Rasmea Odeh

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Rasmea Odeh ( Arabic رسمية عودة, DMG Rasmiyya ʿAuda ; * 1948 in Lifta ) is a Jordanian terrorist of the PFLP and political activist of Palestinian origin. Odeh was sentenced to life imprisonment for involvement in an attack on an Israeli supermarket in Jerusalem that killed two men. In 1980 she was released as part of a prisoner exchange with the PFLP.

Life

Early years of life

Odeh was born in Lifta, an Arab village west of Jerusalem, in 1948. During the Palestine War and the associated Nakba , all residents (around 2000) left the village. She was only a month old at the time. Her family fled to Ramallah , where they initially lived in a tent. Her father emigrated to the United States in the early 1950s, worked in a factory and sent money to the family, which enabled them to rent a two-bedroom apartment. Odeh began attending communist meetings at the age of 12 and a year later became a member of the Arab Nationalist Movement that later became the PFLP.

Terrorist attack in Jerusalem

On February 21, 1969, an explosive device exploded in a Jerusalem supermarket. The two Israeli students Leon Kanner and Eddie Joffe were murdered and nine other people were injured. Another explosive device was found on site and could be defused. The PFLP claimed responsibility for the attack.

Odeh was subsequently arrested for involvement in the attack and membership in a terrorist organization and sentenced to life imprisonment by an Israeli military court in 1970. However, she was released in March 1979 after almost ten years in prison and was released to Jordan . Israel had arranged a prisoner exchange with the PFLP to free a soldier held in Lebanon .

Illegal emigration to the USA and deportation

After living in Jordan for around 15 years, Odeh emigrated to the United States in 1995 and obtained US citizenship in 2004. In the following years she was active as an activist for women's rights and as a pro-Palestinian activist.

Because she had concealed the fact that she had been sentenced to prison in Israel when entering the country and when applying for citizenship, she was charged with immigration fraud in 2013 and convicted after years of litigation. Her US citizenship was revoked and she was deported to Jordan in September 2017.

Prohibited appearance in Berlin

On March 15, 2019, an event with Odeh's participation was to take place in Berlin-Kreuzberg . The Samidoun network and the Berlin branch of the BDS had invited to the event entitled “Palestinian women in the liberation struggle” . Pro-Israeli and Jewish organizations, including the Jewish Forum for Democracy and Against Anti-Semitism and the Central Council of Jews , sharply criticized the planned event, citing Odeh's anti-Israeli views and her past as a terrorist. The appearance was banned by the Berlin Senate Department for the Interior , Odeh was banned from political activity in Berlin and her Schengen visa was revoked. The Dersim cultural community had previously terminated the rented premises in a mosque in which the event was to take place.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Anna Lekas ​​Miller: Prominent Palestinian-American Community Activist Arrested . November 1, 2013 ( thedailybeast.com [accessed March 15, 2019]).
  2. ^ Soraya Antonius: Prisoners for Palestine: A List of Women Political Prisoners. In: Journal of Palestine Sudies. Retrieved March 18, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Jerusalem Supersol Re-opens for Business; 2 Young Bombing Victims Are Buried. In: Jewish Telegraphic Agency. February 24, 1969. Retrieved March 16, 2019 (American English).
  4. ↑ https://www.tagesspiegel.de/themen/reportage/terroristin-rasmea-odeh-sprengsatz-des-antisemitismus-in-berlin/24105198.html
  5. ↑ Political activist Rasmea Odeh a symbol of deportation's many faces. In: Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved March 18, 2019 .
  6. ^ Arab activist song to get citizenship, jurors told. November 5, 2014, accessed March 18, 2019 .
  7. ↑ Frederik Schindler: Event with Rasmea Odeh in Berlin: Convicted terrorist should appear . In: The daily newspaper: taz . March 13, 2019, ISSN  0931-9085 ( taz.de [accessed on March 16, 2019]).
  8. ↑ Convicted terrorist: Berlin Senate revokes Rasmea Odeh's visa. Retrieved March 16, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Odeh, Rasmea
ALTERNATIVE NAMES رسمية عودة (Arabic)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Jordanian terrorist
DATE OF BIRTH 1948
PLACE OF BIRTH Lifta