On the morning of October 11, 1985, a Palestinian American activist named Alex Odeh opened his office door in Orange County, CA for the last time. A trip-wire bomb exploded. He died hours later in a nearby hospital.

His premature death left his widow Norma, a recent immigrant and stay-at-home mother, to raise their three young daughters alone. Odeh’s murder shook the local Arab American community. He was a civic leader, teacher, activist and poet, revered locally. Yet, his story is largely forgotten. His murder has gone unsolved.

For the last several years, we, William Youmans and Jason Osder, have been making a documentary tentatively called ‘Who Killed Alex Odeh?’ A mix of rich archival and present-day footage, the film looks at Alex’s life as a Palestinian in exile, follows his family as it seeks justice decades later and covers a freelance reporter who uncovers new clues about the suspects, three US-born Israeli settlers.

We completed production and raised grant money to cover most of the editing expenses. This GoFundMe helped us complete editing, but we need another $30k for post-production after having raised more than $50k from several other sources. This appeal is necessary to get us to the finish line. 

We seek to complete editing in time for submission to late 2025 and early 2026 film festivals. All funds raised would go to our post-production expenses, sound mixing, graphics, color correction, legal expenses, and possibly licensing footage.

Alex's story must be told now. Your help will ensure the film goes into wide distribution by 2026, though we hope to premiere this fall, the 40th anniversary of Alex's murder. For more information about the film, see this webpage.

Contact William Youmans for more information.