“The operation required bold leadership from Defense Minister Shimon Peres, who advocated action, from the Cabinet, which approved it, and above all, from Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who made the critical decision. Without his determination and daring, without his leadership, the operation would never have taken place. From the perspective of almost 40 years, having served 10 years as prime minister, I know how momentous that decision was for him,” said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the July 9 opening of an exhibition about the 1976 military operation to free the hostages in Entebbe. In Israel, the operation is commonly known as Operation Jonathan, after the prime minister’s brother Jonathan Netanyahu, who commanded the force in that Uganda airfield and lost his life in the assault.
His important words were eclipsed by the inevitably tense meeting that followed between Netanyahu and the Rabin family members in attendance. Much has been written about the acrimony and hostility that the late prime minister’s family has felt for Netanyahu ever since Rabin was assassinated in November 1995. For years, they have considered Netanyahu persona non grata. According to them, he was one of those behind the campaign of incitement that ultimately led assassin Yigal Amir to fire the three shots that killed Rabin. This week, almost 20 years after the assassination, Netanyahu paid his first official visit as prime minister to the Rabin Center. He sat beside Dalia Rabin, the late prime minister’s daughter, and had a lengthy conversation with her.
