An Innocent Bystander by Julie Salamon

Author:Julie Salamon
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Published: 2019-06-10T16:00:00+00:00

11

Trials

New York City, May 5, 1986

A month after Ilsa and Paul’s wedding, the newlyweds sat with Jerry and Lisa and watched Abu al-Abbas look out from their television set and declare that the United States might be the target of an attack by Palestinians.

“In the beginning, our operations were only targeted at the Israeli enemy, inside Israel,” Abbas said, speaking on the NBC Nightly News, while a disembodied voice translated his words into English. “The United States is now conducting the war on behalf of Israel. We therefore have to respond against America in America itself.”

They watched in disbelief as Abbas brazenly challenged Ronald Reagan, saying, “I used to think our greatest enemy was some Israeli person, but now Reagan has placed himself as enemy number one.”

Talking to NBC correspondent Henry Champ from an undisclosed location “in an Arab-speaking country,” Abbas spoke with a calm, thoughtful air, as if engaged in a dispassionate debate, not making a declaration of war. Wearing a nicely tailored gray suit, with a sober necktie and white shirt, his demeanor was that of a poised politician or academic. The only signs of stress were a few beads of sweat on his forehead and the cigarette he kept lit throughout the interview.

Champ provided viewers with a recap of the Achille Lauro hijacking, as well as a history of other killings believed to be the work of the Palestinian Liberation Front, including the 1979 raid in Nahariyya that resulted in the death of four Israelis, two of them young children.

“[Abbas] freely claims responsibility for the hijacking of the Italian cruise ship the Achille Lauro,” said Champ, “but says evidence that his men killed wheelchair-bound Leon Klinghoffer was fabricated by the U.S. and Syria.”

Abbas defended his men, who were imprisoned in Italy while awaiting trial, scheduled to begin the following month. “What is the use of killing an old man?” he asked. “Why, after all, he is old, and so he will be dead anyway soon without killing. I do not believe our comrades on the boat carried out any killing.”

The NBC correspondent explained that Italy had allowed Abbas to flee to Yugoslavia, over the protests of the U.S. government. “Like so many battling in the Middle East,” said Champ, “he does not see himself as a terrorist.”

Abbas spoke quietly. “The Palestinian is accused everywhere, is hunted everywhere and is a terrorist everywhere,” he said. “This is the picture that Americans have. In fact, the Palestinian is a homeless refugee without the right to a passport, without the right to visit his village or birthplace, or even his father’s grave. The Palestinian has lived in a state of oppression and subjugation for forty years. Is he now a terrorist?”

The segment lasted less than four minutes, long enough to fan the outrage that had been building since Leon and Marilyn’s family noticed promotional spots for the interview. As they saw it, NBC was collaborating with the terrorists, giving Abbas the platform he wanted.

They had already grown accustomed to feeling angry.

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