Three American girls are left fatherless by Jerusalem killing

daughters

These are the three American daughters of Ziad al-Jilani, who was killed Friday night in Jerusalem after praying, when he came too close to a "flying checkpoint" maintained by the Israelis, who shot him. The al-Jilani family has said that he lost control of his car amid rock-throwing; they have called for a full investigation of his killing.

Iman al-Jilani, the girls' aunt, writes: "Hannah is on the left and she is 17, Mirage on the right and she is 15, and the youngest is Yasmeen and she is 7 years old." They are all American citizens, as is their mother, Moira, who is now a widow. They have Jerusalem residency but are not citizens of Israel. 

The Israelis have characterized Ziad al-Jilani as a terrorist.

The family says that Ziad al-Jilani, 40, was planning to take his girls to dinner after he prayed. I wonder how many American politicians will speak up for these young constituents, and demand answers...

Oh and al-Jilani's sister just sent me this photo of father and daughters riding. I wonder: What will it take to wake Americans to the anti-Arab racism of our policies in the Middle East? A wholesome family? There are countless families of that description in the occupied territories. Some of them just don't look like the kids next door...riding

About Philip Weiss

Philip Weiss is Founder and Co-Editor of Mondoweiss.net.
Posted in Israel/Palestine

{ 29 comments... read them below or add one }

  1. Chu says:

    Sad that their father died to the ziomacht meat grinder.

    “The family’s lawyer, Muhannad Jbara, said that he is going to court to seek an investigation into the killing, since, according to him, the evidence shows that Joulani was killed in cold blood and that he did not attempt to run over the police officers. He said that he will start collecting testimonies of people who saw the incident to prepare for the court case after the family ends its mourning period. “

  2. Pamela Olson says:

    I doubt it will do any good — not with the mood in Israel lately (not that non-Jews were ever guaranteed fair trials in Israel). Every Arab is a terrorist — every Turk, too — especially if they’re killed by Israel. In fact, the definition of someone who’s definitely a terrorist is “any brown person killed willfully by Israel (or the US).”

    These girls should have a father. This travesty should never have happened. And people sit around in America dithering about BDS hurting the feelings of Israelis while they continue stealing lives and destroying families.

    • MRW says:

      This was like a gangland murder or drive-by shooting. That’s what Israelis have become. As research brain research shows, the culture wires the brain, and this is what Israelis, and Israel, are now.

      Amazing. That a culture that could produce a Spinoza, and call itself unique and educated, is reduced to this level of debauchery, and that there are still American Jews who would applaud it, and call it exemplary of their best selves.

  3. ahmed says:

    Doing a google search with the alternate Joulani spellling, I found that AP had moved a story June 10, spelling his name Zeyad Joulani
    Police were investigating the incident and the 41-year-old driver’s background before determining whether to treat the case as a politically motivated attack against police or a hit-and-run accident, national police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said. The officers were slightly wounded.

    Lots of the smaller dailies around the U.S. picked it, with photos of the funeral, including the heart-searing one of young Yasmeen., though maybe only on their online versions. I hope some readers are unable to shake those images.
    eg link to signonsandiego.com

    BTW, Maan has photos of the soldiers shooting and Joulani in the hospital, a gunshot wound to his face.

  4. Bumblebye says:

    His prancing murderer is probably still being feted wherever he goes.

  5. Taxi says:

    Sick! Sick! Sick!

    I can’t take seeing anymore pictures of Palestinian child-victim!

    R.I.P. Iman Al Jilani. You look like a beautiful, wonderful father. Even I, a total stranger, miss your presence already!

    May the zionist policy makers and their disgusting immoral minions all pickle together tight in the jars of hell!

  6. Mooser says:

    link to welcomebacktopottersville.blogspot.com

    Here’s a little Rabbinical Comic Relief

    In which the guy who took down Helen Thomas shows his stuff.

    • Citizen says:

      Hey, lighten up; he could have killed her with G-D’s blessing.
      link to haaretz.com

      • bigbill says:

        That Orthodox Minneapolis rabbi said the same thing a couple months ago — man, woman, children, it doesn’t matter to devout Halachic Jews.

        As a practical matter of racial supremacy in your homeland it makes eminent sense. “Nits make lice” as a famous American said, and in a race war, all rules are optional.

        Now Jews in America don’t have control as tight as Jews do in Israel, but I damn sure wouldn’t go wandering around Lakewood, Monsey, or Kiryas Joel after dark trying to find out.

        They could bag me up and dump me in one of those shaimos rubbish pits and no p-whipped Rockland County gentile cop would have the b@lls to root around looking for me.

  7. Oscar says:

    If Code Pink had the means to do so, there should be a thousand billboards across the country that have nothing but the picture of the three daughters as seen on the LA Times blog. Maybe it should say Americans underneath it and nothing more. Then a thousand billboards of Tristan Anderson — American. A thousand of Rachel Corrie — American. A thousand of Emily Henochowicz – American. The 19 year old Turkish American kid from upstate new York who was killed in the flotilla raid. Leave
    The billboards up for two weeks, creating curiosity. Then revise all the billboards with heading israel is killing Americans. BDS now. With a link to a website. Heartbreaking, man.

    • ahmed says:

      I was thinking something similar, but on a smaller scale. Print up fliers and leave them in public places, waiting rooms etc.

    • MRW says:

      Brilliant ideas, Oscar and Ahmed. Brilliant.

      If you combine the two…because billboards are expensive to pull off in the immediate…print up flyers with a website telling the story. I wonder if the MIT Media Labs student would help with the latter.

  8. radii says:

    There are a hundred faces which could be showcased, but the one that turned the tide (or began the process) is the father trying to protect his son from israeli gunfire … IDF of course bulldozed the whole region immediately to wipe away any evidence

    zionism=racism and murder … it is really that simple

    any jew or non-jew that supports zionism and current regime in israel supports state murder, torture, war crimes, and vicious fascism

    this is israel:
    link to lh5.ggpht.com

  9. Bumblebye says:

    People are being indoctrinated with pure nazi evil. Just days ago read a comment on HuffPo by a “MorryFeldman” wishing the world had turned its face away so ALL the “animals” could have been turned into “fertilizer” during 08/09.

  10. Debonnaire says:

    Well, the registered sex offender “Soccer Dad” believes Mr. al-Jilani is a filthy shvatz goyim terrorist whose foul daughters should all be shot in the head, too. That’s why they call him “Soccer Dad”.

  11. imanjilani says:

    Please hold off on racial steriotype. Not all jews are that way and I have to say most of the police scum in Israel are Dorooz. This is not against the whole jewish nation, this is against the executionars of my brother in cold blood. They are the ones that need to be punished for what they did. Israel should be blamed for covering up though and not persuing the investigation in a serious manner. To top it all the police raided my Ziad’s house today terrifying his American wife and kids looking for evidence. What evidence we do not know but we suspect they were looking for the evidence we have against the Isareli police……
    Iman jilani proud sister of Ziad Jilani

  12. bigbill says:

    So how did the yeshiva bochurs throwing stones know that it was a christian- or muslim-owned car?

    Do the Jews in Israel make everyone use racially/ethnically distinctive license plates to make Christians and Muslims easier to spot at a distance?

    • imanjilani says:

      The stones were being thrown on the Israeli troops and not at the car. My brother turned into the street no knowing there is a riot and got caught in the midst of it. And just FYI License plates from Jerusalem are different from west bank but in this case my brother is a Jerusalamite. It seems you do not live there and you do not know what you are talking about little bill……

      • Taxi says:

        I’m very sorry for your loss, Iman. Even just looking at your brother’s picture tells me he comes from a sweet and loving family.

        R.I.P.

        Tell your family some Americans are disgusted and very hateful of Israel’s daily crimes against the Palestinians – tell them everyone who knows the truth in America is trying to help the Palestinians.

        Long live Palestine and long live it’s beautiful and courageous people.

      • demize says:

        I’d also like to offer my most heartfelt condolences to you and the Jalani family. I am so very sorry for your loss.

  13. The American Consulate in Jerusalem have done nothing for this family. And they did nothing for Emily Henochowitz who lost an eye to an Israeli goon on June 1st, until 2 weeks later.

    They are not only totally failing to protect their own US citizens; they are wholly in cahoots with the Israeli authorities to cover up any attacks on Americans.

    The Jerusalem Consulate’s details are here:
    P.O. Box 290, Jerusalem 91002
    U.S. Consulate General, Jerusalem
    18 Agron Road
    Jerusalem 94190
    Tel.: +972.2.622.7230
    +972.2.622.7230
    Fax: +972.2.625.9270

    E-mail (NOT for visa matters please):
    UsConGenJerusalem@state.gov

    Consul General: Daniel Rubenstein
    link to jerusalem.usconsulate.gov

    • imanjilani says:

      Thank you Richard! I would encourage everybody to write to their congress about the unfairness against Palestinians.
      But we do not need the U.S. to do anything since we have so much evidence that the police could not deny that my brother was executed unjustly. The video footage we have shows the whole thing and everybody will see it after we see how the investigation goes. We want to see how much lies they will spread to cover up their actions and see what the justice system in Israel will do.
      Mark my words, since now they cannot deny what really happened they will try to say that it was only one policeman that did it and they will declare him crazy.
      But he was not the only one that was guilty. The other policemen that watched him did not take away his gun and they left my brother bleeding to death on the floor without medical care. Will they say that they were crazy too??????

  14. annie says:

    i love this photo of Ziad w/his daughters. the way her arms are stretched out wide and the way his hand holds her little hand. beautiful hands, beautiful faces and beautiful family. those expressions of love.

    • imanjilani says:

      Yes Yasmine was his baby. He was inseperable from his girls.
      Allah Yirhamo. God Bless his soul and may he rest in peace.
      Please see the article in Haaretz. The English version does not cover everything in the Hebrew newspaper. It was on the from page and continued on page 5.

  15. you can see the bullet marks and blood stains on the street from where the fatal shots were fired point blank. if you are a palestinian and are involved in a traffic accident with an isreali, the isrealis don’t ask questions, they label you a terrorist, and shoot to kill as they have done many times. ziad must have known this, and was trying to avoid dying friday.

    i wish his poor family peace and justice. i am sure both will be difficult in obtaining from the zionazis.