When Israeli commandos stormed the hijacked Sabena plane at Lod airport on May 8, 1972, a young Benjamin Netanyahu was among them. He served in the Sayeret Matkal, one of the most secretive units of the Israeli army. According to the Knesset, Netanyahu participated in the operation to free the hostages and was later awarded for his operational leadership by Major General Mordechai Gur.
This is one of the little-known episodes in the life of the politician who is now best known as "Bibi". He was born on October 21, 1949, in Tel Aviv, but grew up in Jerusalem. As a student, he lived in the United States twice - his father, Benzion Netanyahu, a historian and professor, worked there on his research.
From commando to architect
Netanyahu returned to Israel in 1967 to complete his military service. After his release, he participated in the 1973 Yom Kippur War, after which he was promoted to captain. His military experience later became the basis of his public image as a politician, placing security and the fight against terrorism at the center of his policies.
After the army, he chose an unusual academic path for a future prime minister. He graduated in architecture from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and then received a master's degree in business administration. He also studied political science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University. In the United States, he used the name Ben Nitai for a while - easier to pronounce than Americans.
Before diplomacy, Netanyahu worked as a consultant at the Boston Consulting Group. There he met Mitt Romney, who later became a senator from Utah and a candidate for president of the United States. The two met again decades later as political leaders.
Yoni's death and his political path
The strongest personal turning point in his life came in July 1976. His older brother Yonatan, a special forces commander, was killed during a hostage rescue operation at Entebbe airport in Uganda. After his death, Netanyahu returned to Israel and began to actively work for international cooperation against terrorism.
“It changed my life completely and directed it on its current course, because Yoni died in the fight against terrorism“, Netanyahu said in an interview with TIME magazine.
In 1978, he founded the “Yonatan“ Institute for the Study of Terrorism. Then his diplomatic career began - first as deputy head of the Israeli mission in Washington, and from 1984 to 1988 as the country's ambassador to the United Nations. There he established himself as one of Israel's most effective spokesmen in English.
Netanyahu first became prime minister in 1996. Two more long periods in power followed - from 2009 to 2021 and from December 2022. He is the first Israeli prime minister born after the state's founding, and his military service, American education, and family history continue to be part of his political image.
Sources: apnews.com, time.com, bostonglobe.com