Tel-Chai Nation

I'm glad to see that Katherine Lester of Michigan, who almost made a horrible decision, has come to her senses. The same cannot be said for Abdullah Jinzawi:

GILFORD, Mich. (AP) - A teenager who flew secretly to the Middle East last year to be with a man she met on MySpace has gone on television to end the relationship.

Katherine Lester developed an online romance with Abdullah Jinzawi in 2005, but kept the relationship secret until she disappeared in June 2006 from her mother's home in Gilford, 80 miles north of Detroit.

Lester, then 16, was intercepted in Amman, Jordan, by U.S. authorities as she was heading to Tel Aviv to meet her Palestinian boyfriend, then 20.

"This is really hard for me to tell you, but I'm not going to be with you anymore," 18-year-old Lester said Monday on the syndicated "Dr. Phil" show as Jinzawi watched via satellite from the West Bank town of Jericho where he lives.

After Monday's breakup, Jinzawi left the room, then returned a few minutes later, wanting to know why she was ending the relationship and accusing her family of brainwashing her.

Her mother, Shawn Lester, told Jinzawi: "I'm so glad you're not in front of my face right now because they'd have to take me to jail. You're never going to touch her again."

After being intercepted, Lester was sent back to Michigan, where the Tuscola County prosecutor's office filed a runaway juvenile petition against her in family court. The petition was withdrawn under a deal with Lester and her parents.

My guess is that the mother managed to obtain some control in the case and get her daughter some counseling. They took very responsible steps here, and mother and daughter alike were very bold in telling a man who would dare to exploit a then-underage teen that the answer is no, they're not going to give in on something like this.

Labels: islam, Israel, michigan, misogyny, United States