Terrorism, Military Biography, Israel/Palestine - History, Jewish History, Armed Forces History, Aviation

Yoni's Last Battle: The Rescue at Entebbe 1976

Name: Yoni's Last Battle: The Rescue at Entebbe 1976
Author: 'Ido Netanyahu
ISBN: 9789652296283

by Iddo Netanyahu

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Overview

On July 4, 1976, more than a hundred hostages, held at gunpoint in Entebbe, Uganda, were freed in a spectacular rescue operation and flown to safety in Israel, over 2000 miles away. Their captors were Arab and German terrorists, aided by the Ugandan army; their liberators were members of Israel's elite commando unit, Sayeret Matkal, simply known as "the Unit." Lt.-Col. Yoni (Jonathan) Netanyahu, the Unit's commander, earned world-wide fame in the wake of the operation's stunning success. He was the only Israeli soldier killed in the Entebbe raid.

As a brother of the rescue force's commander, and himself a member of the Unit, Iddo Netanyahu had ready access to the participants in the raid. He was able to obtain detailed accounts from the men of the Unit who, for the first time, described the planning and preparations for the mission and its near-perfect execution. What emerged from their accounts is a powerful and stirring story of how the daring undertaking was accomplished after only 48 hours of frantic preparations.

Yoni's Last Battle portrays the men who carried out an incredibly hazardous operation in far-away Africa. Above all, it depicts the heroic - and tragic - figure of their commander, Yoni.

Synopsis

This is a gripping account of the famous operation in Entebbe, Uganda on 4 July 1976. While the nation of Israel, and Jews throughout the world, struggle with the painful realities of the current Intifada, Yoni's Last Battle by Iddo Netanyahu returns to an earlier chapter of the Arab-Israeli struggle -- to a time when the battles were more clear-cut, and genuine heroes led the charge. The date was 4 July 1976. While millions of Americans celebrated the 200th anniversary of their independence, thirty of Israel's elite commandos flew 2,000 miles to Entebbe, Uganda, under the cover of darkness, in a desperate attempt to rescue 105 Jewish and Israeli passengers hijacked by terrorists on an Air France flight. Lieutenant Colonel Yonatan Netanyahu, a courageous and celebrated soldier, led the daring operation. Virtually the entire group of hostages was liberated and returned safely to Israel, but Yoni was killed in the operation that was described by the New York Times as having "no precedent in military history". In extraordinary detail, Dr Iddo Netanyahu -- Yoni's youngest brother, and also brother to former Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin (Bibi) Netanyahu -- reconstructs events to portray a minute-to-minute chronicle of one of the earliest and most spectacular victories in the modern war against terrorism. Based on interviews with almost every member of the operation, Yoni's Last Battle is a fascinating and first-hand account of the intense 48-hour period of planning and preparation of the mission, and its near-perfect execution in extremely difficult circumstances. This is also an intriguing portrayal of Yoni himself, who at the age of 30, was the brilliant and heroic commander of a courageous and daring mission.

About the Author, 'Ido Netanyahu

Iddo Netanyahu was born in Jerusalem, Israel. After graduating from high school in the United States, where he spent part of his childhood, he returned to Israel. There he enlisted in the elite commando unit that his older brother Jonathan was to lead to Entebbe in 1976. It was during his studies at The Hebrew University School of Medicine that Netanyahu began his career as an author of short stories, novels and political articles. He divides his time between writing and working as a physician. Netanyahu lives in Jerusalem with his wife and two children.