College Relations

December 8, 2004

In a presentation co-sponsored by Salem State College, Dr. Judea Pearl, father of the late Wall Street Journal reporter, Daniel Pearl, spoke on Tuesday evening, December 7, at Temple Beth El in Swampscott.

Professor Pearl, a specialist in artificial intelligence, lost his son to Pakistani terrorists in a brutal beheading that was televised around the world nearly three years ago.

In his talk, "My Son, Daniel Pearl: Personal Reflections," Dr. Pearl spoke of his son's optimism, sense of fairness and acceptance of all peoples. "Hatred killed our son," he declared to the large crowd, which is why he and his wife are taking steps to promote peace in the wake of his son's murder. Toward that end, they have set up the Daniel Pearl Foundation, which will annually bring Muslim journalists to the United States to learn the conventions of Western reporting.

In the face of unspeakable horror, Daniel Pearl's last words to his terrorist captors in Pakistan were "My father is Jewish. My mother is Jewish. I am Jewish." In his book, Judea Pearl has sought to describe what it means to be Jewish, citing the importance of Jewish history and its heritage of accomplishment and decency - even for non-religious Jews.

Pearl blames the mullahs, imams and religious clerics of the Middle East for his son's death because they refuse to speak out against the terrorism. Equally to blame, he asserted, is the Arab media. Television stations such as Al Jazeera are seen in millions of living rooms and tents, he declared. They continue to imply that the West wishes to subdue and humiliate Muslims even though, he says, "They know it's false. They've been in the West. And they know that you and I don't care if a person is a Jew, a Druse or a Muslim."

Following his presentation, Dr. Pearl signed copies of his book for a large crowd of interested audience members.