Fifty Years Later, the Spirit of Entebbe lives on

Fifty years ago, on America’s bicentenary, elite Israeli commandos, led by thirty-year-old Lieutenant Colonel Yonatan Netanyahu, rescued over one hundred hostages from Entebbe, over 2000 miles from Israel, in a daring operation that stunned the world. The only military casualty of the operation was its planner and leader on the ground, Yoni himself, who died as he had lived, leading from the front.

Dorron Almog, a reserve General, who as a soldier participated in the Entebbe operation, noted that one of the main lessons related to Entebbe is that a few can do something for the good of the many. It was always like that, and, it seems, will always be like that. He observed that:

We will always need the spirit of Entebbe. The spirit of determination to do something for others, not just for ourselves. We will always need those daring individuals who jump ahead of the group. There will always be the few who take heroic measures for the sake of the public. I pray that those few, the pillars of fire who march before the camp, will draw many others, for which the wonderful Entebbe metaphor is a way of life.

The brilliant and selfless rescue operation conducted by Yoni, and his brothers-in-arms, whose sole purpose was to rescue their fellow Jews in distress, reminded Jews everywhere of the Raison d’être of the Jewish State. Jews in distress and danger anywhere in the world always know that the strong arm of the IDF is able to reach out them protect them and bring them home, in the spirit of Entebbe, wherever they are, even from the depths of Africa.

After the bitter-sweet success of the operation, renamed “Operation Yonatan” in his honour, Yoni’s family decided that, rather than build another memorial in a country that has all too many, they would publish his writings in a book titled, The Letters of Jonathan Netanyahu, in order to share with the world the kind of dedication, selflessness and love of the Jewish people and the Land of Israel which were the hallmarks of Yoni’s all too short, but meaningful life. Yoni’s letters are thought-provoking, profound and unapologetically Zionistic. As a sixteen-year-old, Yoni penned what were to be the guiding principles of his life:

Man does not live forever, and he should put the days of his life to the best possible use. He should try to live life to its fullest…I must feel certain that not only the moment of my death shall I be able to account for the time I’ve lived; I ought to be ready at every moment of my life to confront myself and say – This is what I’ve done.

As we pause to remember the deeds and memory of Yonatan Netanyahu, we should also take the opportunity to honour all of his comrades who took part in the operation, including Sorin Hershko, who was severely wounded and ended up a paraplegic due to injuries he sustained during the daring rescue of the Israeli hostages.

Hershko, a genuine hero of the Jewish people who paid for his selfless courage by being confined to a wheelchair with 100% paralysis for the remainder of his life.

Rather than succumbing to self-pity, Hershko, in the spirit of Entebbe, co-founded LOTEM a non-profit organisation that makes nature accessible and now serves over 30,000 Israelis every year through a range of nature clubs and outdoor programs geared to children and adults with physical, communication and intellectual disorders, hearing and vision impairment.

We should also honour the brave men and women who keep our country safe on all fronts, from Gaza, to Lebanon, to Iran, in the spirit of Entebbe today!

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Dr. Tuvia Book is currently serving as a combat medic serving in the IDF’s PALMAR medical extraction unit.  He is an internationally acclaimed speaker, tour guide and the author of four books including his latest, “Heroes of PALMAR, How One IDF Unit Revolutionized Combat Medicine in Gaza.” (Gefen:2026).