Martha Hodes - My Hijacking: A Personal History of Forgetting and Remembering

Martha Hodes, Professor of History at New York University. Her talk at the 2024 Annual Meeting and Dinner of the Western Massachusetts World Affairs Council. Date: October 10, 2024. Location; Ludlow, MA. Subject of her talk is her book: My Hijacking: A Personal History of Forgetting and Remembering. On September 6, 1970, she--then 12 years old--and her 13-year-old sister were flying unaccompanied back to New York City from Israel when their plane was hijacked by members of the secular Marxist group, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and forced to land in the Jordan desert. Nearly a half-century later, her memories of those six days and nights as a hostage were hazy and scattered. Drawing on deep archival research, childhood memories, and conversations with relatives, friends, and fellow hostages, Hodes set out to re-create what happened to her. As the hostages forged friendships and provoked conflicts, the sisters learned about the lives and causes of their captors, pondering a deadly divide that continues today. As a personal history, My Hijacking ultimately brings the author to a deeper understanding of what happened in the Jordan desert, prompting a complex confrontation with trauma and empathy.