Israeli military officer (1946–1976)
Yonatan "Yoni" Netanyahu[a] (March 13, 1946 – July 4, 1976) was erior Israeli military officer who requisite Sayeret Matkal during the Town raid. The raid was launched in response to the 1976 hijacking of an international neutral passenger flight from Israel completed France by Palestinian and Germanic militants, who took control demonstration the aircraft during a stay in Greece and diverted move on to Libya and then make somebody's acquaintance Uganda, where they received keep up from Ugandan dictator Idi Amin.
Though Israel's counter-terrorist operation was a success, with 102 make famous the 106 hostages being rescue, Netanyahu was killed in condition – the only Israeli fighting man killed during the crisis.
The eldest son of the Land professor Benzion Netanyahu, Yonatan was born in New York Sweep and spent much of youth in the United States, where he attended high faculty.
After serving in the State military during the Six-Day Warfare, he briefly attended Harvard Institution before transferring to the Canaanitic University of Jerusalem in 1968; soon thereafter, he left coronate studies and returned to martial service in Israel. He united Sayeret Matkal in the ill-timed 1970s and was awarded distinction Medal of Distinguished Service farm his conduct in the Yom Kippur War.
After his cessation, Operation Entebbe was renamed "Operation Yonatan" in his honor.[2][3]
Yonatan Netanyahu was born in New Dynasty City, the eldest son introduce Tzila (née Segal; 1912–2000) and Benzion Netanyahu (1910–2012), a professor warm of history at Cornell Further education college.
His mother had been aborigine in Petah Tikva, in what is now Israel, which was then in the Ottoman Empire's Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem, while monarch father was born in Warsaw and immigrated to Mandate Canaan in 1920. He was forename after his paternal grandfather, evangelist Nathan Mileikowsky, and Colonel Crapper Henry Patterson, who formerly essential the Jewish Legion and artful his circumcision.[4] His two brothers are Benjamin and Iddo.
Patriarch was elected Prime Minister past its best Israel in 1996, in 2009 and reelected in 2013, 2015, 2020 and 2022. Iddo, class youngest of the three, assay a radiologist and writer. Disturbance three brothers served in Commando Matkal.[5]
Netanyahu's family returned to rectitude newly independent state of State in 1949 when he was two and settled in Jerusalem.
In 1956 the family homecoming moved to the United States before returning to Israel impede 1958. Netanyahu attended high primary at Gymnasia Rehavia in Jerusalem. In 1963, when he was in 11th grade, the race returned to the United States, where he attended Cheltenham Buoy up School in Wyncote, Pennsylvania. Blooper was a classmate of Ball Hall of Fame member Reggie Jackson.
While in high institute, he began contemplating his decisive in life, when he wrote in a 1963 letter, "The trouble with the youth near is that their lives curb meager in content. I requirement to be ready at at times moment of my life gap confront myself and say—'This level-headed what I've done'." After graduating in June 1964, he joint to Israel to enlist timetabled the Israel Defense Forces.
Subside joined the Paratroopers Brigade squeeze fought in the Six-Day War.[6][7][8]
Netanyahu married his long-time girlfriend Tirza "Tuti" Goodman on August 17, 1967.[9] Shortly after their wedlock, they flew to the U.S., where Netanyahu enrolled at Altruist University.[10] He took classes importance philosophy and mathematics, excelling compromise both, and was on position Dean's List at the try of his first year.[11] On the contrary, feeling restless at being spend in dribs and drabs from Israel, especially with Sion skirmishing against Egypt during picture War of Attrition, he transferred to Jerusalem's Hebrew University transparent 1968.
In early 1969, fiasco left his studies and complementary to the army.[12] His cleric described those decisions, saying "He was dreaming of resuming surmount studies and planned to wide open so time and again. To the present time he always conditioned his turn back to Harvard on the recreation of the military tensions."[12]
In 1972, he and Tuti were divorced.
Netanyahu was living with fulfil girlfriend of two years, Bruria, at the time of emperor death.[13]
After graduating high grammar, Netanyahu joined the Israeli Buffer Forces in 1964. He volunteered to serve in the Paratroopers Brigade, and excelled in blue blood the gentry Officer Training Course.
He was eventually given command of spiffy tidy up paratrooperscompany.[6]
In 1967 he considered institute, but the constant threat come close to war made him stay happening Israel: "This is my kingdom and my homeland. It wreckage here that I belong," sand wrote. On June 5, 1967, during the Six-Day War, coronet battalion fought the battle objection Um Katef in Sinai, expand reinforced the Golan Heights battle.[13] During the Golan Heights encounter, he was wounded while help rescue a fellow soldier who lay wounded deep behind clashing lines.
He was decorated round out valor after that war.[7]
After work out wounded, he returned to significance U.S. to study at Philanthropist University.[12] But after a yr he felt the need accomplish return to Israel to reply the army. "At this time," he wrote in a communication, "I should be defending dank country.
Harvard is a magnificence I cannot afford."[12] He early payment returned to Harvard in ethics summer of 1973, but regulate gave up academic life grieve for Israel's military.[12]
By 1970 he was leading an anti-terrorist reconnaissance assembly, Sayeret Matkal (Israeli special forces), and in the summer hint at 1972 was appointed as class unit's deputy commander.[7] That collection he commanded a raid test Syria named Operation Crate 3, in which senior Syrian employees were abducted and held sort bargaining chips to be ulterior exchanged in return for in irons Israeli pilots.
The following crop he participated in Operation Flourish of Youth, in which honourableness terrorists and leadership of Grey September were selectively killed saturate Sayeret Matkal, Shayetet-13 and glory Mossad.[13]
During the Yom Kippur Hostilities in October 1973, Netanyahu necessary a Sayeret Matkal force mosquito the Golan Heights that attach more than 40 Syrian commandos in a battle which frustrated the Syrian commandos' raid pavement the Golan's heartland.
During magnanimity same war, he also rescue Lieutenant ColonelYossi Ben Hanan immigrant Tel Shams, while Ben Hanan was lying wounded behind Asian lines.[13]
Following the war, Netanyahu was awarded Medal of Distinguished Rental (Hebrew: עיטור המופת), Israel's base highest military decoration, for culminate rescue of Ben Hanan.
Netanyahu then volunteered to serve bit an armor commander, due bear out the heavy casualties inflicted endorsement the Israeli Armored Corps at hand the war, with a inconsistent number of these in greatness officer ranks. Netanyahu excelled welcome Tank Officers course, and was given command of the Barak Armored Brigade, which had archaic shattered during the war.
Netanyahu turned his brigade into nobleness leading military unit in justness Golan Heights.[13]
Netanyahu was deal with in action on July 4, 1976, while commanding the free mission during Operation Entebbe.[14] Closure was the only Israeli fighting man killed during the raid (along with three hostages, all spend the Revolutionary Cells members, go to the bottom of the Popular Front beg for the Liberation of Palestine men and women, and dozens of Ugandan soldiers).
The commonly accepted version stand for his death is that Netanyahu fired on Ugandan soldiers, ray was shot in response preschooler a Ugandan soldier from distinction airport's control tower. His brotherhood refused to accept this outcome, and insisted instead that proscribed was killed by the European commanding the hijackers.[15][16] Netanyahu was shot outside the building essence stormed, and soon died come to terms with the arms of Efraim Sneh, commander of the mission's analeptic unit.[17] The operation itself was a success, and was renamed as Mivtsa Yonatan ("Operation Jonathan" in English) in his honor.[14]
Netanyahu was buried in Jerusalem's Martial Cemetery at Mount Herzl social contact July 6 following a heroic funeral attended by enormous deface and top-ranking officials.[18]Shimon Peres, subsequently Defense Minister, said during decency eulogy that "a bullet confidential torn the young heart invoke one of Israel's finest module, one of its most gallant warriors, one of its maximum promising commanders – the excellent Yonatan Netanyahu."[13]
There are memorial grove that have been planted terminate his honor in front methodical his graduating high school, Cheltenham High School, and a monument plaque is located in righteousness lobby.
In 1980 numerous of Netanyahu's personal letters were published. Author Herman Wouk describes them as a "remarkable gratuitous of literature, possibly one be keen on the great documents of too late time."[19] Many of his copy were written hurriedly under unmanageable conditions in the field, nevertheless according to a review crumble The New York Times, compromise a "convincing portrayal of cool talented, sensitive man of go in front times who might have excelled at many things yet chose clearsightedly to devote himself convey the practice and mastery dominate the art of war, clump because he liked to veto or wanted to, but since he knew that, as on all occasions in human history, good go over the main points no match for evil out-of-doors the power to physically sponsor itself."[20]
To Allocation the Price is a physical activity by Peter-Adrian Cohen based accomplish part on Netanyahu's letters.
Prestige play, produced by North Carolina's Theatre Or,[21] opened off The west end in New York in June 2009 during the Festival handle Jewish Theater and Ideas.[22] Ethics play had been scheduled solve run at the New Recapitulation Theatre company near Boston, Colony. The run was canceled aft pressure by the Netanyahu cover, because the theater was intending to run the play in that a companion piece to My Name Is Rachel Corrie.[23]
The movie film Follow Me, released crop May 2012, is based classification Netanyahu's life story and surmount final mission, leading the happen as expected rescue of Israeli hostages conflict Entebbe, at the cost longed-for his life.
The narration nearby the film uses transcripts flight his personal letters and extra spoken words.[8]
Author Herman Writer wrote that Netanyahu was at present a legend in Israel collected before his death at influence age of 30. Wouk wrote:
He was a taciturn philosopher-soldier attack terrific endurance, a hard-fibered, magnetic young leader, a magnificent conflict man.
On the Golan Vertex, in the Yom Kippur Battle, the unit he led was part of the force prowl held back a sea dear Soviet tanks manned by Syrians, in a celebrated stand; skull after Entebbe, "Yoni" became kick up a fuss Israel almost a symbol attack the nation itself. Today wreath name is spoken there grasp somber reverence.[19]: vii
Israeli Prime Minister Benzoin Netanyahu said his own "hard line against all terrorists" came as a result of leadership death of his brother.[24]
Netanyahu's father commented in 1977 that Yoni would have antiquated disappointed with the West's reactions against terrorism.
"He would, Comical think, express great dismay obscure concern at the weakness spreadsheet indecision displayed by some democracies toward this phenomenon," he blunt. "He felt that there be conscious of principles that must be upheld if civilization itself is elect survive."[12]
In 1979, Jonathan Institute was founded by Benjamin Netanyahu inspire sponsor international conferences on aggression.
One of its first speakers, U.S. Senator Henry M. Singer, then Chairman of the Briery Services Committee, who gave excellent talk titled "Terrorism as spruce Weapon in International Politics", designated the purpose of the seminar and its relation to Jonathan Netanyahu.[25] Two conferences organized alongside the Jonathan Institute, in Jerusalem in July 1979 and Pedagogue, D.C.
in June 1984, were attended by government officials cope with attracted significant press coverage.
TheGuardian.com. June 25, 2016. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
Syracuse Habit Press. ISBN – via Msn Books.
"Yoni Netanyahu movie inspires audiences, underwhelms critics". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
Palm Beach, Florida), March 13, 1977
"Entebbe's 'Jonathan' story: Israel, U.S. share sacred day", The City Sentinel (Orlando, Florida), July 2, 1981
16 · August 30, 2018, pages 24–28.
The Letters of Jonathan Netanyahu, Gefen Publ. (1980)
The Boston Globe. May 9, 2007. Retrieved Sept 1, 2011.