That’s how it is supposed to be…

September 30^th’s events of the attempted hijacking and murder of over 170 people, mostly Jewish and Israeli, inevitably triggered memories of my family’s and my ordeal that occurred exactly 56 years and 24 days ago.

On September 6, 1970, while flying home (at the time) to New Jersey on TWA flight #741 after a magnificent summer in Israel (I was 14 years old) we were hijacked by the PFLP to Dawson’s Airfield in the Jordanian desert. There were four attempted hijackings that day; TWA, Swiss Air, Pan Am and El Al. Three out of the four succeeded, the last failed. Of course it was the El AL flight, Israel’s national airline at the time, that was the only one to thwart the hijacking. The plane nosedived, the male hijacker was killed by Israeli security, and the female hijacker was captured. This woman has become the heroine of freedom fighters. Her name is Laila Khaled.

The El AL plane made an emergency landing in London. Who was the individual that the British wanted to apprehend? The terrorist hijackers? Would you believe it was the Israeli security officer that eliminated the terrorist? Israel, had to use deceit and sleight of hand to help him evade arrest and secret him out of the country! . (You can read more about this in my brother’s book: Terror in Black September: The First Eyewitness Account of the Infamous 1970 Hijackings: Raab, David: 9781403984203: Amazon.com: Books)

EL AL security handed terrorist Laila Khaled to the British. Within a short time, she was released.

While I am on the topic of England, note the backstabbing that is still taking place. Israel notified Britain of a pending terrorist attack. The warning proved to be true. How did Britain thank Israel a day later? They sanctioned goods and services originating in Judea and Samaria. Some thanks!

I would note that there is some improvement in Britain’s relationship to Jews and Israel. In the 1940s, the White Paper denied ALL Jews the rights to immigrate to ALL Palestine. Today, they are only objecting to Jews in Judea and Samaria. That’s progress, right?

Back to the hijackings…

When we were hijacked, we did not fathom the evil of Arab terrorists. We never imagined that they would take hundreds of innocent women and children hostage. When we were eventually released with no loss of life on either side, the entire world breathed a sigh of relief. But they did nothing except express understanding for the Palestinian cause.

Radical Islamist movements and some educational systems throughout the Middle East have fostered generations of anti-Jewish and anti-West hatred and incitement. The West essentially ignored all of this except to criticize Israel for whenever she acted to prevent terrorist attack or to retaliate.

Terrorist attacks like Entebbe, Munich, Sabena, Intifada 1, 2 and x, 9/11, 10/7, etc. were not prevented. In fact, it is fair to say no serious effort was made to prevent them from happening, nor are any future attacks being prevented. Yes, President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu have vowed that Iran will never obtain nuclear weapons. There is absolutely no doubt that given the opportunity to use them, there would be no hesitation on Iran’s or any other enemy Muslim state, for that matter, to use them. Meanwhile, Iran has not been deterred. If anything, they have become more determined.

Note that it was the Israelis who extracted the hostages from Entebbe on July 4, 1976, thwarted flight United #93 on October 7, and prevented an unfathomable disaster on September 30^th. I do not recall any other country that has prevented these sorts of attacks.

If the reports are correct that this was an Islamist-inspired attack, it would fit a pattern that Israelis and Jews have witnessed repeatedly for decades. I have yet to hear anyone condemn the Islamists. Oh, I did hear that it was an Israeli false flag exercise. I also hear that it was a ”Lone Wolf” act.

Even a Lone Wolf gets indoctrinated from the pack that raised him. Look at the education that is being given to Arab children in Palestinian territories in Judea Samaria, Gaza, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, etc. the list goes on. I must add additional countries that Arab countries are funding the education in countries like England, France, Germany, Spain, Ireland, Canada, Australia and even the United States. Just look at the Ivy League and other leading Universities. Notice the pattern?

If the lessons of the past fifty-six years teach us anything, it is that hatred does not disappear when it is ignored. Societies that wish to preserve freedom must be willing to confront extremism honestly, teach historical truth, and give the next generation the moral clarity to recognize evil when it appears. The cost of looking away has already been demonstrated too many times.

The overarching lesson from the past 56 years is that, as Israelis, we can only rely on ourselves and on Hashem. עם ישראל חי!