On February 21, 1969, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) carried out a bombing attack on a supermarket in Jerusalem, killing 21-year-old Leon Kanner of Netanya and 22-year-old Eddie Joffe, students at the Hebrew University, and injuring 9.
| 1969 PFLP bombings in Jerusalem | |
|---|---|
| Native name | הפיגוע בסניף שופרסל בירושלים |
| Location | Jerusalem |
| Date | 21 February 1969 |
| Weapon | Explosive device |
| Deaths | 2 civilians |
| Injured | 9 civilians |
| Perpetrator | PFLP |
No. of participants | 5 |
Supermarket bombing
editThe deaths and injuries were caused by a bomb placed in a crowded Jerusalem SuperSol supermarket which the two students stopped in at to buy groceries for a field trip.[1][2][3] The same bomb wounded 9 others.[4] A second bomb was found at the supermarket, and defused.[1]
In the investigation that followed the bombings, authorities uncovered an arsenal of PFLP weaponry including explosives.[5]
Bombing of British Consulate
editOn 25 February 1969 the same PFLP terrorists planted two bombs in a window of the British Consulate in Jerusalem. The bomb exploded in the apartment of a secretary at the consulate, who was not home at the time. There were no injuries, although the room was wrecked.[6] A bombing attempt at the Consulate the previous Friday failed when the bomb was discovered and detonated.[7]
Rasmea Odeh
editThese two attacks are often cited in connection with Rasmea Odeh, a PFLP activist who confessed to involvement and attained later a degree of notability after she was released from an Israeli prison in a prisoner exchange and violated American immigration laws.[8][9][10][11][12][13] In 1980, Odeh was among 78 prisoners released by Israel in an exchange with the PFLP for one Israeli soldier captured in Lebanon.[8][2][3]
References
edit- ^ a b "Jerusalem Supersol Re-opens for Business; 2 Young Bombing Victims Are Buried". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 24 February 1969.
- ^ a b "Trial set for Jerusalem terror convict who moved to US". The Times of Israel. 3 September 2014.
- ^ a b "Palestinian convicted of two bombings back in U.S. court over immigration fraud". Haaretz. 2 September 2014.
- ^ Jillian Kay Melchior (26 February 2014). "Convicted Terrorist Worked as Obamacare Navigator in Illinois". National Review Online.
- ^ "Forty Members of Terrorist Cells Rounded Up in Supermarket Bombing Case". JTA. 4 March 1969. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
- ^ "ConsulateBombed". Chicago Tribune. 26 February 1969. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
- ^ "Officials Escape Injury in British Consulate Explosion". JTA. 26 February 1969. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
- ^ a b Michael Tarm (24 October 2013). "Rasmieh Yousef Odeh, Community Activist, Accused Of Hiding Terror Conviction To Gain Citizenship". The Huffington Post.
- ^ "Arab-American activist on trial for allegedly concealing terror role in immigration papers". The Guardian. 5 November 2014.
- ^ "Trial set for U.S.-Palestinian immigrant convicted in Israel deaths; Rasmieh Odeh is accused of hiding she was convicted in Israel for terror attacks from American immigration officials". Haaretz. 3 October 2014.
- ^ Lorraine Swanson (21 October 2014). "Evergreen Park Woman Accused of Hiding Terrorist Past". Evergreen Park, Illinois Patch.
- ^ "Evergreen Park woman Rasmieh Odeh charged with lying about Palestinian terrorist past". ABC13 Houston. 23 October 2013.
- ^ Jason Meisner (22 October 2013). "Feds: Woman hid terror conviction to get citizenship". Chicago Tribune.