Profile: Alex Odeh
It has been 26 years since Alex Odeh was assassinated at his Santa Ana office on October 11, 1985.
Odeh was killed by a pipe bomb, which was triggered when he tried to unlock his office door. The explosion killed him instantly. He was 41.
The case remains unsolved.
The Alex Odeh Memorial Statue, which stands outside the main branch of the Santa Ana Library, was commissioned by Odeh’s former colleague Khalil Bendib.
After learning of Odeh’s murder, Bendib vowed to create a lasting memorial to the peace activist. The concept of a statue incubated for years but was finally erected in Santa Ana in 1994.
A U.S. citizen and a Palestinian Roman Catholic, Odeh immigrated to the U.S. in 1972, and served as the West Coast Regional Director of the Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee.
Relatives and friends who knew Odeh remember him as a rebel, but in an elegant, poignant and non-violent way. He is survived by his wife Norma and three daughters Helena, Samia and Susan.