Service to Mark Death of Reporter

It has been a year since the world learned that Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl was killed by Islamic terrorists in Pakistan.

On Friday, his family will mark his yahrzeit -- the anniversary of his death -- in private.

But Thursday night, his father, Judea Pearl, will join in the first of a worldwide series of public memorial services. It will be held at the Simon Wiesenthal Center Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, the city where Daniel grew up.

Pearl also plans to participate in ceremonies in New York and Toronto. Memorials are also planned in Jerusalem, London, Paris and other cities.

“We suggested to all communities to do something special, if they intended to commemorate the anniversary,” Pearl said.

Through the Daniel Pearl Foundation, the family asked that synagogues and other organizations observing the anniversary hold interfaith services “to honor Daniel Pearl as a Jew, a citizen of the world and a creator of dialogue, while condemning the madness of his murder and seeking to help restore sanity and humanity to the world.”

On Oct. 10 last year, which would have been the slain journalist’s 39th birthday, the accomplished violinist and fiddle player was honored with more than 100 concerts in 17 countries. The Pearl family hopes that the concerts, which reflected Daniel’s love of music, will become an annual event.

For the yahrzeit, “An interfaith memorial is also a natural,” his father said. “It fits Danny’s character and style.”

Pearl said that his only son was an inveterate bridge-builder who loved to bring people together: “When he was invited to dinner, the host knew two or three extra plates should be prepared.”

The journalist was kidnapped on Jan. 23 last year in Karachi, while following what he believed to be a lead on shoe bomber Richard Reid. Pearl was slain in a nursery near a fundamentalist religious school. Four men have been convicted in Pakistan in connection with his kidnapping and death, which was confirmed Feb. 21.

His father will speak at Thursday’s memorial service at the Museum of Tolerance, “whose name matches our mission,” Pearl said. Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder and dean of the Wiesenthal Center, an international Jewish human rights agency, will also speak.

The center has invited the public to light a virtual yahrzeit candle for Daniel Pearl on its Web site. About 70,000 have already done so, according to Rabbi Abraham Cooper, the center’s associate dean.

Also on Thursday, Judea Pearl will lead a candle-lighting ceremony at the museum. Members of the diplomatic corps of a dozen countries, including Israel, France, Austria and the Philippines, are expected to participate. Thursday’s program begins at 7 p.m. at the Museum of Tolerance, 9786 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles. For reservations, call (310) 772-2527.