JERUSALEM – An American who survived the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center escaped with his life again Sunday when a bomb blast ripped through a busy street in Jerusalem.
Mark Sokolow his wife Rina and daughters Jamie and Lauren all suffered minor injuries in a bombing that Israeli police said was carried out by a Palestinian woman. Two people were killed and dozens injured.
Visiting relatives in Israel, Sokolow, of Woodmere, N.Y., was standing outside a shoe store with his wife and daughters when the blast shattered windows and sent victims sprawling in the street, the site of several deadly attacks in recent months.
"We were waiting for my cousin to give us something to bring home to New York," Sokolow told Israeli television from his hospital bed.
"I heard a loud whoosh, like a bang, and I kind of saw things flying around a little bit, and then I realized I was able to get up and walk around," he said.
Sokolow said he and Lauren suffered cuts and bruises, Rina was getting a skin graft to her leg and Jamie was undergoing eye surgery.
On Sept. 11, Sokolow was working on the 38th floor of the World Trade Center's south tower when the first hijacked airliner slammed into the north tower. His office was evacuated and he escaped unharmed before the second plane hit the south tower.
"I was obviously a lot luckier last time," Sokolow said. "This one involved my whole family."
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