Hebrew University Bombing
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Hebrew University bombing, also called the Hebrew University massacre, was carried out by the Palestinian militant group
Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...
on 31 July 2002 in a cafeteria at the
Mount Scopus Mount Scopus ( ', "Mount of the Watchmen/ Sentinels"; ', lit. "Mount Lookout", or ' "Mount of the Scene/Burial Site", or "Mount Syenite") is a mountain (elevation: above sea level) in northeast Jerusalem. Between the 1948 Arab–Israeli ...
campus of the
Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public university, public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. ...
. The attack killed 9 people, including 5
U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...
students, and injured about 100. It was carried out by an
East Jerusalem East Jerusalem (, ; , ) is the portion of Jerusalem that was Jordanian annexation of the West Bank, held by Jordan after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, as opposed to West Jerusalem, which was held by Israel. Captured and occupied in 1967, th ...
-based
Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...
cell whose members are serving multiple life sentences in Israeli prisons for that attack and others. The attack, which sparked a celebration in
Gaza City Gaza City, also called Gaza, is a city in the Gaza Strip, Palestine, and the capital of the Gaza Governorate. Located on the Mediterranean coast, southwest of Jerusalem, it was home to Port of Gaza, Palestine's only port. With a population of ...
, was condemned by
United Nations Secretary General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or UNSECGEN) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. The role of the secr ...
Kofi Annan Kofi Atta Annan (8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founder a ...
and several countries. In February 2015, a United States jury in the Federal District Court of Manhattan found the
Palestinian Authority The Palestinian Authority (PA), officially known as the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), is the Fatah-controlled government body that exercises partial civil control over the Palestinian enclaves in the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, ...
and the
Palestine Liberation Organization The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ) is a Palestinian nationalism, Palestinian nationalist coalition that is internationally recognized as the official representative of the Palestinians, Palestinian people in both the occupied Pale ...
liable for having supported and helped to fund terror attacks in the 2000s and were ordered to pay damages in the amount of $218.5 million to victims of said attacks.


Attack

The bombing took place during the summer examination period, while summer Hebrew-language courses were being taught.Blast Kills 7 at University in Jerusalem
Los Angeles Times; accessed 23 February 2015.
At lunchtime, the attacker placed the bomb on a table in the middle of the crowded cafeteria in the Frank Sinatra International Student Center on the university's
Mount Scopus Mount Scopus ( ', "Mount of the Watchmen/ Sentinels"; ', lit. "Mount Lookout", or ' "Mount of the Scene/Burial Site", or "Mount Syenite") is a mountain (elevation: above sea level) in northeast Jerusalem. Between the 1948 Arab–Israeli ...
campus.Bomb kills seven at university
guardian.co.uk; accessed 23 February 2015.
He covered it with a newspaper and sprinkled perfume on top to disguise the smell of the explosive. After walking away, he detonated the bomb with a cell phone. In the minutes after the explosion, dazed, blood-spattered students emerged from the building; the air smelled of smoke and burnt flesh.


Fatalities

Six women and three men were killed in the attack. Seven died immediately and two died of their wounds in the following weeks. About 100 people were injured in the attack. The wounded included Israelis,
Arabs Arabs (,  , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of yea ...
, four Americans and three
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
ns.Israeli bombing deaths mourned
usatoday.com; accessed 23 February 2015.


Perpetrator

Shin Bet arrested 5 people in response to the attack. During interrogation, they revealed they had planted another bomb they had not yet detonated, which was later found and disarmed. Israel deduced that Muhammad Odeh, a painter at the university, had carried out the attack due to his access from his ID card. In 2025, he was released as part of the hostage exchange during the
2025 Israel–Hamas war ceasefire A hostages-and-prisoners exchange and armistice between Israel and Hamas-led Palestinian militant groups in the Gaza Strip took effect from 19 January to 18 March 2025, during the Gaza war. It included eight rounds of hostages-and-prisoners ...
.


Reactions


Hamas claim of responsibility

Palestinian Islamist organization
Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...
claimed responsibility for the bombing during a rally in
Gaza City Gaza City, also called Gaza, is a city in the Gaza Strip, Palestine, and the capital of the Gaza Governorate. Located on the Mediterranean coast, southwest of Jerusalem, it was home to Port of Gaza, Palestine's only port. With a population of ...
attended by some 10,000 supporters. A masked Hamas speaker said: "This operation today is a part of a series of operations we will launch from everywhere in Palestine". At the speakers' request, the entire crowd knelt to pray that future Hamas attacks "would succeed against the enemy of God". Hamas claimed the attack was revenge for the Israeli targeted killing of the organization's military chief, Salah Shehadeh.


Celebration

Later in the day, hundreds of Hamas supporters poured into the streets of
Gaza City Gaza City, also called Gaza, is a city in the Gaza Strip, Palestine, and the capital of the Gaza Governorate. Located on the Mediterranean coast, southwest of Jerusalem, it was home to Port of Gaza, Palestine's only port. With a population of ...
to celebrate the bombing and vowed more attacks. Hamas official
Ismail Haniyeh Ismail Haniyeh (, ; 29 January 1962 – 31 July 2024) was a Palestinian politician who served as third chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau from May 2017 until Assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, his assassination in July 2024. He also served as ...
, who later became the de facto Prime Minister of the Gaza Strip, said: "If they are going to attack our children, then they will have to expect to drink from the same poison."


Condemnations

;Involved parties *: ** The
government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...
called the bombing "a despicable act so horrendous it defies words", and stated that the ultimate blame for it lay with Palestinian Authority President
Yasser Arafat Yasser Arafat (4 or 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), also popularly known by his Kunya (Arabic), kunya Abu Ammar, was a Palestinian political leader. He was chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) from 1969 to 2004, Presid ...
. ** Hebrew University President
Menachem Magidor Menachem Magidor (; born January 24, 1946) is an Israeli mathematician who specializes in mathematical logic, in particular set theory. He served as president of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, was president of the Association for Symbolic ...
wrote: "The attackers' decision to strike precisely at our campus, which is a center of tolerance and pluralism, is frightening... We must not give in. We must grit our teeth and carry on. Giving up on what we are trying to create at the university is a surrender to terror." *: ** The
Palestinian Authority The Palestinian Authority (PA), officially known as the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), is the Fatah-controlled government body that exercises partial civil control over the Palestinian enclaves in the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, ...
stated that it "absolutely condemns the attack", but laid the blame at the feet of Israeli prime minister
Ariel Sharon Ariel Sharon ( ; also known by his diminutive Arik, ; 26 February 192811 January 2014) was an Israeli general and politician who served as the prime minister of Israel from March 2001 until April 2006. Born in Kfar Malal in Mandatory Palestin ...
, for continuing what it called Israel's policy "of destruction, killing and collective punishment". ; Supranational * :
Secretary General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...
Kofi Annan Kofi Atta Annan (8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founder a ...
released a statement on the day of the attack saying: "The Secretary-General is appalled by today's bomb attack at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem in which seven people were killed and more than 80 wounded. He condemns utterly all such terrorist attacks against civilians. He once again urges all concerned to end the cycle of violence, revenge and retaliation, and calls on the parties to return to the path of negotiations on a permanent settlement." ; International * :
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
condemned the attack, saying to reporters: "I want to condemn in the strongest possible terms the attack that took place in Israel. There are clearly killers who hate the thought of peace, and, therefore, are willing to take their hatred to all kinds of places, including a university. And this country condemns that kind of killing, and we send our deepest sympathy to the students and their families. I also want to make it clear to the killers that it won't stop us from rallying the world to fight their kind of terror; nor will they stop us from having a vision of peace." He added: "I'm just as angry as Israel is right now. I'm furious that innocent life was lost. However through my fury, even though I am mad, I still believe peace is possible.""Bush 'Furious' Over Mideast Bombing"
CBSnews.com; accessed 23 February 2015.
* : Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Kong Quan said: "China is shocked by and strongly condemns the expansion of bombing to campuses. Reality tells us that trades of violence can only cause more deaths and injuries to both sides. We call on both Israel and Palestine to cease the attacks of its kind against innocent civilians, making earnest and practical efforts to coordinate the peace-promoting efforts to prevent things from worsening." * : The government said it was "deeply saddened by the loss of life and injuries incurred during the terrorist bombing of the cafeteria in the Frank Sinatra Building at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem on Wednesday 31 July. The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Pahad reiterates the view that these forms of terrorist attacks directed at Israeli civilians cannot be justified as legitimate acts of resistance, and must be condemned unequivocally."


Aftermath

In the wake of the attack, Israel adopted a deterrence strategy of demolishing houses belonging to suicide bombers. Israel shelved the policy in February 2005. The university beefed up its security following the bombing. In 2005, it became the first Israeli university to employ bomb-sniffing dogs. As of that year, the entrances to the institution were equipped with metal detectors and staffed by approximately two dozen security guards. In addition, legally carried guns were banned from its campuses – the first university in Israel to do so. In 2022,
Palestinian Media Watch Palestinian Media Watch (PMW; ) is an Israel-based nongovernmental organization and media watchdog group. Founded in 1996 by Itamar Marcus, Palestinian Media Watch documents cases of incitement in Palestinian media. History Itamar Marcus e ...
reported the terrorists responsible had gotten their monthly
stipend A stipend is a regular fixed sum of money paid for services or to defray expenses, such as for scholarship, internship, or apprenticeship. It is often distinct from an income or a salary because it does not necessarily represent payment for work pe ...
s raised by the Palestinian Authority's Martyrs Fund program.


See also

*
Mercaz HaRav massacre On 6 March 2008, a lone Palestinian gunman shot multiple students at the Mercaz HaRav yeshiva, a religious school in West Jerusalem. Eight students and the assailant were killed. Eleven more were wounded, five of them placed in serious to cri ...
*
Israeli casualties of war Israeli casualties of war, in addition to those of Israel's nine major wars, include soldiers and security forces personnel killed in "miscellaneous engagements and terrorist attacks", which includes security forces members killed during mili ...


References


External links


Terrorist bombing at Hebrew University cafeteria – 31-Jul-2002
Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs {{Hamas 2002 building bombings School bombings in Asia Mass murder in 2002 Hebrew University of Jerusalem Massacres in Israel during the Israeli–Palestinian conflict 2002 in Jerusalem University and college massacres in Asia July 2002 in Asia Hamas attacks Islamic terrorist incidents in 2002 Terrorist incidents in Jerusalem in the 2000s Terrorist incidents in Asia in 2002 Mount Scopus 21st-century mass murder in Jerusalem Building bombings in Jerusalem Attacks on schools in 2002