Rasmieh Odeh Tag

The prosecution of Rasmea Odeh started out quite simply. Rasmea signed a naturalization form that denies she "EVER" (bold and CAPS in original) was convicted or imprisoned. That was a lie. Rasmea was convicted in 1970 in Israel of the 1969 bombing of a supermarket in Jerusalem in which two students were killed, and attempted bombing of the British Consulate. In the first trial, the judge did not allow Rasmea to relitigate the Israeli conviction with good reason -- whether the conviction was correct or not, the conviction and subsequent imprisonment were facts that had to be disclosed in response to the questions. The questions did not ask whether Rasmea "justly" or "rightly" or "fairly" was convicted or imprisoned, so the propriety of the conviction was not legally relevant.

We reported the other day how Rasmea Odeh gets new trial in immigration fraud case. Rasmea  is the terrorist member of the military wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine who was convicted in Israel in 1970 of the 1969 bombing of the SuperSol supermarket in Jerusalem that killed two Hebrew University students, Edward Joffe and Leon Kanner. Rasmea also was convicted of the attempted bombing of the British Consulate. Rasmea was released in 1979 in a prisoner exchange for an Israeli soldier captured in Lebanon. Rasmea made her way to the U.S. in the mid-1990s, where she lied on her visa application by denying any prior convictions or imprisonment, and again in her 2003 naturalization application when she repeated the same false answer. For more background, and how Rasmea’s supporters have distorted history, see Rasmea Odeh rightly convicted of Israeli supermarket bombing and U.S. immigration fraud and Rasmea Odeh’s victims – then and now.

Rasmea Odeh is the military member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) who was convicted in Israeli in 1970 of the 1969 bombing of the SuperSol supermarket in Jerusalem, and the attempted bombing of the British Consulate. That supermarket bombing killed Israeli students Edward Joffe and Leon Kanner.

In a development I predicted but hoped would not happen, convicted terrorist murderer Rasmea Odeh has been granted a new trial on immigration fraud charges alleging she knowingly lied on visa and naturalization applications by denying her conviction and imprisonment. The new trial was granted because the trial court decided to allow an expert to testify that Rasmea suffered from PTSD at the time of the false answers, and that the PTSD caused Rasmea to "filter" questions as to whether she "EVER" (bold and CAPS in original) was convicted or imprisoned. Rasmea answered No to such questions, and now claims that her PTSD made her interpret the word EVER to mean since arriving in the U.S. in the 1990s.

We have been covering the case of Rasmea Odeh since October 2014. Rasmea is the terrorist member of the military wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine who was convicted in Israel in 1970 of the 1969 bombing of the SuperSol supermarket in Jerusalem that killed two Hebrew University students, Edward Joffe and Leon Kanner. Rasmea also was convicted of the attempted bombing of the British Consulate. Rasmea was released in 1979 in a prisoner exchange for an Israeli soldier captured in Lebanon. Rasmea made her way to the U.S. in the mid-1990s, where she lied on her visa application in numerous ways, including by denying any prior convictions or imprisonment, and again in her 2003 naturalization application when she repeated the same false answers.

Rasmea Odeh is the terrorist member of the military wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine who was convicted in Israel in 1970 of the 1969 bombing of the SuperSol supermarket in Jerusalem that killed two Hebrew University students, Edward Joffe and Leon Kanner. Rasmea also was convicted of the attempted bombing of the British Consulate. Rasmea was released in 1979 in a prisoner exchange for an Israeli soldier captured in Lebanon. Rasmea made her way to the U.S. in the mid-1990s, where she lied on her visa application by denying any prior convictions or imprisonment, and again in her 2003 naturalization application when she repeated the same false answer. For more background, and how Rasmea’s supporters have distorted history, see Rasmea Odeh rightly convicted of Israeli supermarket bombing and U.S. immigration fraud and Rasmea Odeh’s victims – then and now.

Rasmea Odeh is the terrorist member of the military wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine who was convicted in Israel in 1970 of the 1969 bombing of the SuperSol supermarket in Jerusalem that killed two Hebrew University students, Edward Joffe and Leon Kanner. Rasmea also was convicted of the attempted bombing of the British Consulate. Rasmea was released in 1979 in a prisoner exchange for an Israeli soldier captured in Lebanon. Rasmea made her way to the U.S. in the mid-1990s, where she lied on her visa application by denying any prior convictions or imprisonment, and again in her 2003 naturalization application when she repeated the same false answer. For more background, and how Rasmea’s supporters have distorted history, see Rasmea Odeh rightly convicted of Israeli supermarket bombing and U.S. immigration fraud and Rasmea Odeh’s victims – then and now.

Rasmea Odeh is the terrorist member of the military wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine who was convicted in Israel in 1970 of the 1969 bombing the SuperSol supermarket in Jerusalem that killed two Hebrew University students, Edward Joffe and Leon Kanner. Rasmea also was convicted of the attempted bombing of the British Consulate. [caption id="attachment_130203" align="alignnone" width="600"] [Edward Joffe, overlooking Jerusalem. Photo provided by family.][/caption]

Rasmea Odeh is the terrorist member of the military wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine who was convicted in Israel in 1970 of the 1969 bombing the SuperSol supermarket in Jerusalem that killed two students, along with the attempted bombing of the British Consulate. Rasmea was released in 1979 in a prisoner exchange for an Israeli soldier captured in Lebanon. Rasmea made her way to the U.S. in the mid-1990s, where she lied on her visa application by denying any prior convictions or imprisonment, and again in her 2003 naturalization application when she repeated the same false answer. For more background, and how Rasmea's supporters have distorted history, see Rasmea Odeh rightly convicted of Israeli supermarket bombing and U.S. immigration fraud and Rasmea Odeh’s victims – then and now. [caption id="attachment_130186" align="alignnone" width="600"] [Graves of Edward Joffe and Leon Kanner Jerusalem, photo by William Jacobson][/caption]Rasmea was convicted of immigration fraud in federal court in Detroit in 2014. The case is back before the trial court for a hearing on whether Rasmea should have been allowed to call a PTSD expert at trial to support the defense that Rasmea's alleged torture in Israeli prison caused her to falsely answer the U.S. immigration questions. If the court allows the testimony, Rasmea will get a new trial. If the court rejects the PTSD expert testimony, the prior conviction remains in place. The court will hold the expert hearing on November 29, 2016, but in advance of that, granted the government's motion for a mental exam of Rasmea by a government expert.

Rasmea Odeh is the Palestinian terrorist group member convicted of the 1969 supermarket bombing in Jerusalem that killed two Hebrew University students, Edward Joffe and Leon Kanner. [caption id="attachment_106201" align="alignnone" width="600"] [Edward Joffe's Mother and Sister at funeral, Jerusalem 1969][/caption]Rasmea was released in a prisoner exchange in 1979 for an Israeli soldier captured in Lebanon. Rasmea eventually made her way to the U.S., where she lied on both her visa and naturalization applications, by falsely stating that she never was convicted of a crime or served time in prison. She told other lies as well, such as not disclosing the time she spent in Lebanon after release from Israeli prison, or that she was a military member of the terrorist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Rasmea became a U.S. citizen in 2004 on the basis of those lies.

Rasmea Odeh is the Palestinian terrorist group member convicted of the 1969 supermarket bombing in Jerusalem that killed two Hebrew University students, Edward Joffe and Leon Kanner. Rasmea was released in a prisoner exchange in 1979 for an Israeli soldier captured in Lebanon. Rasmea eventually made her way to the U.S., where she lied on both her visa and naturalization applications, by falsely stating that she never was convicted of a crime or served time in prison. She told other lies as well, such as not disclosing the time she spent in Lebanon after release from Israeli prison, or that she was a military member of the terrorist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Rasmea became a U.S. citizen in 2004 on the basis of those lies.

Rasmea Odeh is the Palestinian terrorist group member convicted of the 1969 supermarket bombing in Jerusalem that killed two Hebrew University students, Edward Joffe and Leon Kanner. Rasmea was released in a prisoner exchange in 1979 for an Israeli soldier captured in Lebanon. Rasmea eventually made her way to the U.S., where she lied on both her visa and naturalization applications, by falsely stating that she never was convicted of a crime or served time in prison. She told other lies as well, such as not disclosing the time she spent in Lebanon after release from Israeli prison, or that she was a military member of the terrorist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. [caption id="attachment_115293" align="alignnone" width="600"] [Vigil in memory of Edward Joffe and Leon Kanner, DePaul University, outside fundraiser for Rasmea Odeh][/caption] Rasmea became a U.S. citizen in 2004 on the basis of those lies.

Rasmea Odeh is the Palestinian terrorist group member convicted of the 1969 supermarket bombing in Jerusalem that killed two Hebrew University students, Edward Joffe and Leon Kanner. She was released in a prisoner exchange in 1979 for an Israeli soldier captured in Lebanon. I visited the graves of Edward and Leon, and met their siblings, during my trip to Israel in 2015, Rasmea Odeh’s victims – then and now. Rasmea eventually made her way to the U.S., where she lied on both her visa and naturalization applications, by falsely stating that she never was convicted of a crime or served time in prison. She told other lies as well, such as not disclosing the time she spent in Lebanon after release from Israeli prison, or that she was a military member of the terrorist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Rasmea became a U.S. citizen in 2004 on the basis of those lies.