Leon Klinghoffer
Leon Klinghoffer (born September 24, 1916 in New York City , † October 8, 1985 ) was an American terrorist victim. He was murdered by Palestinian terrorists during the hijacking of the Achille Lauro cruise ship . He was a retired home appliance manufacturer who had to rely on a wheelchair after suffering a stroke .
The Jewish couple Leon and Marilyn Klinghoffer from New York City celebrated their 36th wedding anniversary in 1985 with a cruise as passengers on the Achille Lauro, when the ship was seized by four members of the Palestine Liberation Front (PLF). In the course of the kidnapping, Klinghoffer was murdered on the afternoon of October 8th by targeted shots in the head and chest. The terrorists then forced the ship's hairdresser and a waiter to throw the body and wheelchair overboard.
Marilyn Klinghoffer, who had been separated from her husband before these events, only found out about his death after the Palestinians had left the ship in Port Said . The terrorists had told her that her husband had been taken to the ship's medical station.
PLO spokesman Faruq al-Qadumi slandered the widow and claimed that she herself murdered Klinghoffer in order to get his life insurance.
Leon Klinghoffer's body was recovered on the night of October 14th to 15th and transferred to the USA by the Syrian authorities around October 20th . He was then buried in the Beth David Memorial Park in Kenilworth , New Jersey . Marilyn Klinghoffer died of colon cancer four months after her husband's violent death.
Ilsa and Lisa Klinghoffer, the couple's two daughters, founded the Leon and Marilyn Klinghoffer Memorial Foundation after their parents died . This was done in collaboration with the Jewish Anti-Defamation League , an organization that fights against defamation of Judaism and against anti-Semitism in general.
The kidnapping inspired the American composer John Adams to write his opera The Death of Klinghoffer , which was filmed by Penny Woodcock for Channel Four in 2001 .
In addition, the kidnapping of Achille Lauro was filmed two more times, with Karl Malden and Burt Lancaster playing the role of Leon Klinghoffer.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Eli Polak: Klinghoffer , Jerusalem Post, June 25, 2014
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Klinghoffer, Leon |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American terrorist victim |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 24, 1916 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | New York City |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 8, 1985 |
| Place of death | on board the Achille Lauro , Mediterranean |