'Entebbe is a moral imperative': 40 years later, the rescue still informs its heroes' choices

In 1976, Maj. General (Res.) Doron Almog's IDF

special unit helped rescue hostages in Entebbe.

On the eve of Operation Entebbe's 40th anniversary, we talk to two of the heroes from the raid who today are affiliated with JNF projects.  

By Deborah Danan

Monday marks 40 years since Israel's successful hostage-rescue mission at Entebbe airport in Uganda. But Maj. General (Res.) Doron Almog's memories of Operation Yonatan remain vivid -- from the role a piece of chewing gum played in the bold undertaking to the pain of witnessing his friend Yoni Netanyahu, the hero after whom the operation is named, die. 

Almog recalls sitting on the plane en route from Ben Gurion Airport to save the hostages alongside his subordinates; the IDF special unit forces he was commander of; and a Mercedes limousine that had been sprayed black to look like the one former Ugandan dictator, Idi Amin, traveled in. 

The plan was to fake the volatile Ugandan despot's return to Entebbe from a diplomatic trip in order to infiltrate the terminals and free the 106 people being held there. But there was one problem: The airborne limo was leaking gas. 

Saluting Doron Almog, military hero and champion for the disabled, for Israel Prize win

Major General (Res.) Doron Almog at Aleh Negev. 

Major General (Res.) Doron Almog, one of the heroes of the famous Operation Entebbe and founder of Aleh Negev-Nahalat Eran, a Jewish National Fund partner and world-class rehabilitative village for the disabled in southern Israel, has been awarded the 2016 Israel Prize for lifetime achievement and exceptional contribution to the nation. 

The annual prize is awarded to Israeli citizens or organizations that have displayed excellence in the fields of the humanities, social sciences, and Jewish studies; the natural and exact sciences; culture, arts, communication; and sports. 

"JNF is proud to be a disabilities and special-needs program partner with Doron Almog," said Russell F. Robinson, JNF's chief executive officer. "His amazing accomplishment of building Aleh Negev-Nahalat Eran has made an incredible difference in countless lives, and we salute his efforts, dreams, vision, and enduring commitment. His brilliant and compassionate spirit defines the people of Israel."

Nine years without Eran: A dad's deeply moving eulogy for his disabled son

It's been nine years since Major General Doron Almog's beloved son Eran died at age 23. To mark that occasion, Almog delivered the following words at his son's gravesite in Israel last week. Almog and his wife Didi established Aleh Negev-Nahalat Eran in their son's name to provide high-level medical and rehabilitative care to severely disabled adults and children. JNF is an Aleh Negev partner. 

Doron Almog and his son, Eran, who passed away in 2007. 

When you were born, we called you Eran -- for my brother Eran, who never came back from the war, who lay bleeding for a week near his burning tank before his lifeless body was rescued and brought home.

When you were just 8 months old, our dream -- the dream of parents everywhere -- was shattered. The psychologist at Assaf HaRofeh Hospital diagnosed you as suffering with autism combined with intellectual disability.  Apparently you would remain as you were that day, a baby several months of age, for as long as you lived, and you would most probably never learn to speak.

She was right. During all your 23 years, you never spoke one word. You never called me abba. And yet, despite this, you were to become the greatest teacher of my life. Your silent scream pierced through my soul, penetrating every fiber of my being with an endless discourse about the place of children and people just like you in an achievement-oriented society, one that measures a person’s worth by the yardstick of ability and skill.

Shai and Eran: Autistic boy and IDF lieutenant colonel shared special bond

Photo: Alon Alshech

From left to right: Yossi Kahana, Lt. Col Shai Moskovitch, General Doron Almog, Rev. Michael J. Graham, Stanley Chesley, Nina Paul, Ed Paul.

By Doron Almog

Eleven years ago, Israeli Air Force Commander Eliezer Shkedi invited me to speak at an officers’ induction ceremony at Tel Nof Air Force Base. While we were all mingling, engaged in small talk around the pool, a young major suddenly approached me. 

"I’m Shai, your son Eran's friend," he told me. 

"But Eran has no friends," I replied. "He can’t have friends because he's autistic, and he's also severely cognitively disabled." 

"You have no idea how smart he is," Shai continued. 

"Really?! And who are you, might I ask?"

A legend and his son's legacy

By Abby Leviss, JNF director of grants and foundations 

Doron and Didi Almog are amazing people whom I've known for nearly seven years now. Their son Eran, who was born with severe developmental disabilities, died suddenly seven years ago at the age of 23. It's hard for me to imagine that they were so early in their grief when I met them. They were and are amazing people.

General Almog was the first person on the ground in Entebbe in 1976 -- part of a clandestine mission to rescue 108 hostages whose plane had been hijacked and who were being help captive in Uganda. He was the commander of that mission and is a celebrated hero in Israel. He felt led by his deeply rooted commitment to never leaving a wounded soldier in the field. Several years earlier, during the Yom Kippur war, Doron's brother was left bleeding on the battlefield for days. He was returned to his family already dead. The hostages were to him the wounded soldiers. He would not leave then behind.

Abby Leviss shares a moment with Doron Almog. 

When Eran was born, he felt the same. He and his wife knew that they would never leave him behind. Their commitment was to give him a beautiful life, to make sure that he could experience everything to the fullest in a way that matched his needs and abilities. He and his wife recognized right away that there was a stigma. That the other parents would proudly brag about their children. "Of course they thought their children were great!" Doron said, because they belonged to their parents! Their children were considered an extension of their parent's own greatness. There is ego in the pride.

But what do the parents of a severely developmentally disabled child have to brag about? Eran could not feed himself, or go to the bathroom by himself, or even say one word -- "not even aba (father)". But the love a parent feels for their child is unconditional. Those things should not matter. "These children are the most innocent in society -- full of love. They cannot be left behind." Doron set about building a village that would accommodate special-needs young people and adults -- not a sterile institution but a community with green grass, shaded areas to relax, a multitude of special therapies (pet therapy, equine therapy, art therapy, music therapy, hydrotherapy). The place is called Aleh Negev -- a place that they believed Eran would live out the many years of his life.  But that dream would never be realized.  Eran died suddenly and unexpectedly as a young man. People talk about Doron's son who was developmentally disabled a lot at JNF, but they nearly never speak about the fact that he's been left grieving -- a bereaved parent to a special-needs child.

Reflections on a JNF staff mission to Israel

This past week, 45 members of the Jewish National Fund's USA staff participated in a staff mission to Israel to see projects, participate in team building, and become even more energized by the important work that we do. This post was submitted by Jodi Perlmuth Popofsky, senior campaign executive, Greater New York.  

Getting to Israel

Before my flight began, a passenger became ill and had to get off the plane. This was followed by a search for his baggage, and so our on time departure was not in the cards. My hopes of getting to Tel Aviv in time to meet the LA contingent (and their van to Be'er Sheva) were dashed.  Instead, after a decent amount of sleep on the plane, I got myself from Ben Gurion airport to the train and to my hotel in Be'er Sheva just about 10 minutes after the other 40 or so people in my group.  

Start to the day

I met four of my colleagues at 6 a.m. the next morning and we ran for approximately 4 miles -- it was a lot of fun and was followed by a great breakfast, then onto the busses to begin a big day of touring.  

Giv'ot Bar

First stop was the community called Giv'ot Bar where we saw a real community in the desert, built with JNF support. What was originally barren desert has been transformed -- first with an idea, then with trailers, and now with real houses. Demand for these houses is so high that a third phase of development is in the works.

Aleh Negev

Upon arrival at Aleh Negev, a state-of-the-art rehabilitative community in the middle of the desert, we were met by its founder, Major General Doron Almog. In my estimation, Doron may be the person with the biggest heart I have ever met.