Marla Bennett
Reproduction Photo: AP
Cafeterai after the attack
Photo: AP
Iran ordered to pay millions to family of terror victim
Washington court rules Iran legally responsible for 2002 terror attack in Hebrew University that claimed the life of Marla Bennett and nine other people, due to its contacts with Hamas
A District Court in Washington ordered the Iranian government to pay $12.9 million in compensation to the family of Marla Bennett, who was killed in a bombing at the Hebrew University's cafeteria in July 2002.
Judge Royce Lamberth ruled that Iran was legally responsible for the terror attack because it supported and sponsored Hamas, the organization that carried out the bombing.
Bennett, a resident of San Diego and 24 at death, was one of nine students and workers killed in the attack at the cafeteria at the university's Mount Scopus campus. She was a student on one-year Jewish Studies program.
Two of the people killed in the bombing were Israelis and the others foreign citizens, among them, three Americans. About 10 people were seriously hurt.
The attack took place at lunchtime, when the cafeteria was packed with diners. The terrorist, a Hamas member, placed a bag at the heart of the cafeteria and then left the building. The blast completely destroyed the place, shattering windows and causing parts of the ceiling to collapse.
The Hebrew University said in response that it bowed its head in memory of Marla and the rest of the bombing's victims, and that it was satisfied with the court's ruling, which may ease, if only slightly, the suffering of Marla's family.
