[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 130 (Friday, October 7, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11301-S11302]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              ANNIVERSARY OF THE DEATH OF LEON KLINGHOFFER

 Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, 20 years ago this month the world 
changed forever for the family of Leon Klinghoffer. Mr. Klinghoffer was 
a 69-year-old American Jewish retired appliance manufacturer from my 
State of New York. In October 1985, he and his wife Marilyn were 
celebrating their 36th wedding anniversary by taking a vacation aboard 
the Achille Lauro.
  On October 7, 1985, four members of the Palestine Liberation Front 
took control of the Achille Lauro liner off the coast of Egypt. While 
these hijackers held the passengers and crew hostage, they directed the 
vessel to sail to Tartus, Syria, and demanded the release of 50 
Palestinians then held in Israeli prisons. After being refused 
permission to dock at Tartus, the hijackers killed the wheelchair-bound 
Leon Klinghoffer and threw his body overboard into the sea.
  Nothing can ever repair the mindless horror that act of terror 
visited upon the innocent. Nothing can replace the love of a husband 
and father. Yet we can learn from this cowardly act of terror and 
others like it. Indeed we must learn from it if we are to survive as a 
free nation in a world stalked by the terrorist gun and bomb. We must 
understand that terrorism has gotten more dangerous to the United 
States since Leon Klinghoffer's senseless murder. The Achille Lauro 
hijacking signaled the beginning of a new era and shattered illusions 
that Americans were not vulnerable to international terrorism.
  Mr. Klinghoffer's widow, Marilyn and his two daughters courageously 
sought to turn their grief into meaningful action by speaking out 
against the scourge of terrorism and establishing the Leon Klinghoffer 
Memorial Foundation of the Anti-Defamation League. Since Marilyn's 
passing in 1986, the foundation that now bears both their names 
continues to raise awareness about the growing reach, sophistication, 
and lethality of terrorism, to identify gaps in America's 
counterterrorism law, and to advocate for their closure.
  Having seen firsthand the destruction and pain caused by the murder 
of even one victim, the Klinghoffer family has reached out to other 
victims of terror to share their support, strength and experience. The 
Klinghoffer Foundation has developed educational, political, and legal 
strategies to enhance the fight against terror worldwide.
  The Senate salutes Leon and Marilyn's two daughters, Lisa and Ilsa, 
whose longtime education efforts helped put a human face on the threat 
of terrorism long before fighting terror became a necessary way of life 
for

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Americans, and whose advocacy has helped secure vital improvements in 
American counterterrorism policy. And we join them in remembering Leon 
and Marilyn Klinghoffer.

                          ____________________