Earlier this month, Bais Medrash of Bergenfield (BMOB) Book Club hosted Record columnist and author Mike Kelly for their book club discussion. The book club had recently finished reading Kelly’s book, “The Bus on Jaffa Road,” which explores a February 1996 bus bombing in Jerusalem from the perspective of two of the occupants, Sara Duker and Matthew Eisenfield, respectively natives of New Jersey and a Connecticut, who were tragically killed in the explosion.
Miriam Chouake, a BMOB book club participant and BMOB sisterhood co-president, reached out to Kelly, inviting him to attend the book discussion, to which he immediately and enthusiastically agreed.
The discussion was attended by over a dozen people and lasted for over two hours. The group covered the process of writing the book as well as the emotions it tackled and the themes it explored. Members of the book club had the opportunity to ask questions to Kelly directly, and he subsequently answered each one in detail.
“I thoroughly enjoyed your group,” Kelly said. “The questions and comments were so insightful. I was deeply touched and, frankly, inspired to keep doing the work that I do.”
According to Kelly, “The Bus on Jaffa Road” was a work of passion. A Teaneck resident himself, Kelly explained that during his daily walks around town, he would often frequent the Teaneck Public Library, which has a sculpture dedicated to the memory of Sara Duker. Kelly, who covered 9/11 for the Record from Ground Zero, had been planning to write a book exploring terrorism for many years, and he found himself drawn into the story of Sara Duker and her boyfriend Matthew Eisenfeld—and the book was born.
He described the process of investigating the book, including his experience interviewing Hassan Salameh, who is currently serving 46 life sentences in Israeli prison for his role in orchestrating a series of bombings in the 1990s. He described Salameh as a “stone-cold killer,” impossible to crack. He quoted the most chilling line of his encounter. “Do you know the name Sara Duker?” Kelly asked. Kelly only received one word in response: “Yes.”
Kelly also described another chilling revelation that he uncovered during his research. The night before the tragic bombing on Jaffa road, Terje Roed-Larsen, a recently appointed United Nations representative to the Palestinian territories, met with Yassir Arafat. As Larsen got up to leave that evening, Arafat asked him about his plans for the next day. Larsen replied that he planned to visit Jerusalem. At first, Arafat didn’t respond, almost seeming concerned. But then he said, “Why don’t you stay away from Jerusalem on Sunday.” After pondering Arafat’s words throughout the night, Larsen canceled his trip to Jerusalem the next morning—but did nothing further.
The BMOB book club was started in early 2022 by BMOB member Ariella Schmutter. Schmutter has always felt passionate about reading, and she was excited to bring her passion to the shul. Every few months, a different member of the book club chooses a book that focuses on a Jewish theme, and the club meets up and discusses the work and its themes, as well as how it relates to Judaism.
This is the first time the BMOB book club has hosted an author at a meeting. “We are so grateful that Mike Kelly took the time to talk about the book with us,” Chouake said. “It was such a unique experience having the author explain how he wrote the book and how each interview was obtained. Mike Kelly took a breathtakingly tragic story and broke it down to educate the reader on how it occurred.”
Schmutter agreed: “Mr. Kelly’s tremendous passion for the subject and his commitment to meticulously pursuing each and every aspect of this story was incredibly inspiring.”
