A forest in the memory of Leon Klinghoffer was dedicated in Yatir near Beersheba on Sunday by Deputy Prime Minister Arnaldo Forlani of Italy. The Ambassadors of Italy and the United States also planted trees in the memorial forest in memory of Klinghoffer, the 69-year-old American Jew killed during the 1985 hijacking of the Achille Lauro cruise ship. Palestinian terrorists killed him and then threw his body overboard.
“Israel and Italy are united in the war against terrorism,” Forlani said at the dedication ceremony. He said it was important that Italy should be represented at the dedication because Klinghoffer was killed on an Italian ship. The Klinghoffer forest, sponsored by the Italian government, is part of a five-million-tree forest donated by Italian Jews.
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