This is the second of four posts on The Trials of Rasmea Odeh.
Jerusalem's Supersol was crowded on Friday morning, February 21, 1969, as shoppers hurried to get ready for the coming Sabbath. At about 11:00 a.m., a bomb exploded near the meat counter, ripping through the shelves and ceiling and sending debris flying across the store. Two botany students were killed—immigrant roommates, from South Africa and Uruguay—who were buying supplies for a coming field trip. Dozens were injured, including an Auschwitz survivor and a U.N. attache.
Israel had already been on edge, following a series of bombings and international terror attacks, and the police were reasonably fearful that "private vengeance" might be carried out against Jerusalem's Palestinian population. Roadblocks were set up outside Palestinian neighborhoods, more or less successfully preventing angry mobs from attacking their Palestinian neighbors.
