Alex Odeh’s Murder - 27 Years Later, Still No Justice

American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee

Posted Oct 11, 2012      •Permalink      • Printer-Friendly Version
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Alex Odeh’s Murder - 27 Years Later, Still No Justice

by American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee


Today ADC will observe one minute of silence in remembrance of Alex Odeh. Please join us at 12:00 pm (noon) EST, as we reflect on the life and untimely death of Alex, his inspirational character, and his service to the Arab American community.

On October 11, 1985, Alex Odeh was killed when a powerful pipe bomb exploded as he unlocked and opened the door of the ADC office in Santa Ana, California. In addition to killing Alex, the bomb injured several other victims.

WATCH: Previously unreleased video outlining the unsolved murder of Alex Odeh

Today marks the 27th anniversary of this terrorist attack.

ADC remembers Alex and continues to reinforce its demand that those responsible for his murder be brought to justice.

Last week, ADC sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder urging the Department of Justice to renew their genuine efforts in resolving the case. ADC has made a formal request for a meeting with the attorney general to discuss the case.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI’s) case into Alex Odeh’s murder remains open, with a reward of up to $1 million for information leading to an arrest and conviction. However, no arrest has yet been made in spite of the fact that press reports have stated over the years that the FBI identified members of the Jewish Defense League (JDL) as suspects. None of the identified JDL individuals has ever been charged or prosecuted in connection with the murder, and some have fled to Israel.

ADC President Warren David stated, “The unlawful killing of Alex Odeh is an injustice to his family, the Arab American community and to all Americans. After 27 years we are still outraged. We demand that the DOJ and the FBI bring closure to this heinous act immediately.”

ADC and the Arab American community are deeply troubled that the perpetrators have been at large for nearly three decades, despite all the available leads to resolving Alex’s murder. The lack of closure of Alex’s murder by the FBI and the Department of State (DOS) has been viewed as a sign that the life of an American civil rights advocate with Palestinian roots is not valued by the U.S. Government as much as other American lives.

ADC demands that the FBI and DOS show good faith by redoubling genuine efforts, and allocating necessary resources for resolving, once and for all, this domestic terrorism case.

The Arab American community will not rest until the perpetrators are brought to justice.

TAKE ACTION! Sign the petition to demand justice for Alex Odeh


TAM Editors note:  For those who may not remember this case.  “Alex Odeh was a professor of Middle East History and Arabic Language in Santa Ana, California. He was a U.S. citizen and a Palestinian Roman Catholic who immigrated to the U.S. in 1972, and served as the West Coast Regional Director of the Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee, [ADC].  ...  The prime suspect of Alex’s murder was a member of the Jewish Defense League [JDL], who fled to Israel. Israel (surprise, surprise) refused to extradite him or allow the FBI to question him. JDL was at that time the #1 domestic terrorist organization on the FBI list.” **

In 1988, it was reported that “Robert Steven Manning, a U.S. Army-trained demolitions expert now in Israel, is suspected by authorities of involvement in three other bombings that are believed to be the work of extremists allied with Rabbi Meir Kahane, head of Israel’s militant Kach Party. Sources close to the investigation in California and New York said Manning, 36, is one of at least four suspects—all living in Israel—in the Odeh killing. The sources declined to identify the other suspects in the case. Manning’s wife, Rochelle Ida Manning, 48, may have had a “peripheral” role in the Odeh case, added the sources, who asked not to be identified.”

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