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Defense Wants Pro-Israel Federal Judge Off Odeh Case
A Palestinian-American woman charged with immigration fraud for failing to disclose she spent nearly 10 years in an Israeli prison after being convicted of a pair of bombings in Jerusalem almost half a century ago is asking that the judge assigned to the fraud case recuse himself because of his activism on behalf of the State of Israel.
In a motion filed Monday, defense lawyers for Rasmea Odeh, 66, argued that U.S. District Court Judge Paul Borman of Detroit should step aside because he is active in building support for Israel, has sponsored numerous trips there and has received accolades from pro-Israel groups.
The motion (posted here) does not mention directly that Borman is Jewish, but does note that he has donated (along with his wife) at least $3 million to the United Jewish Federation and that Borman’s father also was an advocate for Israel.
“The defendant’s claim of bias emanates from the Court’s personal and extrajudicial support and deep commitment to the State of Israel….The Court has a long history of supporting and promoting the State of Israel. The Court’s public record of fundraising, organizing trips and promoting the State of Israel cannot be disputed,” Odeh’s defense team wrote.
Odeh argues in the motion and other filings that her conviction in an Israeli military court should not be takenn otice of by the American legal system because her treatment at the hands of Israeli officials and soldiers included “multiple rapes,” as well as various other acts of torture.
“Clearly, one who has been a life-long supporter and promoter of Israel and has deep ties to the State of Israel spanning over 50 years, who no doubts believes that Israeli is a great democracy and protector of human rights, cannot be ‘reasonably’ said to be impartial when these claims of torture and illegality are raised by a Palestinian defendant,” the defense lawyers wrote.
The motion includes documentation showing Borman has held various positions in Jewish organizations and, in 2007, received the United Jewish Federation of Detroit’s “highest honor” for his service.
Odeh was indicted last fall on charges that when she applied for residence and citizenship in the U.S. she concealed her membership in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, her involvement in the 1969 bombings and the fact that she’d spent time in Israeli prisons. One of the bombs Odeh was convicted of involvement in planting killed two students. She was sentenced in Israel to life behind bars, but was released in a prisoner swap in 1979.
The prosecution plans to oppose the motion for recusal, the defense filing said.
It’s unclear why Odeh was charged last fall, since she came to the U.S. in 1994 and gained citizenship in 2004. She has worked recently with the Chicago-based Arab-American Action Network, whose executive director Hatem Abudayyeh became the focus of a federal investigation into alleged support for the PFLP. He has not been charged.
Prosecutors filed motions last week seeking to preclude Odeh and her team from disputing the validity of her convictions, from mentioning her alleged torture, and from arguing selective prosecution at her trial, set to begin Sept. 8.
Borman has yet to rule on those motions or the one asking him to recuse himself from the case.
If convicted, Odeh faces up to 10 years in prison and loss of her U.S. citizenship. In May, she balked at a plea deal that would have called for her to serve no more than six months in prison before being deported.
Josh Gerstein
Politico