Expressing profound sorrow over the death of Alexander Michel Odeh.
H. Res. 800 is a House of Representatives resolution expressing profound sorrow over the death of Alexander Michel Odeh. The measure memorializes Odeh, a Palestinian-born peace activist and Arab-American civil liberties advocate who was killed in 1985 by a pipe bomb at the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) office in Santa Ana, California, while serving as the ADC’s Southern California Regional Director. The resolution notes Odeh’s work as a poet and Arabic-language lecturer, acknowledges that those responsible for the act of domestic terrorism have not yet been brought to justice, and offers sympathy to his family and to the ADC. It also directs the Clerk to transmit the resolution to the Senate and to the Odeh family, and declares that the House adjourns today in memory of Odeh. The measure is ceremonial and symbolic, not a law or policy mandate. It serves to recognize Odeh’s life and contributions, affirm solidarity with his family and the Arab-American community, and record a moment of remembrance in the congressional record.
Key Points
- 1Official purpose: The resolution formally expresses profound sorrow for the death of Alexander Michel Odeh and honors his legacy as a victim of domestic terrorism.
- 2Odeh’s life and work: The bill highlights Odeh as a peace activist who promoted civil liberties for Arab-Americans and civil/human rights globally; he was also a published poet and an Arabic-language lecturer at Coastline College and California State University, Fullerton.
- 3Role and death: Odeh served as the Southern California Regional Director of the ADC when he was killed by a pipe bomb as he entered the ADC office in Santa Ana on October 11, 1985.
- 4Family and community: The resolution extends deep sympathy to Odeh’s wife Norma Odeh and his three daughters (Helena, Samya, and Susan) and to the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.
- 5Procedural actions: The Clerk is instructed to communicate the resolution to the Senate and transmit a copy to Odeh’s family; the House adjourns today as a further mark of respect.