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Arnold Roth, whose 15-year-old daughter Malki was murdered in the 2001 Sbarro pizzeria bombing in Jerusalem, is intensifying his public criticism of Jordan for sheltering Ahlam Tamimi, the woman who planned the attack that killed 16 people and injured more than 130.
Tamimi, who scouted the target and facilitated the suicide bombing on August 9, 2001, has lived freely in Jordan since her release in October 2011. She was part of a prisoner exchange that secured the return of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.
A convicted terrorist living in plain sight
The Sbarro bombing remains one of the deadliest terror attacks of the Second Intifada. Among the 16 killed were seven children and a pregnant woman. Three of the victims were American citizens.
Tamimi served roughly eight years of a life sentence in an Israeli prison before her release. During that time, in a 2006 documentary called “Hot House,” Israeli director Shimon Dotan informed Tamimi that eight children had been killed in the attack.
Her response was chilling. She repeated the word “eight” with a smile on her face.
Since arriving in Jordan, Tamimi has appeared in media without expressing remorse for the attack. She has not been confined, restricted, or held accountable in any visible way by Jordanian authorities.
The extradition fight
Roth and his wife Frimet have spent years pushing the US government to demand Tamimi’s extradition from Jordan. Their argument rests on two pillars: Jordan has an extradition treaty with the United States, and three Americans died in the bombing.
The US government has placed Tamimi on its Rewards for Justice list, offering up to $5 million for information leading to her capture. Despite that bounty and the existing treaty, Jordan has not handed her over.
Roth has urged successive US administrations and major Jewish organizations to apply pressure on Amman. The family’s advocacy has intensified in 2025, particularly after reports surfaced of negotiations between Jordan and Hamas regarding Tamimi’s status.
Why Jordan’s refusal matters
Jordan’s courts previously ruled that the extradition treaty with the US was not ratified properly, a legal argument that critics, including Roth, view as a convenient excuse rather than a genuine constitutional obstacle.
The case also raises broader questions about the durability of prisoner exchange deals. Tamimi’s release was part of a swap of over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for one Israeli soldier.
Reports of 2025 discussions between Jordan and Hamas about Tamimi’s potential transfer or extradition suggest that diplomatic channels may be shifting. The $5 million bounty remains active. The extradition treaty remains on the books. And Arnold Roth, more than two decades after burying his daughter, remains unwilling to let the world forget who Ahlam Tamimi is and where she is living.
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