PROUD OF MY SON: Mahmoud Hamdan Kwasma, the Haifa bomber (Allah predicted 9/11 1400 years ago)

This report is based in part on documents translated and provided by the IDF information unit and the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

On March 5, 2003, Mahmoud Hamdan Kwasma detonated the explosives belt he was wearing inside an Israeli bus, in the city of Haifa. Sixteen Israelis, including Arabs and Druze young people, were murdered. Scores more were wounded, many of them schoolchildren and students. Many of the injured remain in critical condition.

The suicide bomber was 20 years old, a student of the Hebron Polytechnic University (from which a large number of suicide bombers have emerged) and a member of the Hamas terrorist organization.

The mother of the suicide bomber, described as "Um Shadi," praised her son's deeds, and refused to act as if in mourning. The following is a translation of an article published on the Islamic Jihad's official website on March 6, 2003:

"The women swarmed around the Um Shadi, mother of Mahmoud Hamdan Kwasma, who carried out the suicide bombing on Wednesday in Haifa.They had come in order to praise her for the death of her son in the service of Allah."

"In the Kwasma household, situated on the first floor of a building in the Al-sheikh neighborhood in the city of Hebron, the Um Shadi served sweet coffee and 'Knaffe' [a sweet pastry eaten at celebrations].

The Um Shadi was not dressed in the ritual black dress of mourning, and did not serve bitter coffee as is customary on solemn occasions. She received the guests who had come to "mourn" holding, with a mixture of pride and matriarchal pain, the picture of her son clad in a red head dress."

"The Um Shadi addressed the journalists and quoted a passage from the Koran: 'Do not treat those who have died for the path of Allah as dead, but rather as living with Allah and being fed by his hand. She added 'my son is a Shahid [martyr], my son is alive and being nurtured [by Allah] and he is not dead.'"

The Um Shadi went on to say "I am proud of my son's deed, we must fight for our faith and not for our nation."

A senior Israeli security source emphasized that, in the overwhelming majority of cases, parents of suicide bombers are supportive of the decision by their children to take part in suicide attacks. Mothers who send their sons off to perpetrate such acts gain recognition from organizations like Hamas, who give them special recognition for giving up their sons to fight the infidels until death. Families of suicide bombers are also compensated by the Palestinian Authority and by foreign nations, iincluding Iraq.

The Hamas uses these women in television interviews and in internet discussion forums to encourage other mothers to send their sons to perpetrate suicide attacks.

Bomber praised September 11 as act of God A letter found on her son's body praised the 9/11 attacks on the Twin Towers:

"One of the miracles of the Koran - We present it to the Muslims, Jews and Christians: The World Trade Center situated on a New York street corner on the edge of the water collapsed on 11 September 2001. Allah said 1,400 years ago that the end of the world will come on that street in that building."

"Is one who establishes his building on the basis of reverencing god and to gain his approval better, or one who establishes his building on the brink of a rushing river, that falls down with him into the fire of hell? God does not guide the infidels." (Verse 109, Surah 9, Repentance).

"In searching the Koran, we find: Verse 109 in Surah Repentance, which is found in the first part of the Koran - this is the day of collapse. The number of the Surah Repentance is 9 - this is the month of the collapse. The number of words in the Surah from its beginning to its end is 2001 - this is again the year of the collapse."

Sorry, forgot the rest of sonny boy's handiwork.

Haifa Attack - Stories

Barry Oved, 21, from Rosh Pina

Barry Oved was on his way to visit his grandparents in Haifa. When they heard of the attack, members of his family tried to contact him via his cell-phone, without success. For a long time they tried to locate him, until Haifa's Rambam Hospital informed them that they had identified a body that fit his description. His family said that for the last week he had been on leave from the army, and two night ago he had been at a party with his unit in Rehovot. During the journey back to Rosh Pina, he tried to visit his grandparents.

"He was an innocent child," his sister Limor said Wednesday. "He was modest and shy, and gave everything he had to all he did." Barry was to have been released from the army in about five months.

Oved is survived by his sister, brother and parents. He was laid to rest at 4 P.M. on Thursday at the military section of the Rosh Pina cemetery.

Abigail Leitel, 14, from Haifa

Abigail Leitel was on her way to a friend's house from her school in the center of the Carmel. Her mother, Heidi, said that a family friend had informed her of the attack, and "I slowly understood that she had been killed."

The Leitel family came to Israel from New Hampshire 14 years ago, when Abigail was seven months old. "We are not Jewish," her mother said in Hebrew. They came to Haifa so that her father, Philip, could study at the Haifa Technion, and later decided to stay and raise their five children in Israel. He mother added that they don't know when, but Abigail will be laid to rest in Israel.

"My sister was an innocent child," Josiah, 15, said. "She loved people and she loved nature. She knew she loved God, and that he loved her."

Daniel Harush, 16, from Safed

Daniel Harush was a student at the army boarding school near Haifa's Hareali school. He finished his lessons early Wednesday, as "most of his class was on a trip to Poland," his sister Ronit said. "He should have gone too."

Daniel asked permission to leave the school to submit a form for theory lessons for driving. "On the way back he caught a bus up the Carmel, and that's where the attack happened," Ronit said. A family member who studied for the last three years in Haifa said that only last week he had signed for three years service in the army. "He was planning a military career, and wanted to train as a pilot. That was his dream, and he would have fulfilled it," Ronit said. "He excelled in everything since he was little. This summer he was going to do a parachuting course."

Yuval Mendelevitch, 13, from Haifa

Yuval Mendelevitch, was speaking on the phone with his father while on the bus that blew up. Mendelevitch, an eighth-grader from Haifa, was on his way home from school.

Kmar Abu Khamed, 13, from Daliat al-Carmel

Farid Bashara, Kmar Abu Khamed's, uncle who was a police officer and sapper, described the daughter of his sister as a quiet girl, who "loved everyone and did everything she could to succeed at school." He said Khamed's body arrived late Wednesday night and a heavy sorrow fell on the family and the village.

Meital Katav, 20, from Haifa

Meital Katav was released from military service just over a month ago, after serving in a base near the Lebanon border, and had decided to work in a gas station in the center of the Carmel, according to the rules laid out for those leaving their military service early. Her uncle, Karmi Katav, said "she was a sweet and smiling child."

At around 2 P.M. Wednesday, she called her sister Vered, chatted with her and told her that she was leaving work to go home. Just after 2 P.M. she got on the bus and the conversation was cut off.

"We searched for her till midnight, until we got to the hospital, where she was identified. It hurt so much. When she was at my son's wedding, she said that she too wished to be happy in an event like that," Karmi said. She added that Meital's father had five children and would get up at 5:30 A.M. to take her to the bus station on her way to the army base.

Tom Hershko, 16, and his father Motti Hershko, from Haifa Tom Hershko was returning with his father Motti from a visit to Netanya. Tom's mother, Ruth, said she spoke to her only son a few moments before the explosion.

"Tom called me from the bus and said he was on line 37," Ruth said. "He was supposed to be at school, but he said that he had something important to tell me. 'I'll tell you when I get back from Dad's house' he said. I also had a surprise for him - I had arranged a high-speed internet connection for him. I didn't want to tell him by telephone, I wanted it to be a surprise. He wanted to tell me something, and left with his secret. I wanted to surprise him, and I didn't succeed. That was the last conversation. When I heard about the attack, I knew that they were dead. I asked that they save me a space in the cemetery next to them, as one day I want to be buried at their side."

Tom, who loved to go out with his father, seemed extremely happy, Ruth said. "Motti was a great man and a great father. They did karate together. Tom had almost attained a black belt, but he injured his finger and didn't do the test. Motti and Tom were the best friends. Though it hurts so much, I am glad they went together, because Motti will certainly continue to look after him."

Her son, Ruth said, had three close friends, one of which died two years ago. Tom wrote a song called "We were four, and three remain." Now, she says, only two remain.

Staff Sergeant Eliahu Lacham, 22, from Haifa

Eliahu Lacham was laid to rest at 9 P.M. on Thursday at military cemetery in Haifa.

Assaf Zur, 16, from Haifa

Assaf Zur was to have celebrated his seventeenth birthday in April. At the time of the bombing, he was on his way home from the Ort Hannah Senesh school, where he focused his studies on computer sciences.

"Assaf knew how to take advantage of life at any given moment. He took advantage of every second of his life. He loved to surf, to have fun, and he loved music," his father, Yossi said of his son.

Yossi had spoken to his son on the phone some three hours before the attack. "I called to ask him how he was. Assaf wanted me to bring him something. We had a short conversation that lasted a few minutes."

"He thought about his enlistment in the military and had begun considering what he would do in the army, but unfortunately he will never reach that stage of his life," his father said. Yossi said that he and his wife, Leah, never restricted their children's activities. "We let them live their lives. We never restricted them. We never considered that option, and he didn't either."

Assaf was the middle child, and is survived by his parents, 19-year old brother Arik, a soldier, and younger brother Almog, 6, a first-grader.

Assaf was laid to rest at 4 P.M. Thursday at Kfar Samir cemetery.

Marak Takash, 54, from Haifa

Details of the burial of Marak Takash have not yet been released.

Smadar Firstatter, 17, from Haifa

Smadar Firstatter, 17, from Haifa, was considered a good student and a disciplined individual. "She was a sensitive girl, and was very quiet," said the Haifa district Education Ministry supervisor. Smadar's homeroom teacher eulogized Smadar and spoke about her at the Wizo arts school. Smadar is survived by her father, an attorney with the police, and her mother, an educational psychologist.

Students and staff at the Wizo arts school could not explain why Smadar was on the 37 bus at the time of the bombing. Some said that Smadar left school early to meet with a friend. "Its fate, just fate," a relative said.

Smadar is survived by her father, an attorney with the police, and her mother, an educational psychologist. Her funeral was held at 1 P.M. Thursday in Haifa.

Tal Kehrmann, 17, from Haifa

Tal Kehrmann was buried Thursday afternoon in Haifa cemetery. Her family asked that the funeral be kept private.

Mariam Atar, 26, from Haifa

Mariam Atar was laid to rest at 4 P.M. Thursday in Acre.

Elizabetta (Liz) Katzman, 16, from Haifa

Elizabetta (Liz) Katzman was a senior at the Leo Beck high school in Haifa where her studies concentrated on the theater. Liz immigrated to Israel twelve years ago from the former Soviet Union with her parents, Alex and Vilena, and older sister Marina. Liz was killed together with her good friend Tal. "They had gone to look at costumes for the play that they were producing, 'The Best of Friends,' and I truly hope that the play will be staged in her memory. She put a lot into that play," her sister Marina said. Liz will be laid to rest at 1 P.M. Friday at the Haifa cemetery.

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