The victims of 1975 Zion Sq bombing
The victims of 1975 Zion Sq bombingGadi Adelman

Leo Buscaglia, an American author, motivational speaker, and professor, wrote, "I know for certain that we never lose the people we love, even to death. They continue to participate in every act, thought, and decision we make." Sometimes, you come across words so profound, it feels as if they were written just for you.

When I was 13 years old, my family made Aliyah and moved to Israel. We settled in the Absorption Center in Mevaseret Zion. I had only been in Israel for six months, still didn’t speak Hebrew, and was struggling with the challenging cultural shift of being an Oleh. One month after my 14th birthday, on November 13, 1975, I attended a rally in Jerusalem protesting the UN's resolution equating Zionism with racism. Afterward, while walking with a friend down Jaffa Road, a bomb exploded outside an ice cream shop in Zion Square. Seven people were killed, and 45 others were injured, with those murdered ranging from 14 to 17 years old. The seven teenagers killed were Makhluf (Miki) Belulu, 17; Malka (Mali) Nahum, 17; Le'a Hariri, 15; Eli'ezer (Eli) Karni, 17; Shlomo (Shlomi) Der'i, 16; and Tsippora Cohen, 14. Tsippora Cohen passed away on November 21 from her injuries. My friend and I were only yards away but survived the blast.

Scene after the bombing at Zion Square 1975
Scene after the bombing at Zion Square 1975Gadi Adelman

Although I walked away without a scratch, the emotional impact of that night drove me to study everything I could find on terrorism and its causes, both in English and later in Hebrew. This event influenced my time in the military and shaped my entire journey, sparking a lifelong commitment to understanding and combating terrorism.

I remained in Israel until 1981, when I returned to the United States. Since then, I have lectured, taught, and trained private organizations, the U.S. federal government, local law enforcement, and the U.S. military on terrorism and counterterrorism.

Following the October 7th attack in 2023, I went back to Israel as a volunteer for three months. While assisting the IDF with supplies, I took some personal time to visit Jerusalem. Naturally, I went to the site where I had survived the 1975 terror bombing. As I sat outside what had once been an ice cream shop, now replaced by an Aroma coffee shop, I sat there overcome with emotions and was upset that there was no memorial, no plaque, no marker—nothing to commemorate the tragic event that had taken seven young lives and impacted myself and so many others. It was as though the bombing had been erased from memory.

I went inside and asked to speak to the manager, inquiring why there was no memorial or marker for the bombing and the children murdered there. The manager looked at me, perplexed, and asked, "What bombing?" It was then that it occurred to me—he wasn’t even born when the attack happened.

This moment, so emblematic of how history can fade, reminded me of why the work I do is so crucial—because those affected and lost must never be forgotten. I immediately called my best friend back in the States. She told me that I must make that my goal—to get a marker, a plaque, something put up there. I, of course, knew that Israel placed markers or plaques at locations around the country where terror attacks had taken lives.

But this was different. This was the place where I had survived that fateful bombing in 1975, and yet, there was nothing to acknowledge the tragedy. No plaque. No memorial. It was as if that dark chapter in Jerusalem’s history, and in Israel's history, had been erased, forgotten by time.

I contacted the City of Jerusalem and explained the situation and what I wanted. The number I was given was to a totally different department, and they connected me to someone else. This continued with back-and-forth transfers to various departments, which reminded me that when it comes to bureaucracy, not much had changed over the years. Eventually, I spoke with Or Buzaglo. She was beyond helpful and understanding, even though this wasn’t her department. She told me she’d look into how to go about getting a memorial plaque placed and would get back to me. As I was preparing to get on a plane to the States, I sent Or the names and photos of the seven children that I have in my cell phone.

Or got back to me and explained that she had found out that the memorial plaques were not placed prior to the Sbarro bombing in 2001. Since the terror attack I wanted memorialized was 1975, the City would not put up any type of memorial or marker. She had been told that if the city were to recognize the 1975 attack, it could become a situation where others would want other attacks recognized as well and that would be hundreds of memorials. They would need to research each and every terror attack, names, dates, etc. And with the cost factor, not to mention the fact that there was an ongoing war, it would not be done.

I continued to be persistent. Finally, on March 8th, Or contacted me with great news. She said they had gotten the funds approved and they would be working up a sketch of a plaque, check the exact location, and send me a copy of the drawing for my approval.

On April 9th, she contacted me to let me know she had passed the issue onto the team that handles it, ensuring the memorial plaque would properly honor them. There was some back and forth on the names of the children because the team that handles the memorials could only find the names of the six that were killed during the attack and could not confirm the name of or if there was a seventh child that had died later. I searched until I found an article from late November 1975 showing that Tsippora Cohen had passed away from her injuries.

On June 30th, Or sent me a final draft sketch with all the names for my approval. The drawing alone brought me to tears.

Throughout July, August, September, and October, I continued to stay in touch with Or. Each time we spoke, she would pass on from the other department that they were saying next week, next week, after the holiday, etc. This continued past the November 13th anniversary and on November 21st, 48 years and 8 days after the bombing (but less than a year after I began working on the memorial) , Or sent me a text saying, "We did it!" Attached was a picture of the plaque on the wall!

Memorial plaque in Aroma, Yaffo St
Memorial plaque in Aroma, Yaffo StGadi Adelman

I can only hope and pray that someone, anyone, friend, family, schoolmate may see this plaque that has been 48 years in the making and let the family of one of the children who were taken from us that day know, that finally after all these years, the names of the children were finally memorialized and live on forever.

To paraphrase Leo Buscaglia, "Now I know for certain that we never lose the people we love, even to death."