Wednesday marks 23 years since 19 Islamic terrorists hijacked four airliners and attacked the United States of America. The 9/11 attacks brought down buildings in New York City and damaged the Pentagon. Passengers on United Airlines Flight 93 were killed after they attacked the hijackers. Their plane crashed in a Pennsylvania field. Nearly 3,000 people from over 100 countries were murdered.
Islamic terrorists had been targeting and killing Americans for decades and had already suffered greatly at the hands of Islamic terrorists: The U.S. Marine barracks bombing that killed over 240 people in 1983; the first World Trade Center bombing in 1993 that injured over 1,000 people; and the 1998 U.S. Embassy Bombings in Dar es Salaam and Nairobi that killed 224 people were just a handful of the terror attacks that rattled Americans leading up to 9/11.
Still, the world reacted in horror on September 11, 2001.
Qatari Emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Syrian President Bashar Assad, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri, King Abdullah II of Jordan, and every government in the Middle East except for Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, condemned the attacks.
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Former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and US President Joe Biden
(Photo: Stephen JAFFE / AFP)
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Yasser Arafat condemned the attacks, too. Arafat donated blood for Americans at a Gaza hospital; Sharon put an elite unit of emergency responders on standby and offered assistance to the U.S.
Israelis would also create the 9/11 Living Memorial Plaza in Ramot, Jerusalem. The memorial is the only 9/11 memorial outside of the United States to include a plaque of all the victims’ names. Forty-year-old New York Firefighter Kenneth J. Marino is one of those names. Thanks to his daughter, Kristin, it is not Kenneth’s only connection to Israel.
Kenneth’s daughter eventually connected with Israeli Maya Peretz, whose father died trying to save her from the Nova Music Festival massacre during the deadly Hamas attack on October 7. The meeting of these two daughters at Ground Zero is the basis of a new mini-documentary called “Our 9/11 Story,” released this week.
“I am grateful to be able to create a space with Kristin for children who have lost their parents to terrorism and show them that they are not alone in their journey. It was an honor to share my story and my bond with Kristin and the rest of the world,” Peretz said.
The film was produced by ROVA Media and directed by Dan Luxenberg. ROVA Media focuses on telling important stories about the Middle East and Israel.
The film’s tagline is: Two women from different countries – who speak different languages, believe in different faiths, and would have never crossed paths – have found solace in each other.
“Bringing these stories to the world has been deeply moving,” Luxenberg told The Media Line. “Kristin and Maya’s stories are not just about the tragedies they endured but about the strength and connection they have found in each other,” he continued.
Grief is like a rock in your pocket. At first, it’s heavy and overwhelming, but as time goes on and you grow stronger, it becomes easier to carry.
Like Kenneth Marino, Israeli businessman Mark Peretz, from Rishon Lezion, was tough. So, when he heard the NOVA Music Festival was under attack by terrorists, he knew he had to act - his daughter Maya was at the festival. So, the 51-year-old father of three jumped in his car and headed into the fray. Mark was murdered. Maya survived.
“Being part of this project has allowed me to honor my father’s memory. It has shown me that, even in the darkest of times, there is strength in connection,” Peretz told The Media Line.
Marino, who was only three years old when her father died, is now a well-known Christian social media influencer with a large audience. She called the project a “healing experience” and said she was thankful for being able to connect with Peretz. She hopes her mini-documentary helps others.
“One thing I have learned in the last 23 years is that grief is like a rock in your pocket. At first, it’s heavy and overwhelming, but as time goes on and you grow stronger, it becomes easier to carry. … Grief never truly goes away. Instead, you learn to live with it,” Marino says in the movie, which she said was “a testament to faith and resilience” as well as “a tribute to all of those who have experienced loss at the hands of terrorists.”
“Our 9/11 Story” is currently available on YouTube.