‘I Just Can’t Believe This’ : Friends Seek Respite, Sail Into a Nightmare

Around the condominium’s swimming pool and at the Jersey shore, members of the seven families planned their Mediterranean vacation for weeks.

This group of old friends had known each other for a decade, had shared joys, sorrows and family secrets. Last winter, they cruised the Caribbean. This time, their journey aboard the Italian luxury liner Achille Lauro was designed both for sightseeing and as a respite from the infirmities of advancing age.

“They have so much fun together,” said Lisa Klinghoffer, whose mother, Marilyn, 58, and father, Leon, 69, were listed as hostages aboard the cruise ship seized Monday by a Palestinian commando team armed with explosives. “I just can’t believe this.

‘Hope There Are Doctors’

“My father had a stroke. He is paralyzed on his right side. He must have medicine, and we are hoping there are doctors on board . . . They (some of the other hostages) were like the walking wounded. It was to have been relaxation for them.”

“This is a real nightmare for us,” said Carol Hodes of Woodbridge, N.J., whose parents went on the cruise and whose 64-year-old mother, Mildred, was reported still on board when the hijackers took over. “It’s very scary because these people don’t play by any rules of civilization.”

Hodes said she learned that her mother was still on the ship when she spoke with her father, Frank, who left the ship in Alexandria, Egypt, before the hijacking, to visit the Pyramids and who called her from Cairo. He said at least six Americans who had signed up for the cruise with the Club ABC Tours, based in Union, N.J., were being held prisoner.

Most From New York Area

A partial list of Americans believed to be still aboard the Achille Lauro shows that most are from the New York metropolitan area. Members of seven families who own condominiums in the same complex in Long Branch, N.J., went on the cruise together.

And according to the State Department, six relatives from four of the families were prisoners on the ship. Two other hostages, Sophie Chasser and Anna Schneider, were from Hollywood, Fla. Also believed still aboard are Jerry Saire and her husband, Donald. Their home address was not listed.

The Klinghoffers were among the group of close friends and relatives from the condominium complex who went on the cruise.

Dr. Jill Spiegel, whose own mother had gone ashore before the hijacking, waited anxiously Tuesday with members of the Klinghoffer family in Manhattan.

“I think it’s similar to the TWA hijacking (by Lebanese Shia Muslim gunmen in June),” she said, “but the fact there are many countries involved may make this one an easier situation.

‘Very Worrisome’

“The seven families left on Oct. 2. It was a pleasure trip. They had only been gone five days when it happened. It is very worrisome,” Spiegel added. She continued:

“It was certainly the furthest thing from anyone’s mind, although one always gives pause when you are traveling the border between Egypt and Israel, whether by land or by sea. This is certainly quite extraordinary. We’ve been on a vigil and watching the news. We know members of the party in Cairo feel safe and are very concerned with their friends and family on board.”

In his telephone call from Egypt, Hodes, of Springfield, N.J., told his daughter that the hostages included not only his wife, but also his 70-year-old sister, Viola Meskin, and her husband, Seymour, 71, both of Union, N.J.; a cousin, Sylvia Sherman of Long Branch, N.J., and the Klinghoffers..

A small group of friends and relatives gathered in the Klinghoffers’ apartment in Manhattan Tuesday listening to the latest news reports from the Mideast.

Family Strained, Weary

Paul Dworkin, 33, whose fiance is Ilsa Klinghoffer, Lisa’s sister, served at times as spokesman. Dworkin said the family was tired and was under a lot of strain. He said Silvia Sherman of Long Beach, N.J., also believed to be a hostage, had “a little heart condition” and for that reason may have decided not to leave the ship in Alexandria on a sightseeing tour.

Most of the passengers departed to view the pyramids. They had been scheduled to rejoin the vessel in Port Said, Egypt.

The Meskins’ son, Kenneth, of Short Hills, N.J., said Tuesday his parents stayed on board because they had visited the pyramids on a previous trip. He said he believed his parents “can handle a certain amount of pressure. They’re not afraid of the world.”