Stetson University hosts author Julie Salamon at lecture series

The Malka Altman Memorial Lectures in Jewish Studies presents author Julie Salamon at Stetson University on Tuesday, Oct. 29, at 6:30 p.m.

Salamon is the author of "An Innocent Bystander." It is the true account of the murder of Leon Klingoffer on the Achille Lauro cruiseliner.

On October 3, 1985, Leon Klinghoffer, a disabled Jewish New Yorker, and his wife boarded the Achille Lauro to celebrate their 36th wedding anniversary with a Mediterranean cruise. Four days later, four Palestinian fedayeen hijacked the Italian luxury liner and took the passengers and crew hostage. Klinghoffer was shot in the head, his body and wheelchair thrown overboard.

What transpired on the Achille Lauro left the Klinghoffer family in the grip of irredeemable sorrow. 

Through intimate interviews with almost all living participants, including one of the hijackers, Salamon brings alive the moment-by-moment saga of the hijacking and the ensuing U.S.-led international manhunt; the diplomatic wrangling between the United States, Egypt, Italy, and Israel; and the long agonizing search for justice. The book also reveals the back story of the controversial opera about the Klinghoffer tragedy that provoked a culture war. 

The event will take place in the Stetson Room. For students, cultural credit is available.

For more information, contact Sam Friedman at scfriedman@stetson.edu.