Convicted Terrorist Who Murdered Hebrew University Students Worked for Obamacare

Convicted terrorist Rasmieh Yousef Odeh allegedly lied on her United States immigration and naturalization application papers in 2004 and unlawfully gained American citizenship. More recently, she had gained employment as an Obamacare navigator in the state of Illinois.

Jordanian-born Rasmieh Yousef Odeh, who has at least nine aliases, was convicted in Israel for her role in several bombings on behalf of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), including an attack in February 1969 at a Jerusalem grocery store that claimed the lives of Hebrew University students Leon Kanner and Eddie Joffe and injured 10 others. A bomb had been hidden on a supermarket shelf in a candy box.

Another bomb was detonated at the British Consulate in Jerusalem a few weeks later but caused only structural damage.

Odeh was convicted a month later by a military court in Israel for membership in an illegal organization and for her terrorist activities. She was sentenced to life in prison.

Ten years later, she was released and transferred to Lebanon as part of a prisoner swap. In 1995, she immigrated to the United States.

In October 2013, Odeh, who recently had been working as an Obamacare navigator in Illinois, was indicted for allegedly lying on her U.S. immigration and naturalization application papers.

“Special agents arrested Rasmieh Yousef Odeh, 66, at a Chicago-area residence after the unsealing of an indictment filed in federal court in Detroit. The indictment charges procurement of citizenship unlawfully,” states a report on October 22 by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The Department of Insurance discovered the terrorist’s history after the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Eastern District of Michigan notified the public about her prior convictions, according to a DOI revocation letter.

The Illinois Department of Insurance conducts background checks on navigators; however, a comprehensive FBI background did not include any past criminal offenses on Odeh’s part.

CONVICTED TERRORIST GAINED U.S. CITIZENSHIP

“The indictment alleges that in 1995, she immigrated to the United States and naturalized as a citizen in 2004,” the FBI states. “In her immigration documents filed in the United States, the indictment alleges, Odeh omitted her arrest, conviction, and imprisonment overseas, which were material facts for the United States government in determining whether to grant her citizenship.”

“The United States will never be a safe haven for individuals seeking to distance themselves from their pasts,” declared William Hayes, acting special FBI agent in charge for HSI Detroit. “When individuals lie on immigration documents, the system is severely undermined and the security of our nation is put at risk.”

If convicted of the charge, Odeh will be stripped of her United States citizenship. She also faces a maximum sentence of 10 years for naturalization fraud.

This case was investigated by special agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations with the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Date: March 2, 2014