Alex Odeh

Alexander Michel Odeh (April 4, 1944 – October 11, 1985) was an Arab-American (specifically, Palestinian American) anti-discrimination activist who was killed in a bombing as he opened the door of his office at 1905 East 17th Street, Santa Ana, California. Odeh was west-coast regional director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC).

Born into a Palestinian Christian (Latin rite Catholic) family in Jifna, the West Bank, Odeh immigrated to the United States in 1972. He was a lecturer and poet who had published a volume of his poetry, Whispers in Exile.

The Boston office of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee suffered a bombing on August 16, 1985, injuring two officers. The Santa Ana bombing came the day after the ending of the Palestine Liberation Front–sponsored Achille Lauro hijacking in which Jewish American Leon Klinghoffer was killed. The night before his death Odeh denied to the media that the PLO was involved in the hijacking and portrayed Palestinian leader Yassir Arafat as being ready to make peace. The day of his murder he had been scheduled to speak at Friday prayer services at a synagogue in Fountain Valley, California.

Shortly before his killing, Odeh appeared on the television show Nightline. The program featured a back-and-forth between Odeh and a representative from the Jewish Defense League.

The Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Committee both condemned the murder. United States President Ronald Reagan sent a message of regret.

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