Odeh’s Message of Peace Lives On

It has been a year and a day since Arab rights leader Alex M. Odeh was murdered by a terrorist bomb in Santa Ana. His killer is still at large, despite vigorous law enforcement efforts to track him down.

We were reminded of Odeh as a man of peace on the first anniversary of his death last night when family, friends and colleagues gathered at a memorial dinner in Anaheim to remember him and his work.

Odeh, the West Coast director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, opposed violence and discrimination. He died when a bomb exploded as he opened his office just 12 hours after appearing on a news program to condemn terrorism.

Last Thursday the Los Angeles Human Relations Commission paid tribute to Odeh, who was a naturalized American citizen, for his efforts to advance “understanding about emerging ethnic groups” in Los Angeles County.

The Orange County Human Relations Commission last March honored Odeh for the same reason, recognizing his efforts to bring Arab and Jewish leaders together to discuss their differences.

Thus, once more, it has taken a senseless and tragic death to accomplish what was always possible--a bond among human beings. The Arab and Jewish communities are united against violence and in wanting to see his killer caught. And the two communities seem to be learning that discrimination against Arabs or Jews hurts them both. That is Alex Odeh’s legacy to Orange County.