Washington – New Jewish AG, A Man Of Personal Interest Against Terrorism.

Washington – In the aftermath of her son Ari’s murder by an Arab gunman on the Brooklyn Bridge in 1994, Devorah Halberstam was introduced to a federal judge in New York with a longstanding interest in terrorism-related issues.

In the years since, Judge Michael Mukasey became a fixture in the life of Ari’s family, keeping a photo of the slain teenager on the mantle in his chambers and meeting regularly with his mother.

Halberstam and Mukasey would meet each year around Rosh Hashanah in the judge’s chambers. This year’s meeting was cancelled due to an urgent engagement in Washington where President George W Bush was introducing the Orthodox Jew as the White House’s choice for the next US attorney general. [jta]