DETROIT – The judge overseeing the trial of Palestinian American activist Rasmea Odeh recused himself from the case today.

Odeh was indicted for allegedly lying on her U.S. citizenship application about a conviction in an Israeli military court decades ago. Her defense lawyers had asked U.S. District Judge Paul Borman to step down from the case because of his support to Israel. At a hearing on July 31, Borman refused to step down from the case. Odeh’s defense argued that the judge cannot be “neutral and detached” as the law requires because he an his family have donated millions of dollars to Israel. Borman originally ruled that his Jewish faith should not bar him from overseeing the trial. However, Hatem Abudayyeh, the executive director of the Arab American Action Network, said the motion requesting Borman to step down does not mention his faith, but his political and economic ties to Israel. Borman eventually recused himself from the case. He stated in the order of recusal that he is stepping down after discovering that his family had “a passive financial investment connection” to SuperSol, an Israeli supermarket that was bombed in 1969. Odeh was convicted of participating in the bombing in Israel.