El Al Crew That Foiled Hijacking Attempt Feted by Conference of Presidents

The El Al crew that foiled the Sept. 6 hijacking attempt by Laila Khaled and her fellow Palestinian terrorists was feted here this afternoon after completing an Amsterdam-to-New York flight. The captain, Uri Bar Lev, said that after unsuccessful efforts by other airlines to subdue 362 previous hijacking tries, “we proved it could be done.” He added that “this was not done out of heroism or patriotism or any other ism–all of us believe in something for which we strive together.” Israeli Consul General Reheaveam Amir told the crew: “We Israelis are proud of you. We Jews love you. We people of the world rely on you.” There were additional remarks by Rabbi Avraham Soltes, Jewish chaplain of West Point; Mrs. Charlotte Jacobson, American representative to the Jewish Agency; Mena-chem Cohen North American vice president of El Al, and Yehuda Hellman, secretary general of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, which sponsored the reception.

The crew, in addition to Capt. Bar Lev, included flight engineer Uri Zach, pursers Abraham Eisenberg and Shlomo Vider, steward Moshe Epstein and stewardesses Janet Demirjan, Nurith Dominski, and Michelle Eder, the karate expert. They were scheduled to fly to Tel Aviv tonight. Vider, 40, who was in critical condition after being shot during the hijacking attempt and who still carries three of the bullets in his body, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency he felt as well as he had before the fateful flight. He has been with El Al six years. Capt. Bar Lev, 39 years old, 14 years with El Al and three years a captain, told the gathering that he still endorsed joint airline-pilot efforts to stymie hijacking, even without government support, but that such a plan has been “boycotted by some airlines,” which he declined to name. He told the JTA later that he was not related to Israel’s Chief of Staff, Gen. Haim Bar-Lev, but had given him flying instructions and found him an apt student. El Al spokesman J. Peter Brunswick said the eight-member crew was scheduled as a unit whenever possible. “A crew that avoids a hijacking together should stay together,” he explained.