President Reagan offered his condolences to the widow of American hijack victim Leon Klinghoffer and personally pledged that his killers will be brought to justice.
Marilyn Klinghoffer and her two daughters met with the President and First Lady Nancy Reagan at his Waldorf Astoria Hotel suite last Friday, where Reagan was staying during the 40th anniversary celebrations of the United Nations.
Leon Klinghoffer, a 69-year-old New Yorker, who was confined to a wheelchair, was shot twice by terrorists who hijacked the Italian cruise liner Achille Lauro on October 7. His body, which was dumped overboard, later washed ashore near the Syrian port city of Tartus.
During the meeting which, according to White House spokesman Larry Speakes, was designed to emphasize the Administration’s war on terrorism, Reagan assured Mrs. Klinghoffer “that justice would be done,” to her husband’s killers.
Mrs. Klinghoffer expressed her thanks to Reagan for his orders to U.S. Navy fighter planes to intercept an Egyptian aircraft carrying the four terrorists accused of hijacking the ship and to escort the plane to Italy. “I’m so proud of you for that decision, ” she told the President.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
