Customer Reviews

Yoni's Last Battle: The Rescue at Entebbe, 1976

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Jonathan (Yoni) Netenyahu was a 30 year old distinguished and well respected soldier, the Commanding Officer of "the Unit" which stood for General Staff Reconnaissance Unit in Israel. They were a key force in defending Israel against its enemies. Iddo Netenyaho, the author of this book was in the reserves when the events in this book took place. The book is about the daring rescue of airline passengers held captive by Arab and German terrorists in Entebbe, Uganda which took place on July 4, 1976. As missions go, it was an overwhelming success ... with only one casualty. The book is based on meticulous research, such as over seventy taped interviews of participants in the raid, radio interviews, and statements made by reserve members at a ten year commemorative meeting of the mission. The book reads like a suspense-filled novel. Drew Middleton,a military analyst for the New York Times, calls this military action/rescue the first of its kind. Unfortunately, Yoni the Commander and leader, was shot right when his team was about to deploy in front of the building of the large hall. The team members did as instructed by their Commander during the drills, they continued with the assault and would treat the injured afterwards. By the time Yoni received help from a doctor, it was clear he had suffered massive blood loss from internal injuries. Despite life-saving interventions out in the field, the situation became hopeless and he died.

Iddo Netenyahu provides fascinating insights into his brother's personality and character by interspersing recollections of family events, describing what his brother told him, and quoting excerpts of letters written at different times in his life. What makes this book so interesting is that the author provides a glimpse of the human side of his brother, a fallen hero and brave leader in Israel's fight against terrorism. Yoni often looked at the larger picture of life and was in touch with his feelings. Yoni's dedication and committment to being a career soldier is obvious. The author discovered the very high regard and deep respect held for Yoni by fellow soldiers and superiors. He was one of those leaders who inspire others to action, leading by example not just the spoken word. He remained focused despite the uncertainties which lay ahead. He kept the soldiers calm as they waited for the "go ahead".

It was Israel policy to not negotiate with terrorists. Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin collaborated with high level Israel Defense Force officials as well as the head of the Mossad before granting approval for this unprecedented action. Initially, Ehud Barak, former Commander of the unit who was chosen to lead the assault due to his extensive experience with previous special operations activities involving a hijacked airline and nightime raids in Beirut. As Commanding Officer, Yoni helped plan the operations and actions of the five assault teams. Later Ehud was assigned to cover operations in Kenya, which opened the field for Yoni to assume full responsibilty for key decisions associated with the assault.

The hijacking occurred on June 27, 1976. The terrorists gave a deadline to free 53 terrorists held in captivity by several countries or they they would begin executing passengers. Despite only a few days notice, within 48 hours the best and most capable men of the Israeli Defense Forces were trained to do the most daring rescue ever conceived for freeing hostages held by terrorists and they succeeded. This book provides an insider's view of the complex planning and decision making associated with a surprise attack and daring rescue. As such, it is filled with many details which may overwhelm some readers. The covert military rescue operation was brought to a successful conclusion but if it had failed: the Minister of Defense, Yitzhak Rabin and his cabinet were prepared to resign. At the end, one is overjoyed that all the passengers were safely rescued ... yet, there remains lingering sadness that Israel lost one of its finest soldiers and leaders. Erika Borsos [pepper flower]

Written by Lt. Colonel Yoni Netanyahu's younger brother, Iddo, this is the definitive history of the hastily planned and executed 1976 Israeli Raid on Entebbe. Much of this is repeated in the author's later book entitled Entebbe: A Defining Moment in the War on Terrorism (see my review).

As the raiding party's fallen commander, Jonathan (Yoni) Netanyahu has achieved legendary status both within Israel and the rest of the world. Iddo, the commander's younger brother, also a veteran of the elite Israeli commando unit, Sayeret Matkal (known simply as "the Unit") which was commanded by brother Yoni during the Entebbe operation, the author had unique access to military secrets of the operations by way of interviews with the operation's participants, planners, and politicians.

The author is also a radiologist and the youngest of the three Netanyahu brothers, including the former (and probably next) Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin ("Bini") Netanyahu. All three brothers share a partial education at elite American Universities, fame in Israel as soldiers and veterans of "the Unit," and, in the case of Benjamin, the Prime Ministry itself.

A fascinating story, and equally fascinating book. Highly recommended, although if you read only one, I would suggest the updated version entitled Entebbe, A Defining Moment in the War on Terrorism.Entebbe: A Defining Moment in the War on Terrorism--The Jonathan Netanyahu Story

For those interested in a video version, I would recommend the fairly accurate portrayal of the operation in the 1976 version Raid on EntebbeRaid on Entebbe

This is an astonishing memoir written by Iddo Netanyahu about his brother Jonathan Netanyahu. Jonathan, also known as Yoni, lead the rescue operation at Entebbe in July, 1976. He was the commander of the operation and was killed during the successful rescue of the hostages at the Uganda airport. Sadly, he was only 30 years old and was a brilliant soldier and very accomplished scholar. His death was tragic and a significant loss for Israel's military. If you are unfamiliar with the story, Arab terrorists hijacked a plane heading from Tel Aviv to Paris and took most of the passengers on board as hostages flying them to Entebbe airport in Uganda. Iddi Amin, dictator of Uganda aligned himself with the terrorists doing nothing to free or protect the hostages. It was then up to Israel to decide to either give in to the terrorists demands to release many Arab prisoners from Israeli jails or to try to rescue the hostages. It was always the principle of Israel's government not to give in to the demands of terrorists but to lose this many innocent people woud be devastating. The author explains how this dilemma was resolved.

The book is well written and keeps the reader interested while it tells in detail how the rescue operation was designed and how it was put into action. We get to know Yoni as a person and as a military leader. I totally enjoyed this book and was so impressed by the poignant storytelling abilities of its author, the hero's brother. It reminds us that men like Yoni have to be respected and their memory honored and kept alive in the retelling of their story. Yoni was a man of integrity, intelligence and devotion to his country and to the Jewish people. Today, so many years later, his story is told over and over again to children and military personnel in Israel. This book will keep Yoni's memory and deeds alive in a way that is important. Just realizing that this entire military operation was prepared in less than 48 hours and that it succeeded in saving over one hundred lives, makes the reader aware of just how daring and hazardous this rescue attempt was for those involved. It also makes us realize what a special person Yoni Netanyahu was and what a tragedy it was that he died at such a young age.

This book is a must read. It is a memorial in manuscript to a man who will always be held in high esteem not only by the Jewish population of Israel but by Jews throughout the entire world. The author says it best when he writes in his foreward section of his book, "To the general public, Yoni was virtually unknown during his lifetime because of the secret nature of his work in the army. In less than 24 hours after the safe landing of the hostages and soldiers in Israel, Yoni's name would become a household word throughout his country; his life and person would take their hold on the imagination of countless Israelis."

The Netanyahu family has much to be proud of in all their sons. Not only is the author Iddo an accomplished writer, but he is also a physician. His brother Benjamin is the present Prime Minister of Israel. Yoni represents the kind of spirit that has made possible the country of Israel...a tiny speck of a country compared to its Arab enemies that surround it but just like Yoni, Israel and its Jewish population will sacrifice whatever it takes to make sure Judaism survives.

Iddo Netanyahu's work about his brother's command of the heroic hostage rescue from the airport at Entebbe in 1976 is carried by the courage of the particpants, not his writing. A soldier himself, he was able to get access to the participants to create this solid record of the action. He falters, however, in communicating beyond the details of the event. The military and political characters are barely-drawn and confusing (he expects that the reader is mostly familiar with Israel and Israeli political figures). The lead-up fails to convey the sense of urgency. And the drama of the mission itself is masked by the attempt to convey the actions of each person, resulting in a lack of clarity. I believe that these problems are a result of two main factors: 1) The Author and the particpants that he interviewed likely spoke in the same detailed manner, like all after-action reports. It was difficult for him to break out of the particular details to balance the needs of the narrative. 2) The original was written in Hebrew, and some of the texture of the language is always lost in translation. Overall, a good book about a brilliant, heroic man. The facts are here, perhaps a more detailed, personal biography would have been better.

What can I say....this is one for my collection. please read this then watch the dvd.....Raid on Entebbe 1976. Selfish I know but having searched for these items for many months and finally finding them at Amazon UK, I will not lend them to anyone, they are part of my historical collection. I know if you are interested in history you will want to purchase these items. Save yourself time and money......go to Amazon UK every time.I truly love their site.Maeve Sherrard-Griffith

This book, "Yoni's Last Battle - The Resuce at Entebbe, 1976" is more of a biographic account of Yoni (Jonathan) Netanyahu's planning of the rescue mission than it is the story of the actual rescue itself. The main focus of this book is the days Yoni spent planning the rescue mission and all with which he had to deal from other individuals within the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF).

Far more than half of this book is dedicated just to the planning of the rescue mission. The story begins strongly with the author setting up the hijacking, the composition of the IDF, and the major players involved in the operation. From there, however, the book quickly falls in to a long, drawn out, and unnecessary explanation of how Yoni had to fight to get specific soldiers he wanted for the operation. In between some of the chapters are rather unremarkable stories of Yoni's military service designed to portray him as a extraordinary leader.

The part of the book focusing on the actual rescue is thin on detail. Although the reader has a sense of the events surrounding Entebbe, the writing is such that there is no sence of melodrama about such a dangerous mission. There is no sense urgency while the author describes the mission's planning and little mention of what was transpiring between the Israeli Government and the hijackers prior to the rescue. Additionally, due to the fact that were so many individuals named in the book, it was very difficult to keep track of all of them and why they were included.

Overall, the pace of the book was slow and cumbersome. Often times, I would stop reading simply because the book was not moving forward. Many times I considered jumping forward or skipping parts of the book in order to finish it. The book reads more like a eulogy from a man to his fallen brother than an account of a daring rescue mission. Seeing that the book was originally written in Hebrew, it is possible that its intended audience was Israel or those individuals who were familiar with Yoni.