Abbas aide killed U.S. senator's niece

President Obama meets with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas in the White House

By Benyamin Korn

Thirty-six years ago, a current senior adviser to Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas was involved in the cold-blooded murder of a U.S. senator's niece, and last week – on the very day that Abbas visited the White House – his Fatah movement back home was celebrating the anniversary of that murder.

From the White House, President Obama praised Abbas as "somebody who has consistently renounced violence." On Capitol Hill, the U.S. Senate took no notice. Nor did the incident merit a mention in the pages of a single major American newspaper.

The forgotten victim, Gail Rubin, was the niece of U.S. Sen. Abraham Ribicoff, D-Conn. Gail was an acclaimed nature photographer whose works had been exhibited at the Jewish Museum in New York City and in other prestigious venues. She happened to be on a northern Israeli beachfront one morning in 1978, taking photos of rare birds, when a group of Palestinian terrorists came ashore.

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Fatah terrorist Hussein Fayadh, who was part of the death squad, gave an account to the Lebanese television station Al-Manar on July 19, 2007, in which he described what happened when his squad encountered Gail on the beach.

"Sister Dalal al-Mugrabi" – she was the leader of the Fatah squad – "had a conversation with the American journalist [Gail Rubin]. Before killing her, Dalal asked: 'How did you enter Palestine?' [Rubin] answered: 'They gave me a visa.' Dalal said: 'Did you get your visa from me, or from Israel? I have the right to this land. Why didn't you come to me?' Then Dalal opened fire on her."

Gail Rubin's murder was merely the opening shot of what is still remembered as one of the most notorious – among thousands – of terror attacks against ordinary Israelis. Fayadh, al-Mugrabi, and their comrades next hijacked an Israeli bus and murdered 36 of its passengers (including 12 children) in what came to be known as the Coastal Road Massacre. Fayadh was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment, but perversely spent only seven years behind bars before being released in a prisoner exchange in 1985.

Last year, on May 29, 2013, the Jerusalem Post reported that Fayadh was appointed as an adviser to PA (and Fatah) chairman Mahmoud Abbas. It's possible that Fayadh even accompanied Abbas to the White House last week.

Thanks to Palestinian Media Watch, we know that on March 17, the very day Fayadh's boss was being welcomed at the White House, his Fatah movement back home was capping off a week of rallies celebrating the 36th anniversary of the Coastal Road Massacre, the murder of Sen. Ribicoff's niece and the other 36 terror victims.

The official PA newspaper, Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, reported that at one of the rallies, "Fatah promised to the masses of our heroic people that it would remain loyal to the promise of the Martyr Dalal [Mugrabi, who was killed in the attack] and her companions, and to all the Martyrs."

At another rally, Fatah spokesman Ahmad Assaf praised Mugrabi as "an extraordinary example of struggle, whose headline is bravery, heroism, sacrifice and courage" and who "inspired her generation and the next generations." Another article called her "the Martyr Dalal Mughrabi, who taught the world about dedication and love of the homeland."

Not to be outdone, Palestinian women's groups held their own special event in memory of Mugrabi, whom the keynote speaker, District Gov. Laila Ghannam, called "a model Palestinian woman." She said Mugrabi was a hero of "the women's long journey of struggle."

Meanwhile, Fatah's official Facebook page waxed effusive with a feature about what it called "the 36th anniversary of the Martyrdom of the Flower of Al-Asifa [Fatah military unit], the self-sacrificing fighter Dalal Mughrabi." The Facebook exhibit included photos and elaborate, full-color posters glorifying Mugrabi. "The waves of the sea raged and disgorged eleven stars [the members of the death squad]," it declared. "Dalal and her friends had decided to return to their homeland as heroes."

Today there are four current U.S. senators who were serving back in 1978, when Ribicoff received the news that his niece had been murdered: Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.; Orrin Hatch, R-Utah; Thad Cochran, R-Miss.; and Carl Levin, D-Mich. A fifth senator from that era, Joe Biden, is now vice president.

No doubt at the time those five gentlemen tried to comfort their shaken colleague with words of condolence for an outrage that Ribicoff himself called "an indefensible act of terrorism that deserves universal condemnation." And in that tear-filled moment, surely their words were sincere.

But last week in Washington, Sen. Ribicoff's niece was all but forgotten. The boss of one of her killers was welcomed to the White House, and received the president's praise for "renouncing violence." Back home, Abbas' Fatah movement did not forget; they widely celebrated her killing.

May the memories of Gail Rubin and the 36 other innocent victims of the Coastal Road Massacre be for a blessing.

Benyamin Korn is chairman of the Religious Zionists of America, Philadelphia Chapter.