2002 Hebrew U. attack remembered

An emotional memorial ceremony took place last week to mark 13 years since the terrorist attack at the Hebrew University.

By TAMARA UNGAR
Memorial ceremony to mark 13 years since the terrorist attack at the Hebrew University. (photo credit: Courtesy)
Memorial ceremony to mark 13 years since the terrorist attack at the Hebrew University.
(photo credit: Courtesy)
An emotional memorial ceremony took place last week to mark 13 years since the terrorist attack at the Hebrew University.
At lunchtime on July 31, 2002, a bag packed with shrapnel and explosives was placed in the bustling Frank Sinatra cafeteria at the university’s Mount Scopus campus. The bomb killed nine people, including five foreign nationals, and wounded 85; Hamas claimed responsibility.
Though classes were not in session, students were taking exams at the time of the blast.
There were also numerous students in the building registering for classes for the coming school year.
Around 200 people attended the ceremony honoring those who were murdered and maimed. University president Prof. Menahem Ben-Sasson spoke, along with rector Prof. Asher Cohen.
Inbal Babayof, a graduate student in the mathematics department at the time of the attack, relived her memories of the day, when she was wounded at the cafeteria. “They say there are no coincidences in life,” she said. “But it seems that what happened to me that day was caused by a coincidence.”
At the time, she and her friend Mark were visiting the Mount Scopus campus so Mark could finish off some paperwork before returning to England. The pair, who usually studied at the Givat Ram campus, decided to get lunch at the cafeteria.
“We took our trays, paid and settled. I did not like the table that Mark chose; I preferred to sit further away. ‘You’ve been negative all day, what difference does it make where you’re sitting?’ I said to myself, and I was silent.”
Babayof took a bite of her meal, just as the explosion rang through the room.
There was “a hot, bright yellow flash. I did not understand what happened,” she recalled. “I looked at Mark sitting in front of me. I wanted answers, but he just stared into space and I could not get his attention. The heat was unbearable, like a fire, and I felt something hit me, I felt his head with my hand, it seemed that everything was fine.”
In disbelief, she quickly came to the realization that there had been an attack. “Come on! Let’s go!” Mark urged her.
All the windows in the cafeteria were broken, and there was glass and burnt paper strewn around.
It was dark and silent, with flakes of ash floating in the stagnant air.
Babayof was evacuated on a stretcher with a fragment of glass stuck in her face, bones exposed in her arm, and second- and third-degree burns.
“I did not realize at that moment that I would need a dozen surgeries over the next two years, I’d spend six months in rehabilitation and I would wear a pressurized space suit for a year and a half,” she said. “I did not know that in four-and-ahalf years, when everything was over, behind me, and I was back on track, I would fly into violent post-traumatic stress disorder episodes.”
Despite the setbacks and injuries, she remains grateful to her family and friends for staying by her side throughout her recovery and beyond.
In light of the attack, she concluded, “I have decided to live, empower life, and I have decided to give my best.”