Jewish-Israeli Suicide Bomber Arrested In 1983 Attempt to Blow Up U.S. Capitol Evades Prison

"Virtually scrubbed from the internet and “disappeared” down the proverbial memory hole is the story about Israel Rabinowits, a Jewish-Israeli suicide bomber who, on October 18th, 1983, successfully got past metal detectors at the security checkpoints at the U.S. Capitol and entered the spectators gallery of the U.S. House of Representatives, where he attempted to blow up the building before he was subdued by security."

BOMB CARRIER IN U.S. HOME PROMPTS TIGHTENED SECURITY November 2nd, 1983: [...] Last month after a tourist entered the House gallery with a homemade bomb under his shirt [...] the bomb “was not a dud.” It failed to explode because the man “had not placed his wiring properly” Mr. Rabinowits was charged with making threats of bodily harm, a charge that carries a maximum 20 -year prison term. He was held when he failed to make bond of $25,000.

[A follow-up article appeared three years later in a small Pennsylvania newspaper, reporting that Rabinowits had been quietly deported back to Israel after charges were dropped in the U.S. without explanation.]

This event was mentioned just once in The Washington Post and only once, in passing, in The New York Times. The article appeared not on the first page but on the paper’s Late City Final Edition, Section A, Page 22, Column 1. After searching the archive from 1981 to the present day, there is no other mention of this event, even on the day of or following the attempted attack. The Washington Post buried the story in its local news section across from the obituaries.

https://archive.org/details/TheIsraeliSuicideBomberYouveNeverHeardAbout