Nation

May 18, 2010

Pearls at White House as Obama signs Freedom of the Press Act

By Tom Tugend

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While few people get even one White House invitation in their lifetimes, this was the third visit for the Pearls.

In December 2007, President George W. Bush invited the couple for a Chanukah celebration. For the occasion, they brought along a menorah, which Judea’s grandfather, Chayim Pearl, had brought with him from Poland when he emigrated to Palestine in 1924 to found the strictly Orthodox community of B’nai Brak.

A few days later, Ruth Pearl returned to the White House as a delegate to a conference on human rights and anti-Semitism, attended by Bush.

Ruth Pearl, who was born in Baghdad and arrived in Israel with her parents in 1951, spoke then about the suffering and loss of property inflicted on Jews expelled from Arab countries.

Bush showed a great deal of interest in the subject, asked numerous questions and took up the issue when he visited Israel shortly thereafter.

Ruth Pearl, an electrical engineer and industry consultant, met her future husband when both were students at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa.

Following their son’s murder, Judea and Ruth Pearl established the Daniel Pearl Foundation to further Daniel’s legacy of promoting cross-cultural understanding through a global program of journalism, music and innovative communication.

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A version of this article appeared in print.

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“Captured the world’s imagination?”  Considering how Pearl met his demise, that is the single most idiotic thing I have heard ANYONE say, ever.  In addition, why do we need a bill to protect free press when we already have a Bill of Rights that is supposed to do that already?

This man, Obama, is a disgrace.

Comment by Jay on 5/19/10 at 12:45 pm

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