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Home , Daniel Pearl, Mariane Pearl

AWARD for courage and integrity in journalism

From Tragedy Comes Inspiration EN YEARS AGO, the world was shaken footage released by his kidnappers. Efforts by the A Decade by the death of Wall Street Journal cor- FBI and the Pakistani police failed to yield infor- After Daniel respondent Daniel Pearl. While Daniel’s mation on Daniel’s whereabouts. More than once, story touched thousands, few have felt the family was told that Daniel’s body had been Pearl’s Death, theT loss more deeply than his parents, Judea and found, only to learn later that the reports were false. Ruth, and his then pregnant wife, Mariane. But Daniel’s co-workers feared that if his parents’ Israeli His Parents they have not let the tragedy of Daniel’s death over- background leaked out he would be in grave danger. shadow his extraordinary life. Trough the Daniel Judea hails from the Orthodox Tel Aviv suburb Continue to Pearl Foundation, they continue to share his spirit of B’nai Brak. Ruth is from Baghdad, and came Promote the with the world. with her parents to Israel in 1951, where she later Te nonprofit foundation honors Daniel, who met Judea at the Technion-Israel Institute of Tech- Projects Tat was not only a well-respected foreign correspondent nology in Haifa. but also an accomplished violinist and by all ac- In what the Jewish Journal of Greater Los An- Reflected His counts a fun-loving soul, through myriad projects geles described in 2006 as “a rare display of pro- that reflect his passions. Te organization’s story is fessional solidarity in the competitive media,” no Passions an unlikely one of transcending tragedy to make outlets reported on the Pearls’ Israeli backgrounds some sense out of the senseless. until after Daniel’s death. It all began on Jan. 23, 2002, when Daniel was Ruth told the Jewish Journal she held out hope BY ANNA SCOTT in reporting a in the weeks after her story about the Al Qaeda son’s abduction in part terrorist network’s finan- because Daniel’s “good- cial ties. That evening, ness shone through, and he kissed Mariane, also a we couldn’t believe that , goodbye and his kidnappers could live went to meet a source in with him for weeks and the Pakistani port city of not be affected by it.” . Tough Daniel Ten, on the morning was known to be an ex- of Feb. 21, 2002, the un- tremely careful reporter, thinkable happened. Te the source lured him into family received the news a trap, and he was ab- that the kidnappers had ducted. released a gruesome video For the next excruciat- of Daniel’s by de- ing month, Daniel’s par- capitation. ents, wife and colleagues Although Daniel and at the Journal bounced Mariane’s son Adam was between hope and de- born several months after spair. All they saw or his father’s death, it was heard of him was in video Daniel Pearl in concert. six months from the time

LA 20 PC Daniel Pearl, far right, plays electric violin in a band in . of the killing before Daniel’s parents were able to Today, the Foundation sponsors multiple efforts bury their son. in journalism, music and multicultural dialogue. Ruth told the Jewish Journal that at the time, “I In journalism, the foundation provides oppor- felt that my life was over.” Yet she and Judea also tunities for young and older alike. Te felt something more powerful than grief: Tey felt Daniel Pearl Journalism Fellowship brings mid- driven to preserve that basic goodness Daniel pos- career journalists from , the Middle East, sessed, and to share it with the world. North Africa and elsewhere to work for six months “We refused to accept the idea that Danny’s in a U.S. newsroom. contributions to the world as a journalist, as a mu- For younger aspiring journalists, the Foundation sician, as a gentle human being was ended forever,” offers training, internship and writing programs. Judea told the Jewish Journal. So in the days after The online Pearl Youth News service brings Daniel’s death, they funneled the various donations together students from all over the world to be they’d received into a newly established nonprofit trained by volunteer professionals and report, write entity that would become the Daniel Pearl Foun- and publish their own stories for the Internet. Te dation. program partners with school newspapers so they can publish articles by students all over the world. Before students can contribute to the news service, they must com- plete a certification program that teaches basic reporting skills, from ethics to developing sources and conducting interviews to building compelling articles. In music, the Foundation has created Daniel Pearl World Music Days, which fall during Daniel’s birthday month of October. The celebration has grown to include more than 8,900 performances in 119 countries. President Barack Obama signs the Daniel Pearl Freedom of Press Act while Te Foundation also fosters re- widow (L) and son Adam Daniel Pearl (2nd-L), stand nearby on spectful multicultural dialogue with May 17, 2010, in Washington, DC. The act, named in honor of Daniel Pearl, reporter who was kidnapped and killed by Islamic the Daniel Pearl Dialogue for Mus- extremists in Pakistan in 2002, expands the examination of press freedom lim-Jewish Understanding, a series worldwide in the State Department’s annual human rights report. of public conversations between

LA 21 PC DANIEL PEARL AWARD THE PEARL FAMILY

UCLA professor and Dr. , to psychology and religion. Te only rule for the chair of Islamic Studies at American University. Te speaking engagements, the Pearls insist, is that the conversations, which cover ground as diverse as tone remain civil and respectful. current news, religion and history, aim to improve Te influence of the reporter and the family relations between Muslim and Jewish communities. has extended even further. In May 2010, President Tat kind of dialogue continues at the Daniel Barack Obama signed the Daniel Pearl Freedom of Pearl Lecture Series at UCLA and Stanford, featur- the Press Act. Te measure, which received biparti- ing scholars, journalists and policy makers speak- san Congressional support, is intended to promote ing on topics ranging from journalism and music a free press around the world. Trough all these efforts, Judea and Ruth have refused to allow Daniel’s untimely death to stand as a pure loss. By taking inspiration from his life, they continue to enlighten and provide opportunities A Menorah for people all over the world who otherwise would belonging to the great-grandfather never have known of their son and his remarkable of Daniel Pearl is life. lit by his parents, It is not an easy road, Judea and Ruth have ad- Judea and Ruth mitted in interviews. But knowing that what they Pearl, during the Festival of Lights in do makes a positive impact in the areas their son December, 2007, in cared about most passionately drives them to con- the Grand Foyer of tinue, day in and day out. the White House.

White House photo by Anna Scott is a member of the Board of Directors of Joyce N. Boghosian the Press Club.

MARIANE PEARL’S MIGHTY HEART

N AWARD WINNING international edgeably about the vortex of religion, politics, journalist, Mariane Pearl was married and into which her husband was to Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel swept.” APearl when he was abducted and brutally slain In 2007, the book was made into a movie by terrorists in Pakistan in 2002. starring . Tat same year, Mari- She is on the honorary board of the Daniel ane penned “In Search of Hope: Te Global Pearl Foundation, which aims to carry on Diaries of Mariane Pearl,” which profiles his legacy by promoting tolerance and un- courageous women she encountered in her derstanding internationally world travels for her Glamour through journalism, music magazine column. and dialogue. She continues to promote In 2003, she wrote “A tolerance through understand- Mighty Heart: Te Brave Life ing. In a recent interview, she and Death of My Husband explained that after terrorists Daniel Pearl,” which recounts took her husband’s life, “I was her life with him and his very much determined that tragic murder. In its review our son was going to be free of what it called “a brave and of that sort of hatred that they beautifully written book,” the were trying to promote.” Atlanta Journal-Constitution wrote: “Mariane Pearl moves Mariane with son Adam, born beyond horror and grief to May 2002, three months after his write elegantly and knowl- father’s death.

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