Valinda, Our Daughter

Hans B. Neumann teaches history at Scarborough College, University of
Toronto.

Few Canadians still remember the tragic events of November 24, 1985. On
the previous day, an EgyptAir plane en route from Athens to Cairo had
been commandeered by Palestinians. Several Jewish passengers were
executed before the plane was diverted to Malta. It was there that
Egyptian commandos stormed the plane, with disastrous results: 54
passengers died, mainly from smoke inhalation caused by fire from
explosives set by the commandos. Among the victims were a young
Canadian, Valinda Uffelman-Leonare, from Beiseker, Alberta, and her
infant son, Andrew. This book owes its inspiration to Valinda’s
mother, Leah Uffelman, who wanted to keep the memory of her daughter
alive.

The book draws upon a variety of sources. There are recollections of
Valinda by family, husband, and friends; the account of an Israeli
journalist who covered the hijacking story in Malta; and a summary of
the mainly eyewitness testimony of survivors, culled from the closed
hearings and the subsequent trial of the surviving hijackers. This book
is an eloquent tribute to an ordinary Canadian caught up in the insanity
of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.