German Chancellor Angela Merkel receives the ambassador of U.S. to Germany, Richard Grenell, in Meseberg, Germany July 6, 2018.. (photo credit: AXEL SCHMIDT/REUTERS)
X ![]()
Dear Reader,
As you can imagine, more people are reading The Jerusalem Post than ever before. Nevertheless, traditional business models are no longer sustainable and high-quality publications, like ours, are being forced to look for new ways to keep going. Unlike many other news organizations, we have not put up a paywall. We want to keep our journalism open and accessible and be able to keep providing you with news and analysis from the frontlines of Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World.
As one of our loyal readers, we ask you to be our partner.
For $5 a month you will receive access to the following:
- A user experience almost completely free of ads
- Access to our Premium Section
- Content from the award-winning Jerusalem Report and our monthly magazine to learn Hebrew – Ivrit
- A brand new ePaper featuring the daily newspaper as it appears in print in Israel
Help us grow and continue telling Israel’s story to the world.
Thank you,
Ronit Hasin-Hochman, CEO, Jerusalem Post Group
Yaakov Katz, Editor-in-Chief
UPGRADE YOUR JPOST EXPERIENCE FOR 5$ PER MONTH Show me later
BERLIN – A strongly worded statement from Richard Grenell, the US ambassador to Germany, caused the German government to cancel an event on Friday with a convicted Palestinian terrorist who murdered two Israeli students.
Grenell told The Jerusalem Post on Friday “It was the right decision. The Germans made the right decision.”
Berlin’s department for interior announced in a statement on Friday that they barred Rasmea Odeh from speaking in the capital and revoked her visa. The German authorities said Odeh must immediately leave the Schengen Area that is comprised of 26 European nations.
According to the interior department’s statement, Odeh was barred from speaking because “the political activity of a foreigner may be limited or prohibited, as far as it affects the political decision making in the Federal Republic of Germany or the peaceful coexistence of Germans and foreigners or of various groups of foreigners in the federal territory, public safety and order or other significant interests of the Federal Republic of Germany or endangered.”
The Trump administration’s most high-profile ambassador, Grenell, told Fox News on Thursday: “The rise of antisemitism around the world is very troubling. Some people plant the seeds of antisemitism while others water it and help it grow. Offering a public speaking role to a Palestinian terrorist convicted of murder, terrorism and immigration fraud legitimizes antisemitism at a time when we should be condemning it.”
He added: “I join the chorus of others who have raised their voices in Berlin standing against antisemitism no matter where it’s found.”
Fox News wrote “US ambassador urges Germany to bar entry of convicted Palestinian terrorist.”
Grenell’s criticism blanketed large German dailies on Friday, including the country’s top-selling newspaper, Bild.
The Post learned that Germany’s alleged tolerance for terrorists played a role in the eviction of Odeh from German territory. In February, the German government defied an American extradition order and released the Turkish terrorist Adem Yilmaz, responsible for the murder of two American service members.. According to Bloomberg, the acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker issued an “unusual rebuke of an ally for sending the man to Turkey.” Germany’s foreign ministry and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier celebrated the Islamic Republic of Iran’s revolution last month.
The convicted Palestinian terrorist Rasmea Odeh, was slated to speak at a conference organized by an antisemitic BDS alliance on “Palestinian Women Fighting for Liberation” in Berlin on Friday.
BDS is an abbreviation for the Boycott, Sanctions, Divestment campaign targeting the Jewish state.
As a member of the US and EU-classified terrorist organization the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), Odeh was responsible for a 1969 bombing that killed two students – Leon Kanner and Eddie Joffe – in a Jerusalem supermarket.
The Washington Free Beacon’s Adam Kredo reported on Thursday Grenell “ petitioned German leaders on behalf of the Trump administration to ban Odeh from entering the country.” Kredo noted: “Odeh was reportedly invited to speak in Berlin on Friday by the ‘pro-BDS group Jewish Voice for a Just Peace in the Middle East, which is a supporter of the alliance of BDS groups.”’
Jewish Voice for a Just Peace in the Middle East defended Odeh on its Facebook page against the alleged defamation campaign she experienced in Germany.
After Grenell’s statement—as well as protests from Israel’s ambassador to Germany and the Jewish community in Germany– the department for interior affairs took action against Odeh.
Israel’s ambassador to Germany Jeremy Issacharoff issued a rare criticism of the German authorities on Thursday. He said “We are shocked that a convicted Palestinian terrorist, who is personally responsible for the murder of two students in a supermarket, was invited to speak in Berlin.”
He added “ironically [this is happening] in Berlin, a city that stands for tolerance and freedom and has now written the fight against antisemitism on the flags.”
Odeh was also convicted by the Israeli authorities for a second bombing at the British Consulate. She was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1970 for her role in the bombings. She was released from prison in 1979 due to a prisoner exchange. She now lives in Jordan after living in the US for more than two decades.
The US government deported Odeh in 2017 for immigration fraud. She lied about her terrorism convictions when she entered the US.
Join Jerusalem Post Premium Plus now for just $5 and upgrade your experience with an ads-free website and exclusive content. Click here>>
Comments are closed.