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Bittersweet Justice
Jewish families who lost loved ones on 9-11 reflect on Osama bin Laden's death.
Bittersweet from page 1
The Schneider family: Cheryl, Ian and children Jake, Rachel and
Sophie, one week before Ian was killed on Sept. 11, 2001 in
1 World Trade Center
"I think this shows that calling American efforts a 'war on terror' is
using the wrong metaphor. Wars have a starting point and an end
point; clearly however, the killing of bin Laden or any terrorist does
not end the threat.
"It would be better for us to think in the terms that intelligence
agencies and law enforcement do. This was a carefully planned
operation using intelligence information in a very organized way.
Dealing with terrorist threats has become the 'new normal' and we
have to deal with the real dangers out there and try not to aid them
with missteps of our own."
— Frederic S. Pearson, director of the Center for Peace and
Conflict Studies at Wayne State University
"The Detroit Jewish community is breathing easier this morning,
thanks to the brave American forces who attacked Osama bin
Laden's hideout yesterday and ended his threat to the world. Bin
Laden and Al Qaida placed Jews high on their list of targets.
We know this is not the end of the war on terrorism; but it is a
significant victory and we celebrate it with all Americans."
— Robert Cohen, Executive Director of the
Jewish Community Relations Council
"When I heard the news, I was very happy and immediately joined
conversations on Facebook and Twitter. I also contemplated whether
our joy should be measured. Not merely because of the possibility
of retaliation at the hand of Al Qaida, but also because one of God's
children had died.
"In Psalms, we learn God seeks out vengeance and all evil doers
will be destroyed. In Proverbs, we read when the wicked perish,
there is joy. However, we also limit our joy at the destruction of the
Egyptian army in the Exodus narrative. So, I was conflicted."
— Rabbi Jason Miller of Congregation T'chiyah in Oak Park
34 May 5 • 2011
Schneider, niece of Bingham Farms philan-
thropist Doreen Hermelin, lost her husband Ian
that day. He was 45, the father of three children,
Rachel, Jake and Sophie (now 20, 19 and 17).
Schneider was a successful Wall Street executive
who worked at Cantor Fitzgerald on the 104th
floor of 1 World Trade Center.
"The images of 9-11 are seared into our
national memory," Obama said during his tele-
vised address. "Hijacked planes cutting through
a cloudless September sky; the Twin Towers col-
lapsing to the ground; black smoke billowing up
from the Pentagon."
In an instant, Cheryl Schneider's life, and the
lives of thousands of other people, changed
forever. Now, bin Laden, the alleged mastermind
behind those horrific attacks, is dead.
"I'm glad we got him; it was a very long time
coming," Schneider said of the Al Qaida leader's
killing. "Unfortunately, it's also drudged up that
awful day. I'm reliving that terrible day and all
the days that came after that; feeling the loss
again, feeling the void that's in my heart, not
only for me but for my children."
Ian was a senior managing director at Cantor
Fitzgerald; in all, 658 employees of that firm
perished. In memorials, he's described as "a
mentsh who coached Little League baseball,
soccer, basketball and softball teams and was
known for his quick wit and loud, boisterous
voice."
"I don't believe in the word 'closure, I believe
in dealing with the emotions, trying to under-
stand them, and moving forward as best I can:'
Cheryl continued. "I certainly feel for all of the
families that have been impacted, and I have
great respect for our military and all of the peo-
ple involved in this particular mission. I'm glad
we didn't give up. I think it's going to show the
world that the United States is very determined.
Justice has been achieved. I hope it sends a very
strong message'
Hermelin says her initial thought when she
read published reports about bin Ladin's death
was, "Good — they finally caught him!" But
the news does not mitigate her concern about
terrorism. She believes the nearly decade-long
hunt that ended with a firefight at a compound
in Abbottabad, Pakistan, gave the world's fore-
most terrorist plenty of time to organize and
build a network.
"I guess we're all worried about what's going
to happen here in the States now," Hermelin
said. "He's developed an entire world of people
to follow him. We needed to have caught him
a long time before this. He's had nine years to
spread his terrible poison:'
On a personal note, Hermelin points out the
historic development will never make her family
whole again.
"Losing my nephew made a tremendous
change in the family:' she said. "This doesn't
bring him back, and it doesn't take back all of
the terror attacks since then. I'm sure they're all
thrilled that they got him. Hopefully, it's not too
late. We just don't know:'
A Child's Perspective
Maya Simon was just 4 months old when she
lost both her father and grandfather in the 9-11
attacks. Kenneth Simon, 34, of Secaucus, N.J.,
was an equities trader for Cantor Fitzgerald.
Like Ian Schneider, he also worked on the
104th floor of 1 World Trade Center. Kenneth's
father, Arthur, 57, had an office 11 floors below.
According to published reports, Kenneth called
his wife after the plane hit the tower to say he
was going to look for his dad. The two men
never made it out.
"It's a very hard thing, but my niece teaches
me inner strength:' says Linda Miner. She now
lives in Texas, but grew up in Metro Detroit and
has a brother in Bloomfield Hills. "My hurt is for
[Maya] and my sister. They deal with the loss
every day of their lives."
A tribute to Kenneth recalls his close bond
with his infant daughter.
"He napped on the couch, cradling her on his
chest:' it reads. "He could cook chocolate chip
pancakes for a crowd and thrill a small cousin
by juggling balls, beanbags and flaming sticks."
Maya, now 10, was too young to remember
that her parents took her to the South Street
Seaport and showed her the spot where they got
engaged. That was just days before the terrorist
attack wiped out two generations of her family
and forced her to grow up without her father.
"Being so young, my niece doesn't know any-
thing about it except what she reads and what
she hears:' Miner says. "She has a friend who
was born after her father died. With the news
of Osama bin Laden's death, these children say
they feel safer now that the 'bad guy' is gone.
From a child's perspective, it has given them
closure and a sense of security and it's helped
ease their pain. It's good news to them that
[bin Laden] can't hurt them or anyone else ever
again. That's the beauty of being a child in this
situation:'
U-M Remembers
On the University of Michigan campus this week,
students paused to remember the 18 Michigan
graduates who also lost their lives that fateful
day. One was Joshua Rosenthal, a senior vice
president of Fiduciary Trust Co. on the 90th floor
of 2 World Trade Center. The 44-year-old was
raised in Livonia. He graduated from Stevenson
High School and U-M, where he was selected
as a Truman Scholar. His late mother, Marilynn
Rosenthal of Ann Arbor, was a professor at U-M
Dearborn. In the wake of her son's death, she
spent years researching the man who hijacked the
plane that slammed into Josh's building. She even
traveled to the United Arab Emirates to meet
members of his family. Josh's father, Avram "Skip"
Rosenthal, owned a book store in Farmington. He
now lives in Israel.