Follow Me: The Yoni Netanyahu Story (2012) - full transcript

*

MAN 1, OVER WALKIE-TALKIE:

MAN 2, OVER WALKIE-TALKIE:

MAN 3, OVER WALKIE-TALKIE:

MAN 4, OVER WALKIE-TALKIE:

"Man does not live forever.

"He should put the days
of his life

to the best possible use."

MAN 5, OVER WALKIE-TALKIE:

"How to do this,
I can't tell you.

"I only know that I don't want
to reach a certain age,



"look around me
and suddenly discover

that I've created nothing."

MAN 6, OVER WALKIE-TALKIE:

MAN 7, OVER WALKIE-TALKIE:

"That I'm like all the other
human beings

"who dash about like so many
insects, back and forth,

endlessly repeating the routine
of their existence."

MAN 8, OVER WALKIE-TALKIE:

"I must feel certain

"that not only at the moment
of my death

"shall I be able to account
for the time I've lived...

"I ought to be ready
at every moment of my life

"to confront myself and say,
'This is what I've done.'

"Miss you.



Yoni."

*

* I know you'll help us
when you're feeling better *

* And we realize that it might
not be for a long, long time *

* But we're willing to wait
on you *

* We believe in everything
that you can do *

* If you could only
lay down your mind *

* I...

* Want you to try

* To help yourself

* Take the time
to take apart *

* Each brick that sits
outside your heart *

* And look around you

* As people everywhere

* No, they're not
always sure *

* They're just as scared

* And we'd be
more prepared *

* If you just
bowled on through *

* I...

* Want you to try

* To help yourself

Yoni was the oldest son.

And when we came
to Israel

he was a small child.

Uh, just a baby.

Three years old.

We were three kids here.

Three boys.

And we were very,
very close.

We were...

We were really
a band of brothers.

The relationships between
the brothers were very special.

His mother used to say

that they're a mutual
admiration society.

All three of them.

They really loved
and admired each other.

My mother was a very

down-to-earth,
practical woman.

My father had great visions.

She always said
"I'm married to a genius,

but somebody has
to change his socks."

My father was working.

My mother was the person
who took care of us,

who educated us,
who nurtured us.

And she would make sure we had
the family meals together,

the Sabbath meals,
all these things.

My father, who was
a great scholar

and the editor in chief
of the Encyclopedia Hebrea,

used to entertain, you know,
very great scholars,

all sorts of professors.

He and my mother
would entertain them

in the frontal part
of the house.

There was a door that was
the back part of the house.

That's where we three kids

brought in the entire kids
from the neighbourhood.

And we used to have
enormous pillow fights here.

My mother would occasionally
open the door and say,

"Children, there are people
in front."

And we'd say,
"Oh, that's all right."

Then she'd go back and then we'd
start it all over again.

Yoni was considered
the protector.

If there was a problem
of protection,

he would jump
into the danger point.

He was a remarkable child.

He was a person who didn't mind
taking risks.

He was Iddo's protector.

I was sandwiched
in the middle.

You know, I could receive
but not deliver, so to speak.

He always said
that he never beat me.

He said, "I'm disciplining you
so that you treat Iddo well

and also so you learn
to absorb pain."

So I said, "Thanks a lot.
I got the point."

*

Jerusalem in those days

was not like today.

It was a small town.

Divided city.

And Yoni and his family
used to live in Talpiot,

which was the neighbourhood--

The isolated neighbourhood
near the border with Jordan.

There weren't that many
houses there.

There were a lot
of open fields.

The neighbourhood kids,
at that time,

used to play outside
in the street.

Our life was outdoors.

We had battles
all over the town,

and the place we had--
Maccabees and Greeks.

We went to a little
wooded area here,

and they had
bows and arrows.

And there was a sense
of great freedom.

The vibrancy of youth.

"The best and most beautiful
days I ever had

"were those when I was
a little child,

"hiding in huge fields,

"covered almost completely
by grass

"looking for ladybugs,

"seeing the world as the most
marvellous place

and grown-ups
as veritable giants."

My father decided to leave
the encyclopedia

to do his research work
in the USA, Philadelphia.

For a few years,
that was his plan.

Until he'll finish his book
on the Inquisition.

When we heard that we were
going to leave for the US,

I think I was in
the eighth grade

and Iddo was a child.

Yoni was in the middle
of high school.

I think we all broke up
crying.

I don't remember us
crying that often,

but it was a terrible
crisis for us.

Yoni wanted to stay.

He was already
16 1/2 years old.

At that age it's very difficult
to leave.

He had a very active
social life.

He was the head
of the student council.

He was enamoured
with the Scout troops.

At the time, in Jerusalem,

the Scouts were extremely
important

for the youngsters.

It was a way of preparing
yourself for the future

in the army.

He was in
the Moudahin tribe

and I was in
the Metzada tribe.

But he was very
powerful,

and he actually recruited people
from our tribe as well.

He was good.

His personality attracted
the youngsters

to come and follow and join
the Scouts.

Yoni was very charismatic.

And I think that he liked
leading,

but he also felt
that it's his responsibility.

Charisma is the quality and
leadership is the commitment.

The Boy Scout and the life
in Israel

made him a real patriot,
you know?

He was a real Zionist,

and in high school,
for him to live out of Israel

was a big
disappointment.

"All this space
that surrounds me

"leaves me without
any air to breathe.

"I yearn for a place
that's narrow, hot,

"rotten, filthy.

"A place that's mostly
desert,

and that one can scarcely
find on a map of the world."

"The only things people talk
about are cars and girls.

"I think Freud would have found
very fertile soil here.

"My school has about
1500 students

"who don't know what
they're doing there.

"It looks more like
the Tel Aviv Sheraton

"than a school.

"My house is terribly nice.

"Surrounded by lawns
and trees.

An empty,
meaningless life."

An Air France jet was hijacked

by Palestinian guerrillas
today.

Onboard, some 80 Israelis
and 157 other passengers.

This one involves an Air France
Tel Aviv to Paris flight

taken over by seven members

of a Palestinian
guerrilla group

shortly after
an Athens stopover.

The twin engine plane
landed at Benghazi, Libya,

and after refuelling, took off
for an unknown destination.

The Israeli government's
position has always been

to refuse to accept
terrorist blackmail.

And it all boils down
to a simple

but frightening question:

Who gives in first?

*

We were in the middle
of fighting terror.

And taking aircrafts
and taking hostages

were part of the fighting

We didn't know where
are they aiming at.

We thought they may
try to land in Tel Aviv.

In the Ben Gurion Airport.

But then they changed
their course to Entebbe.

What the hell
is this Entebbe?

It ended up to be a quarter
of the perimeter

of the part of the globe
that we have seen.

When I came first time
to the chief,

saying to him, "Look,
we have to plan what to do

with those hostages."

And so he say,
"Yeah, you are crazy.

Who can reach them in Uganda
in Entebbe?"

Israel is determined

with the murderous
organizations.

We'll never negotiate.

The only place where we can meet
with them is on the battlefield.

July 8th, 1964.

"Dear Mother and Father,

"when I saw the country
from the plane,

"I felt a twinge
in my heart.

"Jerusalem is more beautiful
than ever.

"Perhaps I am a bit
sentimental,

"because I haven't seen it
for so long.

"Despite everything
that's wrong here,

"and God knows there are
many faults and evils,

"it's our country

and I love her
as I always have."

After high school,

many of our friends
went to the army.

And Yoni came,
and he was like a star.

He was very charismatic.

He was very intelligent,
very passionate.

It was a feeling
of somebody

who was much above
everybody

with his philosophy of life
or his care of the country.

We had mutual friends.

You know, friends who
admired him,

and girls who were
in love with him.

I was impressed with the fact
that he had no family here.

I came home and told my mother
that I met a boy and so on,

and I don't know
who cooks for him

and who washes for him.

I thought of inviting him over,
and I took pity on him.

He went from one boyfriend
to another with his--

He was like a gypsy, you know?
Homeless.

Yoni was in a cafe near their
school and I went there.

And I was impressed.
He sat there all by himself

smoking a cigarette,
drinking coffee,

reading the evening paper.

You know, it was like
a little bit grown up.

Man of the world.

He had a great smile.

He was a handsome kid.

He was extremely strong.

Dynamic. Interesting.

Fun to be around.

I presume,
correct me if I'm wrong,

that's what
girls like in boys.

He came to be enlisted,

and he has always had a list
of things to do.

Catch up with physics
and math and this and that.

And one of them
was to find a girlfriend.

And there was also
a timetable.

He was going to go
to the army.

So he went for it.

And I had to go
out of it.

And I was impressed.

We started on July 12th.

And I think he enlisted
a month later.

And I went beginning
of September.

"Dear Father,
Mother and brothers,

"basic training started
a few days ago.

"From Wednesday to Saturday
we'll have a march

"to get to know
your personal equipment,

"which means marching
25 miles a day.

"But that doesn't
worry me.

"I've reached the conclusion
that anything the army requires

of a soldier,
I can do."

He told us about his
accomplishments,

how he did as a solider.

And he always came first
in any course he took.

At that time we didn't make
long, overseas phone calls.

Nobody did.

And the connection
was with letters.

He wrote because it was an
expression of his inner being,

of his soul.

And I remember we used
to wait for the letter.

It used to have that flag.

I remember the little
red flag

that they have on these
American mailboxes.

I used to rush to the mailbox
to see if there was a letter.

And his letters were always
illuminating.

"Until now, I must admit

"I never felt the country.

"Never before had I felt this
so powerfully.

"I knew the country
existed,

"but I was living in it,

"and that if the meter rose,
I would fight for it.

"But really,
to feel the place,

"the soil, the mountains
and valleys of Israel...

"this sensation
I have now experienced

for the first time."

He was an unbelievably
good soldier.

Someone marked for glory.

A few weeks
into basic training,

they took us on a forced march
through the dunes

carrying the heaviest guy
on each squad on a stretcher.

And after a few kilometres,
we gave out.

And there was just
no one there

to replace the two guys
at the front of the stretcher.

And suddenly
Yoni breaks up there,

takes the stretcher
on both his shoulders

and pulls everybody else
to the end.

And then turns around and gives
us all a berating

for being such weaklings.

He was driving his own buddies
even harder than the staff were.

So he was
very much admired...

but for a long time
he wasn't very popular.

I wrote him a lot;
he answered a little bit.

And I wasn't that interested
in stories about the army.

More about the "I love you"
part and so on.

Once he was in the army,
he was 100% there

and did everything 100%.

And it was difficult for him
to finagle,

you know, two worlds.

To come home
and be a boyfriend.

"Tutti, my love,

"the days pass
so swiftly here

"that one loses
all sense of time.

"I miss you more than
I have ever thought possible.

"I realize you have been
inducted into the army.

"Clearly there are better ways
of spending one's years

"between 18 and 20.

"I wish I could say
I will be beside you

"all along the path
you must take,

"but it can't be.

"Each of us must walk this path
all alone.

"I'm writing this
just so you'll know

"that I'm thinking of you
and I love you.

As I write this,
it sounds so very far away."

That Air France jet

hijacked by pro-Palestinian
extremists

is at an airport outside
Kampala, Uganda, tonight.

The hijackers let more
than 250 people off the plane,

but the passengers are now
sitting in a sweltering airport

under the guns of some
very dangerous

Palestinian extremists.

We got an ultimatum that,
on Thursday,

they are going to be
assassinated.

All of them.

Their price
for releasing them

is the release of 57 of what
they call freedom fighters,

now in prison
in five countries.

I thought there was no chance

that we can relieve
the hijacked persons

by relieving the different
terrorists they have asked for.

From Israel, from Germany,
from France.

Now, considering the time,
the ultimatum was short.

Several days I thought
this is no option.

And Mota,
the chief of staff,

is in the cabinet meeting.

And told the government
that we will prepare something.

There was a huge cloud
of foam over the picture,

because it was not clear
what's there, who is there,

what kind of situation
is it?

And it took some time
to learn--

Information accumulated
very, very, very slowly.

The options that were put
on the table of the cabinet

were unworkable.

I said,
"I'm not interested in it."

The purpose
of the operation must be

to bring back
all the people.

March 23rd, 1967.

"Beloved ones,

"as the time of discharge
approaches,

"everyone is confronted
with the problem

"of what to do
as a civilian.

"War is hanging over our heads
like a swollen balloon.

"And the battalion
is very anxious

"for me to stay on
in the army.

"Even though I find the army
to be of great interest,

"I fail to see
my future in it.

"There are so many things
I want to do,

"and it's difficult
to see myself

"as an army man
all my life.

"I received your letter
in which you described

"in detail the scholarship
awarded to me from Harvard.

"I'd like you to inform
the university

"that I am interested.

There was always a split in him

between the army
and the academy.

He never signed
for 10 years.

It was always for two,
three years,

because the struggle
or the tension

between these two poles
of his personality

were always there.

I'm not sure that Yoni
was a natural soldier.

He was very good one,
very effective,

but out of some kind of--

Of a conscious process

of trying to understand
what should be done.

Nasser is not content
with mere border incidences.

This time he announces
his resolve to destroy Israel.

And in mid-May 1967,

the might of the Egyptian
forces,

equipped by the Soviet Union,

parades through Cairo
en route to Sinai

where it will deploy
for the attack on Israel.

This is the largest force
ever to have been assembled

in history in Sinai.

"Dear Father and Mother,

"not one of us wants war,

"but we all know for certain
we must win.

"We must cling to our country
with our bodies

"and with all
of our strength.

"Only then will they not write
in the history books

"that once, indeed,
the Jews held on to their land

"for two decades,

"but then were overwhelmed
and became once more

homeless wanderers."

"Tutti, my love...

"don't be afraid
and don't worry too much.

"We knew a long time ago
war would come,

"and here we are:
a nation at war.

"Tutti, according to the plans
you and I made,

"we were meant to meet
two hours ago

"and perhaps go
to the seaside.

"And now I'm far
from there.

"If there was no war
going on here,

"if I didn't have
to go out and kill,

"and if I wasn't alone
without you,

"it would actually
be nice here.

"A thistle is the flower
nearest me.

"I'm sending it to you.

But it will probably crumple
away before it reaches you."

Most of our battalion
was involved

in the heliborne raid

on the Egyptian artillery
at Umm Katef.

This was the major Egyptian
sort of stronghold

in the Sinai Desert
that had to be crushed

in order for the Israeli army
to advance forward.

The Egyptians discovered
the landing ground

and began bombarding it.

And we were the last to go in.
So we didn't go in.

Yoni was so frustrated
that he actually

absconded from the company

and jumped on
one of the helicopters.

He saw that they were going
to battle,

and he just went into
one of his helicopters

and took part
as a regular soldier,

even though he was
an officer.

Israel appears to be mounting
a quick succession of victories

here in the Sinai Peninsula.

Israel is full
of rumours tonight,

and you can tell something
about a nation's morale

by its rumours.

And Israel's
are all of victory.

"My beloved,

"that's it.

"Our battle has ended.

"I'm well
and all in one piece.

"We left the expanses of sand

"strewn with the bodies
of the dead,

"filled with fire
and smoke.

"And now we are once again
in our own country.

"I'm eaten up with worry
for you.

"Perhaps in a few days
when it's all over

"and we're together again,

"then we'll smile.

"Right now
it's a bit hard.

"Tonight we'll be
shooting again,

"and again there'll be
dead and wounded.

"Try to find Bibi

and tell him
everything's okay."

We went north,

and finally the whole outfit
got into the fighting

in the Golan Heights.

He was going over to help
a friend of his.

Sort of leaning down
to help him.

And that's when
he got hit.

He was bleeding
all the time,

and the one thing he wanted
to was survive.

When you see death
face-to-face,

and you're wounded
and alone

in the midst
of a scorched field,

surrounded by smoke with your
arms shattered and burning

with a terrible pain,

then life becomes more precious
and craved for than ever.

You want to embrace it

and to go on with it.

To escape from all the blood
and death.

To live.

When he was wounded,
he thought he was going to die.

He realized that,
to get married,

that's what's important
for him.

"Beloved Mother and Father,

"I'm very happy to tell you
that Tutti and I

"are to be married
as soon as I am better.

"I considered going to America
for a year without Tutti

"and getting married later.

"Now I don't see
any sense in this.

"Nor do I believe
that I could stay in America

"for a year and study there

with my heart and my thoughts
elsewhere."

And we got married
in August.

That's when he could
remove his cast.

*

It was a glorious wedding.

It was in the amphitheatre
overlooking the Judaean Hills

falling to the Dead Sea.

It was extraordinary.

It was even extraordinary
setting.

It represented, I think,

him in many ways.

He was 21.

When I think of it now,
he was so young.

April 15, 1968.

"Dear Bibi and Iddo.

"Harvard continues
to be marvellous,

"even though I'm impatient
to return.

"I continue to run
even though I don't have time.

"But at least I'm keeping fit
and not letting myself go.

"My average for the year
is nearly an A,

"and in the top 10%
of the class.

"Tutti and I
feel good together,

"and it's a good thing

"we're spending out first year
by ourselves,

away from everyone."

I liked Boston.

And it seemed like two children
playing house, you know?

That's what it was.

It was the first time in my life
that I cooked.

And Yoni would admire:

"Whoa, what did you make?"

He always admired
everything I did.

I remember he asked once,
he wanted coleslaw.

I had no idea
what coleslaw was.

I still don't know
what the words mean.

What's "cole"
and what's "slaw"?

I was attached
to my parents,

and there I was
only with Yoni.

So it's strange.
It's sort of lonely.

I worked
at the consulate.

And it was difficult,
because every day I would know

what happened in Israel,

because the consulate
would get the paper

and would get telegrams
and so on.

And you're not there.

There was a lot of internal
terrorism at the time.

And so he felt that
it's just a matter of time

until there would be
another major war.

For nearly six hours today,

Israeli and Egyptian
artillery

again duelled across
the Suez Canal.

UN observers issued
three appeals

for a ceasefire before
the shooting finally stopped.

He knew he was
a very good soldier.

He knew that he was,
in many ways,

better than most
of his peers.

He cannot continue
with the student life

when war was raging
all over.

What's the sense
of being a scholar

if the whole country
disappears?

He was aware of the role

that our generation is playing
on the stage of history,

and deeply connected
with serving something

which is bigger,
more important,

more powerful than you,

and the fate of the people
you are part of.

Forty-seven hostages aboard
that Air France jet

hijacked last Sunday
were freed today

by their pro-Palestinian
captors in Uganda.

But they stood nervously
holding machine guns

on the remaining 209,

and threatened
to kill them all

and to blow up
the French airliner

unless their demands are met
by 8:00 tomorrow morning,

Eastern time.

The French interrogated
those people

who were selected
to be freed,

and came to Paris.

Several options
became invalid

when it became clear

that the Ugandans
are part of it.

There was some selection
they made

between the Gentiles
and the Jews and Israelis.

Many of those released

paid tributes to the Israelis
still in guerrilla hands.

They said the Israelis
were showing high morale

and high spirits
and much pride

in the face of threats
to kill them.

For me, the separation
between Jews and non-Jews

was a crucial point.

And here, I saw
a combination of their terror

and all the hatred
and brutality

of those nasty people.

The mood was that this
is our mission,

this is our destiny,
and we must do it.

And the only ones
that can do it is us.

Not anyone else.

So the first few days were,
for me, extremely difficult.

So everybody was cynical
about the operation.

So I was really left with
the group of young officers

whom I trusted.

But they weren't considered
elders of the tribe.

And this group
was something unique.

They were worried
about the nation.

They weren't worried
about themselves.

And they had the record.

Extremely courageous.

They studied the map

like their parents studied
the Talmud.

A word after a word,
a line after a line.

They weren't fantasizing.
They really studied it.

And they came to me
and they says, "Let's try."

August 17th, 1968.

"Dear Mother and Father,

"today is our first
wedding anniversary.

"Tutti's and mine.

"So much has happened
since that day on Mount Scopus.

"After the end of the war
I got married,

"studied at Harvard
and came back to Israel.

"And yet it wasn't the war
that was a passing stage,

"but everything that came
in its wake.

"A kind of sadness
has overtaken me,

"which doesn't leave me.

"I sense the cry and the depth
of this sadness in others

"who came through the war
with their bodies intact.

"That harmony
that characterizes

"a young man's world
is not a part of me anymore.

"We're young.

"And we were not born
for wars alone.

"I intend to go on
with my studies,

"but I can no longer see this
as my main mission in life.

"Hence, the sadness
of young men

destined for endless war."

I assumed, at the time,

that he could never be in the
army because he was disabled.

With one arm that he can't
straighten or bend.

There was need for officers.

I was against it,
but Yoni...

he wasn't the type
to be told what to do,

and I wasn't the type
to tell somebody else

what to do
with their lives.

And they had to get through
the physical

in the military
reinduction.

So they found,
apparently,

the doctor
was an immigrant.

And he apparently
mistook

the fact that Yoni
had a fractured elbow.

And he looked in one knee--

He thought it was a knee.

He said,
"Hmm, this knee is fine."

And he looked at the other knee
and said,

"Hmm, this knee is fine."

He said, "Fine, nothing wrong
with him."

That's how he got
into the unit.

We never used the formal
real name of the unit,

which was Sayeret Matkal.

Ever.

The reputation was mystery.

We always liked to say
that it was the diamond

which is at the tip
of the spear.

That secret club,
so-called,

that you wanted
to be a member of,

even though you didn't
really know, have any idea,

what it was about
and what it entailed

to be part of that club.

For me, the unit was something

which was like
another world.

Like in the movies.

They did different stuff.

They behaved
in different ways.

The work itself,
which is very intensive,

very complicated and very
important and very risky.

And I think it's like
the tip of an iceberg,

what's known to the public.

Either participating
in war times within the war,

or fighting
against terror.

And the rest is unknown and,
I believe when we left, unknown.

We live in different worlds.

So it's difficult.

I'm a curious person.

I would ask questions,
but I didn't get answers.

But there was also a part of me
that didn't want to know,

and a part of denial
in order not to be afraid.

"Beloved,

"the day after tomorrow
you will be 23.

"Happy birthday.

"I'm writing this
to pre-empt the thought

"that may come
to your mind.

"So why the separation?

"I believe
with all my heart

"that it's extremely important
that I be in the army now.

"We hear the war slogans
of millions of our neighbours

"and their desire
to annihilate us,

"including you, my wife.

"I realize that it's very hard
for you.

What's to be done?"

He wanted very much

to have children
as soon as possible.

He loved babies,
and they loved him.

When I realized
I was pregnant

I stayed a whole month or so
in hospital

just trying, you know,
to prevent a miscarriage.

He wasn't there
days on end, you know?

He didn't take
special leave.

He came when he came.

"Beloved Mother and Father,

"I haven't written you
for a long time,

"because Tutti had problems
with her pregnancy.

"To my great sorrow,

"Tutti miscarried
a few days ago,

"in the sixth month.

"The baby girl was born
and lived a few days.

"Of course, she didn't stand
a chance right from the start,

"and we both knew it.

"But just the same,

it's very sad."

I heard from Tutti
when we spoke

that there was
a big problem

with her staying
all the time alone,

and Yoni spending so much time
in the army.

At the time we were less
sympathetic with Tutti

because what Yoni did
in the army

had such an importance
in our eyes.

He understood

that you cannot be there,
you cannot excel there,

without pouring all of yourself
into it.

And the demands
of a young lady who married you,

and she expect you
to be with her,

not just to come
late at night

and to fall asleep
beside her.

We never really discussed
what happened.

I was depressed and I may have
been, subconsciously, you know,

resentful
that he wasn't there.

That I was schlepping it alone,
and so on.

We were all so protective
of each other.

Maybe we didn't
talk about things

partly in order
not to hurt each other.

"Dear Mother and Father,

"Tutti and I
have separated.

"It's hard for me
to analyze the reasons

"for our split,

especially as they're
not entirely clear to me."

It was a very sad period
in his life,

naturally.

Whether you want the divorce
or you don't want the divorce,

you feel that something that you
wanted to succeed failed.

"There's no doubt
that my serving in the army

"is a contributing factor.

"It's happened so recently
that I myself

"am still unable to reach
any conclusions,

far less see
what the end will be."

The hijackers put off their
deadline to 8 a.m. Sunday

after Israel broke it's
long-standing policy

and agreed to negotiate.

This policy change
came today

when Palestine hijackers
in Uganda

released 101 more hostages

but held the Air France crew
of 12, and 98 passengers,

under threat of death.

The Israelis are frustrated
and resigned.

Frustrated because there's
nothing they can do

to influence the situation
except give into the hijackers,

and resigned to doing
just that.

We agreed that the official,

the formal resolution,

will be that we are
going to exchange.

And it created an atmosphere
that helped us

to prepare our operation.

We've taken
this critical decision

primarily because
of humanitarian reasons,

namely, saving the lives

of the Israeli hostages
in Uganda.

If we shall give up

our position in the eyes
of the world, we'll go down.

They'll say,
"Here is a country

"that says you have
to fight terror,

but when it comes to your place
you will not."

If we shall try and succeed,
it will be tremendous victory.

Thursday morning it became clear
that there is going to be

some ultimatum, so we had to
plan within a very tight limit

something that had never
been done before,

and take responsibility
and go and execute it.

We called back Yoni
from Sinai,

because he was busy
conducting a special operation

on the other side
of the canal in Egypt.

When you start to plan,

we will ensure that we are going
to take the whole airport.

And then to free
the hostages.

After several times
we realized that the right way,

it's like a bank robbery.

You are going only
to the safe,

taking the money out.

You are not controlling
the whole bank.

He didn't have any
hesitations.

He looked upon it
almost as a normal operation.

April 18th, 1972.

"Dear Mother and Father,

"after 4 1/2 years
of married life,

"it's hard to get used
to living alone

"without the woman
one loves.

"But it seems that one
can get used to anything.

"In your letters,
you expressed concern.

"I've long since passed the age
of needing protection,

"and I manage very well
on my own.

"But it's still good to know

"that in case I do
need assistance,

there'll be someone
who would understand and help."

Dani and me rented a house.

We invited Yoni
to join us,

and stay with us
at that villa.

And he did it.

And Yoni was more absent
than present,

because he was
extremely busy.

We hardly saw him.

But when he came he was talking
about the life in the army.

Of course, he couldn't
talk a lot,

because it's a super-secret
mission.

He had missions
all the time.

On the eve of Yom Kippur
of 1973,

we played Diplomacy,
the war game,

just before World War I.

Yoni was my ally.

And on the most
dramatic moment

when I really had
to rely on him,

he actually
stabbed me in the back

and he betrayed me.

And I was so shocked
and insulted personally.

I said to him, "Yoni, how can
you make it to me?

I was your ally."

He said to me, "Dani, that's
life. That's reality.

That's the game."

The next day
the war broke.

War erupts in the Mideast

as Egypt and Syria
attack Israel

on the Jewish holy day
of Yom Kippur.

Twenty-five years
for the state of Israel.

So little,
and yet so much.

How sad that we cannot
achieve peace,

for that is all we want
at the end.

What kind of godforsaken world
are we living in?

It contains
so much beauty,

so much grandeur
and nobility.

And men destroy everything
that is beautiful in the world.

There was a mission
to the unit

to go directly
to the Golan Heights

to help the forces there.

To receive
the Syrian attack.

A company of Syrian commander
landed with helicopters

very close to the post.

And Yoni with his force
immediately came

to get in touch
with them.

And as they came to the place

where they thought they spotted
the Syrian landing...

...and suddenly there was
a burst of gunfire.

And everybody dropped
to the ground.

They surprise us

face-to-face again,

the commanding troops.

So at the beginning
I didn't see anybody.

And then I saw Yoni
ahead of me,

leading a group
of soldiers.

He set, like he did
all the time,

he set the example.

Very calm,

very...not running.

As it needs to be.

You see your commander
and say,

"Okay, if he is
going now

I'll join him."

And he started moving forward.

And everybody-- Just pulled
everybody behind him.

And went over
the Syrian lines.

And overcame them.

They were outnumbered
and attacked

from superior positions,

and lost only two
or three men.

And that was entirely due
to his leadership.

He did close combat
with extraordinary results.

To kill at such
very close range

isn't like hanging a gun
from a hundred yards away.

That's something I had
already done when I was young.

I've learned since how to kill
at close range, too.

Pressing the muzzle
against the flesh

and pulling the trigger.

The body muffling
the sound of the shot.

It adds a whole dimension
of sadness to a man's being.

Not a momentary
transient sadness,

but something that sinks in
and endures.

The Yom Kippur war affected him,

I think, more on
a grand scale.

I think he saw
that there was a certain lack

of holding power

in Israel

for anything that's long
and drawn out.

This has been the hardest war
we've known.

At least it was
more intense,

more costly
in dead and wounded.

More marked with failures
and successes

than any of the wars
and battles I have known.

We're all searching
for a different place,

a beautiful
and glowing place.

A place worth
waking up in.

The world is full
of beauty,

and the ugliness in it
only highlights that beauty.

Bruria, she was, at that time,
a secretary.

A very good secretary.

A very beautiful,
handsome girl.

One day she came to me

and told me...

I want to go to the best
battalion that you have.

And he said,
"You should go to--

"And there is a new
commander there.

And I think it's good
for you."

I don't want to say
I fell in love

the minute I saw him,
because it would sound stupid.

But there was something
in the minute I saw him.

Bruria was a very
free-spirited woman.

And Yoni
was an army man.

A commander,
a tough guy.

I was young

and very enthusiastic
about life.

And he didn't think
about himself,

that he can again
fall in love,

be devoted to love,

open himself to love.

He didn't feel it
to me at all

for the first
four months.

I was doing paperwork,
organizing things for him.

On his bed you could see
the poets he read.

When you see it,

that somebody that deals
with army all the time,

his private time
is poetry.

And it was amazing.

And I decided that I have
to make him love me.

And I worked on it.

I don't want to...

I worked on it.

And in the end,
it happened.

"Bruria, mine,

"I love you very much.

"I say it with a cry
and with sombreness

"and with longing.

"And I love, with almost
unbearable restraint.

"You're the axis
around which I turn.

"Sometimes I circle around
very close,

"and sometimes the circle
is very wide.

"But always round
and round you,

the centre."

Sometimes he showed me

the notes he would leave
for her.

He all the time said
about her,

"My love, my wife."

There was a good
chemistry between us.

We talked a lot.

We hugged a lot.

I...

I was in paradise.

"Bruria,
I've been thinking

"of how to change
my way of life

"so that we can live together
like a normal couple

"and, as yet,
have not found a solution.

"I am thinking
of the future.

"Maybe there,
in the future,

the real key lies."

"Dear Bibi, it's fairly certain
I'll get command of the unit

"and start the overland
quite soon.

"I like the idea
of returning to the unit,

and I'm anxious to get there
as soon as possible."

He had a reputation of being

a great combat commander.

Proven, you know, in many,
many situations.

Whenever there was a very
difficult drill physically,

he took part of it.

It's not common.

It's not common the commander
of the unit

is taking part
in all the difficult drills.

And he would be there
to try to push us

to see that we would go beyond
what we thought were our limits,

and break the barriers
every single time.

And do the impossible.

And, you know, very often we
felt we knew better.

And I think that created
some friction.

Yoni wasn't cut from the stuff

that people from the unit
are made of.

His father was
a professor,

and he spent some times
in the United States.

And he was different

from the other people
in the unit.

His personality
was more complexed.

And...

And I think it didn't
make things easier for him

and it didn't make things
easier for us.

"Dear Mother and Father,

"the army burdens me
with an enormous load of work,

"and doesn't allow me a minute
for my private affairs.

"There is a real satisfaction
in this kind of work,

"but it's immensely tiring.

"Nearly 11 years have passed
since I left home for the army,

"and I am seized by a longing
for family togetherness.

"I look back on breakfasts
in the kitchen

"with you and Bibi
and Iddo,

"on Passover nights

"or the lighting
of the Hanukkah candles.

"I halt the frantic
rush forward

"and all that still
needs to be accomplished.

"I plunge into the past,

"into the warmth
of a loving family.

"It's a world of its own,

a world of an enchanted
child."

He was a complicated man
with internal conflicts,

with difficulties.

And still had the huge
responsibility on his shoulders

in such a young age.

The intensity of the way
that he approached things,

I think also
exhausted him.

On one hand achieving

and going into
unachievable heights.

And on the other hand,

not getting
and possessing

the simple things

that make people happy.

"Bruria, I find myself
at a critical stage in my life,

"facing a profound
inner crisis

"that's been disturbing
my whole frame of reference

"for a long time.

"Until now,
the only solution

"suggested ploughing
the same deep furrow

"in the same field.

"My work possesses me,
and I don't want it to.

"I do things
because they have to be done.

"The same haunting question
returns:

"Can I work like this
and wear myself out?

"And the answer is always,
'I must persevere

"and finish
what I've begun.'

"Good that I have you,
my Bruria.

"And good that I have somewhere
to lay my weary head.

"I know I'm not
with you enough,

"and that it's hard for you
to be alone so much,

"but I trust you, me,
both of us,

"to succeed in living our youth
to the fullest.

"You to live your youth
and your life,

"and I, my life and the flicker
of my youth.

It will be okay."

Israeli government ministers
work into the Jewish Sabbath

on negotiations for the release
of about 100 Israelis

and other Jews from Palestinian
hijackers in Uganda.

Today they assembled
their remaining 110 hostages

in small groups and surrounded
them with dynamite

to await Sunday's deadline.

Time was running out,

and the fear, anxiety and
frustration of the relatives

of the Israeli hostages
held at Entebbe

spilled out into an angry
outpouring of emotions.

"Give the hijackers
what they want," they screamed.

"Just let our loved ones
come back alive."

Well, the prime minister,

he felt that he's the man
responsible for their lives.

They came to him to talk,
says look, save our children.

The entire operation
had to be prepared

in about 48 hours.

The unit basically

is not working
this way.

In the unit you will prepare
an operation for a long time,

and when it is ready,
you go.

Yoni worked very hard.

He didn't let any detail
go away.

Didn't sleep all night,
and stayed in the office.

And then in the morning
the plan was ready.

And here we are talking about,
we are Friday.

We know that
the next day, Saturday,

we are going
to fly to Entebbe

to an unbelievable raid.

Very limited time.

Planning is doing
on the fly.

And planning is not good
as it should be.

We look to movies
from Entebbe

of Idi Amin's army.

And in one of the movies,
we saw a black Mercedes.

It seemed to be a good idea
to use vehicles

that are similar
to what they have,

to use uniforms,
to use some camouflage.

To give the impression,
at least for a few minutes,

that this is part
of the Uganda army.

The final plan was to come
with four Herculeses.

The first one with the two jeeps
and the black Mercedes

of Sayeret Matkal.

They have enough soldiers

in order to storm
the main terminal.

And to kill all
the terrorists around.

And to take the hostages
back home.

The first time that this thought

maybe this is going
to occur,

is after the final
simulation exercise.

The chief of staff

said he's going to give
his approval

and recommendations
to the government

to carry out
that separation.

The prime minister,

he wasn't convinced
about assurance

that these boys
can negotiate

4000 kilometres
away from home,

to cross different
countries.

Our planes were unarmed,

weren't fighters.

It was cargo planes.

The entire operation,

it was something
beyond the horizon

to fly one way several
thousand miles from here.

Nobody did it before.

We were professional
soldiers.

And we felt that the simulation
is, you know,

it's maybe good showoff,
to show the chief of staff.

But we feel that, you know,
we are actors in a movie.

It's nothing.

A lot of information
is coming in,

and lots of confusion
and information

that contradict
the other information.

So everything is quite
chaotic.

And Yoni gathered all of us,
the assault team.

We'd been about
30 or 32 guys, that's all.

And he explained
what should we focus about.

You should get prepared
for surprises

from all directions.

Concentrate on the mission.

We are not there in order
to kill soldiers.

We are there in order
to free the hostages.

I think he trusted two things:

first of all, he trusted us
more than we trusted ourselves.

And the second thing,
he trusted himself.

I'm sure that he felt

that his best performance
is under fire.

And whatever will happen,

he felt that leading us,

things will be okay.

You are educating people
to risk their life

against their instincts,

and that the only way
is to lead by personal example.

And that's what he did
all his life.

Yoni, before taking off,

he came to me.

He said, "Look, if I will not
come back from the operation,

"I'm serious,
you are my friend.

Take care of Bruria."

It was like yesterday.

We got onto the plane,
took off from Sharm al-Sheikh

towards Entebbe.

The government
was still debating

whether the operation would be
approved or not.

And we told him,
"Yoni, no chance

for the operation
to be approved. Don't worry."

The last leg was
a very long one.

Surprisingly,
most of the people in the unit

never been out of Israel
in their life.

So this was the longest flight
for almost everyone there.

Yoni came out and he told us,

"The government approved
the operation."

And then we started
to panic.

You look around your friends.
You ask yourself,

"Okay, who will be alive
and who will be dead

when we go back?"

We got closer
to Entebbe.

It was almost midnight.

There was a thunderstorm
outside.

And the airplane
was very dark.

And at that moment
of time,

Yoni went all the way
from the rear of the Hercules

to the front part.

And he stopped and he smiled
to each troop,

and shook hands or touched
the shoulder of everybody.

I never experienced
it before,

or any other commander
doing the same.

When the airplane
touched the ground

and the door was opened...

and we went out.

And I remember
the silence.

There was no noise
anymore.

And then I remember
the darkness.

There was no light
anymore.

And then I remember
that I was frightened

because of, you know,
like every kid,

silence and darkness.

We see the Ugandan guards

as we're driving towards
the terminal building.

I see the guard
on the right side.

He was aiming
to shoot at us.

Yoni and the officer
who's sitting behind him

pulled out the handguns
that we had

with silencers on them,

and was shooting
at the guards.

And right after that,
we hear a machine gun going off

from the jeep
behind us.

And all of a sudden
from quiet,

we go into full
combat mode.

Surprise is over.

So you don't think about
your life anymore.

You don't think about cover
anymore.

You just run like crazy.

And you shoot the terrorists
before they shoot the hostages.

And then all of a sudden
the guy who led the assault team

pulled to the left and stopped
near the corner of the terminal.

And Yoni, he shouts,

"Move, move, move, move!
Don't stop."

He couldn't, like us,

kneel against the wall
and crawl and walk slowly.

He was moving ahead,
making all of us follow him.

Yoni was running with us.

And I saw Yoni stumble.

And that was the last
that I saw of Yoni.

MAN, OVER WALKIE-TALKIE:

This is Israel Broadcasting
from Jerusalem.

All the hostages in Uganda
have been rescued

by Israeli forces.

It seems to me
the government of Israel

invoked one of the most
remarkable rescue missions

in history,

a combination
of guts and brains

that has seldom, if ever,
been surpassed.

Israel has carried out
a daring raid for freedom.

Crack troops were flown
2300 miles to Uganda

for a lightning strike
at Entebbe Airport

to rescue hostages held
for a week by the hijackers

of that Air France
jetliner.

I was doing the week
of the bicentennial.

We were a group of Israeli
students at MIT.

We heard in the news that there
was an Israeli rescue mission.

And that the hostages
had been freed,

and that one Israeli officer
had been killed.

I said, "Why did they say
one officer?"

I was sharing with Bibi
my concerns,

as I had called him
to Boston.

I woke him up
and told him

that I think something
might have happened to Yoni.

I had a feeling
that something's happening.

I had this restlessness

that there's something
I must do urgently,

and I don't know
what it is.

It was very strange.

I called the unit

and I asked,
"What's going on?"

And I don't know whose...

Who talked with me.

I don't know the name
of the girl who talked with me.

But she said there was
something.

And I said--

And I asked her
about casualties.

And she said,
"I don't know, I don't know."

I think she knew,

because I felt something
in the...

On the telephone.

*

I went back, I called my wife.

Waked her up.

And told her the operation
succeeded.

Yoni is dead.

Please go down
to Bruria,

wake her up
and stay with her,

because someone will come
to inform her,

and it's inconceivable
to me

that she will hear,
and tell her what happened,

and sit with her
until someone comes there.

But I said, "How am I going
to tell her?

I can't look at her.
I can't say it."

She said-- And he says,

"Nava, you need to do it."

And then we hung up.

And I stayed there
for about two hours.

I didn't know
what to do.

I think it was 6:00
when I went down.

And I knocked
on the door.

I didn't think she came
to tell me that Yoni died.

It was a... a shock.

She didn't say it
right away.

She said something...

like it was-- I don't remember
exactly the words.

And I remember...

that the word that was
in my head

was "why?"

I couldn't...

I said-- I felt, "Why?"

Why? Why should it...

Why it's like this?

That was the...

That's it.

It was as though

somebody amputated
my arms and my legs,

and tore a piece
of my heart.

Yeah.

It was just torture.

And I'm driving this
at night.

We came to the place
where my parents had lived.

And there was a big window in
this cottage that they lived in.

And my father
was walking

sort of back and forth...

with his hands in a typical
stance that he has.

You know,
behind his back.

He's walking
back and forth.

Ruminating about something.

And all of a sudden
his face turned

and he saw me.

And I think he said,
"Bibi, what are you doing here?"

And then his expression changed
and he understood immediately.

And...

my mother let out
a terrible scream.

I'll never forget that.

It was...

It was actually worse
than hearing about Yoni's death.

Because, in a way,
it was their death too.

We are all human.

Some happy with our lot,

some searching
and searching.

I don't regret the crossroads
I've passed.

And if there is
more beauty,

more flowers along the road
I didn't take,

I still don't
regret it,

because it wasn't
my road.

On me, on us,

rests the duty of keeping
our country safe.

We are united by something

that is above and beyond
political outlook.

What unites us produces
a feeling of brotherhood.

Of mutual
responsibility.

A recognition of the value
of man and his life.

A strong and sincere desire
for peace.

A readiness to stand
in the breach,

and much more.

This is a special people,

and it's good
to belong to it.

*