Rasmieh Odeh Tag

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, in an Opinion released today (full embed at bottom of post), remanded the immigration fraud case of Rasmea Odeh to the District Court on the issue of whether Rasmea should have been permitted to present expert testimony. The Appeals court did not rule such evidence admissible, and did not order a new trial. Rather, the Appeals Court ruled the trial court should have at least held a hearing on the issue of expert testimony. It is possible the trial court rejects such evidence after hearing under the strict requirements for expert evidence in federal court, in which case the conviction stands. Or after hearing rules the evidence should be admitted, in which case there will be a new trial. Rasmea was convicted of immigration fraud in federal court in Detroit in November 2014 for failing to disclose her 1970 conviction in Israel for the 1969 bombing of a supermarket, which killed two university students (Edward Joffe and Leon Kanner), and attempted bombing of the British Consulate. Rasmea contends that she was convicted in Israel solely because of a false confession extracted from her after 25 days of sexual torture. In fact, as we have proven, she confessed just one day after arrest, there was substantial other evidence of her guilt, and even her co-conspirator decades later explained on video that Rasmea was the mastermind. She also received a trial in Israel that an observer from the International Red Cross termed fair.

Rasmea Odeh is the supermarket bomber who killed Hebrew University students Edward Joffe and Leon Kanner in 1969, served 10 years in Israeli prison before being released in a prisoner exchange, and then made her way to the U.S. in the mid-1990s. Rasmea then lied on her visa (1994) and naturalization (2003) applications, among other ways, by denying that she ever had been charged, convicted or imprisoned. Rasmea was convicted in federal court in Detroit in November 2014 of immigration fraud, sentenced to 18 months in prison, and ordered deported. We have covered many times how Rasmea is being treated as a hero by the anti-Israel activist community, The Sickening Deification of Rasmea Odeh. That despite the fact that the evidence of her guilt in the bombing and the immigration charge is overwhelming. Today Rasmea's appeal was argued in the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati. I had hoped to attend, but was unable. Fortunately the audio of the oral argument is posted online (and at the bottom of this post).

Rasmea Odeh is the supermarket bomber who killed Hebrew University students Edward Joffe and Leon Kanner in 1969, served 10 years in Israeli prison before being released in a prisoner exchange, and then made her way to the U.S. in the mid-1990s. Rasmea then lied on her visa and naturalization applications, among other ways, by denying that she ever had been charged, convicted or imprisoned. Rasmea was convicted in federal court in Detroit in November 2014 of immigration fraud, sentenced to 18 months in prison, and ordered deported. Rasmea danced in the aisle of the bus back to Chicago after sentencing. Rasmea is out on bond pending appeal, which will be argued in Cincinnati before the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals on October 14, 2105.

The Mythology of Rasmea's Innocence

We have covered many times how Rasmea is being treated as a hero by the anti-Israel activist community, The Sickening Deification of Rasmea Odeh. That despite the fact that the evidence of her guilt in the bombing and the immigration charge is overwhelming. That hero status is based in part on her claim that her Israeli conviction was solely because she falsely confessed after 25 days of sexual torture.  In fact, Rasmea confessed just one day after arrest, there was substantial independent evidence, and even a Red Cross observer said she received a fair trial. Rasmea’s co-conspirator decades later would brag on video about how Rasmea planned the whole thing.

Rasmea Odeh is the supermarket bomber who killed Hebrew University students Edward Joffe and Leon Kanner in 1969, served 10 years in Israeli prison before being released in a prisoner exchange, and then made her way to the U.S. in the mid-1990s. Rasmea then lied on her visa and naturalization applications, among other ways, by denying that she ever had been charged, convicted or imprisoned. Rasmea was convicted in federal court in Detroit in November 2014 of immigration fraud, sentenced to 18 months in prison, and ordered deported. Rasmea danced in the aisle of the bus back to Chicago after sentencing. Rasmea is out on bond pending appeal. We have covered many times how Rasmea is being treated as a hero by the anti-Israel activist community, based in part on her claim that her Israeli conviction was solely because she falsely confessed after 25 days of sexual torture. In fact, Rasmea confessed just one day after arrest, there was substantial independent evidence, and even a Red Cross observer said she received a fair trial. Rasmea's co-conspirator decades later would brag on video about how Rasmea planned the whole thing. [caption id="attachment_106215" align="alignnone" width="600"] (Edward Joffe and Leon Kanner)[/caption] In our analysis of Rasmea's initial Appeal Brief, we noted Rasmea Odeh Appeal has fundamental inconsistency:

Rasmea Odeh is the supermarket bomber who killed Hebrew University students Edward Joffe and Leon Kanner in 1969, served 10 years in Israeli prison before being released in a prisoner exchange, and then made her way to the U.S. in the mid-1990s. Rasmea then lied on her visa and naturalization applications, among other ways, by denying that she ever had been charged, convicted or imprisoned. Rasmea was convicted in federal court in Detroit in November 2014 of immigration fraud, sentenced to 18 months in prison, and ordered deported. Rasmea danced in the aisle of the bus back to Chicago after sentencing. Rasmea is out on bond pending appeal. We have covered many times how Rasmea is being treated as a hero by the anti-Israel activist community, based in part on her claim that her Israeli conviction was solely because she falsely confessed after 25 days of sexual torture. In fact, she confessed just one day after arrest, there was substantial independent evidence, and even a Red Cross observer said she received a fair trial. Decades later, after they all were out of prison, Rasmea's key co-conspirator credited Rasmea with being the mastermind of the supermarket bombing. The fêting of Rasmea has picked up steam. She appeared at a fundraiser attended by 500 or so people at the University of Illinois - Chicago, in a joint appearance with Angela Davis:

Rasmieh (Rasmea) Odeh is the convicted bomber of the SuperSol supermarket in "West" Jerusalem in 1969 which killed Edward Joffe and Leon Kanner.   The evidence of Rasmea’s guilt was and is overwhelming, and has grown more so over the years. See my prior posts on the case:

• Rasmea Odeh rightly convicted of Israeli supermarket bombing and U.S. immigration fraud
• Prosecution seeks 5-7 year sentence for Rasmea Odeh (included new evidence of guilt)
• Rasmea Odeh’s victims – then and now

Rasmea had a lawyer in the Israeli trial, and engaged in extensive pre-trial litigation and trial that stretched over the better part of a year. An International Red Cross observer termed the trial to be fair. While Rasmea would claim that the conviction was the result of her confession coerced through 25 days of sexual torture, in fact Rasmea confessed the day after arrest and there was evidence independent of the confession. Moreoever, years later, after they all were out of prison, Rasmea's main co-conspirator would credit Rasmea with being the mastermind. Rasmea was sentence to life in prison, then was released in 1979 in a mass prisoner exchange for an Israeli soldier captured in Lebanon.  She eventually made her way to the U.S. in the 1990s In November 2014, Rasmea was convicted in federal court in Detroit of lying on her immigration and naturalization forms, by falsely denying she ever had been arrested, convicted or imprisoned. Rasmea was sentenced to 18 months in prison and ordered deported. She is free on bond pending appeal.

Rasmea Odeh was convicted in Israel in 1970 of the 1969 supermarket bombing that killed two students, Edward Joffe and Leon Kanner.   The evidence of Rasmea's guilt was overwhelming, as we documented.  Rasmea was released in a prisoner exchange in 1979, and eventually made her way to the U.S. in the mid-1990s. [caption id="attachment_115293" align="alignnone" width="600"] [Vigil Remembering Victims of Rasmea Odeh, DePaul University 2-3-2015][/caption] Rasmea flat-out lied on her immigration and naturalization papers, when she denied that she ever had been convicted or incarcerated. Rasmea was prosecuted in federal Court in Detroit for immigration fraud by prosecutors in the office of U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade. Rasmea's excuses for lying were lacking any credibility, and the jury took only 2 hours to convict her. Rasmea was sentenced to 18 months in prison and ordered deported after that. As we have reported before, Rasmea has been turned into a hero of the anti-Israel activist community, based in large part on her claim that the Israeli conviction was based on a confession extracted after 25 days of sexual torture. In fact, the documentary evidence shows Rasmea confessed just one day after arrest, was implicated by others as the mastermind, and the conviction was supported by other evidence, such as bomb-making material found in her bedroom.

Yesterday, March 12, 2015, Rasmea Odeh was sentenced to 18 months in prison, stripped of her U.S. citizenship, and ordered deported. None of that will take effect until her appeal is concluded, and she is free on bond pending appeal. There was a "national mobilization" to bus supporters to the court, and an organized letter writing campaign to the Judge. The supporters apparently filled the court room and designated overflow room, but as this video indicates, their protests were pretty lacking: (language warning) Rasmea's crime for which she was sentenced was unlawfully procuring naturalization by falsely stating on her immigration and naturalization applications that she never had been convicted of a crime or been incarcerated. In fact, Rasmea was convicted in 1970 in Israel of a 1969 supermarket bombing in which two students -- Edward Joffe and Leon Kanner -- were killed, and other terrorist activity including the attempted bombing of the British Consulate. The evidence of Rasmea's guilt on both the immigration and terrorism charges was overwhelming. Rasmea's supporters continue to claim that Rasmea was found guilty in Israel only because she confessed to the bombing after 25 days of sexual torture. In fact, Rasmea confessed one day after arrest, there was substantial other evidence against her, and years later her co-conspirators gave interviews to pro-Palestinian filmmakers highlighting that Rasmea was the mastermind of the bombing.

[Note: We will add video and a report from a Legal Insurrection correspondent at the court house as an Update later.] (Video here) Rasmea Odeh was convicted in Israel of the 1969 bombing of the Super Sol supermarket in Jerusalem, in which Hebrew University students Edward Joffe and Leon Kanner were killed, in addition to the attempted bombing of the British Consulate. Rasmea served 10 years of a life sentence before being released in a prisoner exchange in 1979 for an Israeli soldier captured in Lebanon. Rasmea later immigrated to the United States, where she has made Chicago her home since the mid-1990s. In November 2014, Rasmea was convicted in federal court in Detroit of falsely procuring naturalization, by concealing her Israeli convictions and incarceration. The evidence supporting both the Israeli and Detroit convictions is overwhelming and from multiple sources, as I demonstrated in Rasmea Odeh rightly convicted of Israeli supermarket bombing and U.S. immigration fraud. Rasmea's claim that she confessed to the bombing only after several weeks of sexual torture was contradicted by the fact that she confessed one day after arrest, and by corroborating evidence including a filmed interview years later with a co-conspirator. The prosecution sought a 5-7 year sentence on the immigration charge, well beyond the 12-21 month guidelines, based in part of Rasmea obstructing justice in the case by lying during testimony and disobeying the Judge's instructions not to testify as to her alleged torture. The families of the bombing victims submitted letters to the court, one of which called the Judge's attention to my post documenting Rasmea's guilt in the bombing and false claims as to the confession. The Judge just ruled this morning, sentencing Rasmea to 18 months in prison, revocation of citizenships plus judicially-ordered deportation at the end of prison to Jordan, and fines. (See Twitter stream below)

Rasmea Odeh is the Chicago resident who was convicted of a supermarket bombing in Jerusalem in 1969 that killed Edward Joffe and Leon Kanner, two university students. Despite claims from Rasmea's supporters, the evidence of her guilt was overwhelming, as set forth in my post, Rasmea Odeh rightly convicted of Israeli supermarket bombing and U.S. immigration fraud. That evidence was bolstered even further with additional bombing evidence revealed in the Sentencing Memorandum filed by prosecutors in a criminal case in Detroit, in which Rasmea was found guilty in November 2014 of immigration fraud for concealing her Israeli conviction and imprisonment. Sentencing is March 12, 2015. Claims that Rasmea only confessed after several weeks of sexual torture are belied by the fact that she gave a detailed confession just one day after arrest in 1969. That confession was further confirmed decades later in pro-Palestinian documentaries in which Rasmea's co-conspirators confirmed Rasmea's leadership role in the bombing. Nonetheless, Rasmea has been turned into a hero of the American anti-Israel activist community. A Justice4Rasmea shirt even was worn by a protester at the anti-AIPAC protest led by Code Pink and others. In court proceedings, Rasmea remains defiant, alleging a conspiracy against her, acknowledging responsibility for nothing. Rasmea's mendacity on the witness stand, in which she not only lied but defied the Judge's orders, forms part of the basis why the government is seeking a 5-7 year sentence, almost three times the sentencing guidelines. We have focused, to date, on Edward Joffe, including statements by Edward's brother and niece, and a video of Edward's mother reflecting on the loss of her son:

Devastating new evidence revealed that Rasmea Odeh lied in court about her role in supermarket bombing....

Rasmea Odeh was convicted in Israel in 1970 of the 1969 supermarket bombing that killed students Edward Joffe and Leon Kanner. She was convicted again in Detroit in November 2014 of falsely procuring naturalization, by concealing her conviction and incarceration in Israel on U.S. immigration and naturalization applications. Rasmea has become a hero in the anti-Israel activist community and among groups like Students for Justice in Palestine, on the narrative that her original Israeli conviction was unjust as it was the result of a confession extracted after several weeks of horrific sexual torture. The trial judge ruled any such evidence inadmissible, as the immigration charge had to deal with concealment of the conviction and incarceration, not whether Rasmea was guilty of the bombing charges. Rasmea is due to be sentenced on the immigration charge on March 12, 2015. While she faces 10 years in prison it is highly unlikely she will receive anywhere near that much time. The prosecution has not yet filed its sentencing request (or if it did, it's not on PACER yet). In the run up to sentencing, Rasmea's supporters have organized fundraisers, livestream events, and letter writing campaigns urging the Judge to show leniency. There are dozens of groups organizing the effort: There are campus events sponsored by groups such as the Middle East Studies Association at Loyola University in Chicago:

Basil Joffe is the brother of Edward Joffe, who was killed in the 1969 Super Sol supermarket bombing in Jerusalem for which Rasmea Odeh was convicted. The evidence of Rasmea's guilt is overwhelming. When she immigrated to the U.S., Rasmea concealed her conviction in Israel and her 10-year incarceration (her life sentence was commuted in 1979 in a prisoner swap for an Israeli soldier captured in Lebanon.) Rasmea was convicted in November 2014 in federal court in Detroit of unlawfully procuring naturalization. She faces sentencing on March 12, 2015. The evidence of Rasmea's guilt for both the bombing and the immigration fraud is overwhelming, as detailed in Rasmea Odeh rightly convicted of Israeli supermarket bombing and U.S. immigration fraud. Rasmea's supporters have launched a national letter writing campaign to the Judge asking for leniency. As happened at the trial, Rasmea's supporters are planning protests and demonstrations leading up to and at the sentencing. Basil and his daughter, Terry Benaryeh, attended the trial. Terry wrote a guest column at Legal Insurrection, Rasmea Odeh is no hero:

It is with much sadness, disappointment, and frustration that I write to you today. I spent last week attending the Immigration Fraud Trial in Detroit of Rasmieh Odeh. I sat in that courtroom with my father (alone in our row) surrounded by supporters of Odeh. We endured days of hateful looks and the rehashing of a traumatic event that changed my family forever.