Manny Frishberg’s reporting on the movie A Mighty Heart (“One of the unlucky ones,” July 6) leaves open a question as to whether Daniel Pearl’s last recorded words were “I am a Jewish-American” or not. Indeed, not only did he state that, but also, “My father is Jewish, my mother is Jewish, I am Jewish.” He then goes on to say, “Back in the town of B’nei Barak, there is a street named after my great-grandfather, Chayim Pearl, who was one of the founders of the town.”
These statements could not have been made under duress (his captors could not have known this information). While there have been many interpretations of these last words, the most profound to me would be Daniel Pearl’s closest declaration of the sh’ma, said in our daily prayers and the final words one says before death, that he could make.