Jerusalem Category:January 2004 in Asia Category:Hamas suicide bombings of buses Category:Terrorist incidents in Jerusalem in the 2000s Category:Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades attacks Category:Israeli casualties in the Second Intifada Category:2004 murders in Asia Category:Terrorist incidents in Asia in 2004 Category:Suicide bombings in 2004 Category:21st-century mass murders in Jerusalem Category:2004 road incidents Category:2000s road incidents in Asia Category:Suicide bombings in Jerusalem