1969 Jerusalem bombings

1969 PFLP bombings in Jerusalem
Native name	הפיגוע בסניף שופרסל בירושלים
Location	Jerusalem
Date	21 February 1969;56 years ago (1969-02-21)
Weapon	Explosive device
Deaths	2 civilians
Injured	9 civilians
Perpetrator	PFLP
No. of participants	5

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.

Supermarket bombing

The 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

On 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

These 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

1. "Jerusalem Supersol Re-opens for Business; 2 Young Bombing Victims Are Buried". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 24 February 1969.
2. "Trial set for Jerusalem terror convict who moved to US". The Times of Israel. 3 September 2014.
3. "Palestinian convicted of two bombings back in U.S. court over immigration fraud". Haaretz. 2 September 2014.
4. Jillian Kay Melchior (26 February 2014). "Convicted Terrorist Worked as Obamacare Navigator in Illinois". National Review Online.
5. "Forty Members of Terrorist Cells Rounded Up in Supermarket Bombing Case". JTA. 4 March 1969. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
6. "ConsulateBombed". Chicago Tribune. 26 February 1969. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
7. "Officials Escape Injury in British Consulate Explosion". JTA. 26 February 1969. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
8. Michael Tarm (24 October 2013). "Rasmieh Yousef Odeh, Community Activist, Accused Of Hiding Terror Conviction To Gain Citizenship". The Huffington Post.
9. "Arab-American activist on trial for allegedly concealing terror role in immigration papers". The Guardian. 5 November 2014.
10. "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.
11. Lorraine Swanson (21 October 2014). "Evergreen Park Woman Accused of Hiding Terrorist Past". Evergreen Park, Illinois Patch.
12. "Evergreen Park woman Rasmieh Odeh charged with lying about Palestinian terrorist past". ABC13 Houston. 23 October 2013.
13. Jason Meisner (22 October 2013). "Feds: Woman hid terror conviction to get citizenship". Chicago Tribune.