Yonatan "Yoni" Netanyahu (March 13, 1946 - July 4, 1976) is an Israeli war hero.

He was a member of IDF's elite Sayeret Matkal unit, along with his two brothers. He was awarded with the Medal of Distinguished Service (Hebrew: עיטור המופת) for his conduct in Yom Kippur War.

He was killed in action during Operation Entebbe at Entebbe airport, where the Israeli military rescued hostages after an aircraft hijacking. He was the leader of the assault, and the only Israeli military casualty of the raid.

Military Career

• On 1964 Yoni joined the Israeli Defence Forces.
• Excelled in his Officer Training Course.
• Commanded paratroopers company.
• Six Day War - June 1967:
  • June 5 - fought the battle of Um Katef in Sinai.
  • He and his battalion reinforced the Golan Heights.
  • Wounded in his hand during battle, while helping a wounded fellow soldier.
• Went to study in Harvard University but returned a year later because of the Attrition War.
• Went to study in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem but returned to active military service after half a year.
• Joined Sayeret Matkal.
• In the summer of 1972 he was appointed as a lieutenant to the unit's commander.
• 1972: commanded a raid in which senior Syrian officers were captured and exchanged in return for captive Israeli pilots.
• 1973: participated in Operation Spring of Youth ( מבצע אביב נעורים ) in which the terrorists and leadership of Black September (a PLO terrorist group which committed the 1972 Munich Massacre) were terminated by Sayeret Matkal, Shayetet-13 and the Mossad.
• Yom Kippur War - October 1973:
  • On the Golan Heights he commanded a Sayeret Matkal force which killed more than 40 Syrian Commando officers in a battle which thwarted a Syrian commando raid in the Golan's heartland.
  • Rescued Lieutenant Colonel Yossi Ben-Hanan from Tel-Shames , Ben-Hanan was lying wounded behind Syrian lines.
  • Awarded Medal of Distinguished Service עיטור המופת (the Israeli equivalent to the American Medal of Honor).
• Volunteered to serve as armor commander after the war due to heavy casulties in the Israeli Armored Corps.
• Excelled in Tank Officers course.
• Commanded Barak Armored Brigade and turned it into the leading unit in the Golan Heights.
• June, 1975: left the Armored Corps and returned to Sayeret Matkal.
• Became the commander of Sayeret Matkal.
• July 3, 1976: Killed during Operation Entebbe. The Operation is considered a huge success with almost all of the hostages rescued in perfect condition. The operation is officially called "Operation Yonatan" in honor of Netanyahu, who planned and lead it.

Family

He has two brothers. Binyamin (nicknamed "Bibi") would later become Prime Minister of Israel from 1996 to 1999. Iddo, youngest out of the three, is a radiologist and writer. Both served in Sayeret Matkal.

Letters From Yoni

I would rather opt for living here in continual battle than for becoming part of the wandering Jewish people. Any compromise will simply hasten the end, (A letter to his brother Benjamin Netanyahu on his decision to stay in Israel)

As you no doubt know from reading the papers, the situation in Israel is, in a word - catastrophic! Not a day passes, literally, without a border incident, sabotage, mine explosion, murder, ambushes, shootings and setting fire to fields. During all the years of my service and of my living here the situation has never been so tense. In the army, everyone is impatient - when are we finally going to strike back?!! We have complete confidence in our strength. We are capable of anything. (October 1966)

The real cause is the sense of helplessness in the face of a war that has no end. For the war has not ended, and it seems to me that it will go on and on… This is the 'quiet' before the next storm. I've no doubt that war will come. Nor do I doubt that we will win. But for how long? Until when?.. We're young, and we were not born for wars alone. (A year after the Six Days War)

In another week I'll be 23. On me, on us, the young men of Israel, rests the duty of keeping our country safe. This is a heavy responsibility, which matures us early... I do not regret what I have done and what I'm about to do. I'm convinced that what I am doing is right. I believe in myself, in my country and in my future. (1969, on his decision to return to enlist in the IDF)

Death - that's the only thing that disturbs me. It doesn't frighten me; it arouses my curiosity. It is a puzzle that I, like many others, have tried to solve without success. I do not fear it because I attribute little value to a life without a purpose. And if I should have to sacrifice my life to attain its goal, I'll do so willingly. (At age 17)

Source taken from Israel Insider

Further reading

• Netanyahu, Jonathan / Netanyahu, Benjamin / Netanyahu, Iddo (1998):
   Self-Portrait of a Hero: From the Letters of Jonathan Netanyahu, 1963-1976.
   Warner Books. ISBN 0446674613

External links

• 28 Years For the Fall of Yonatan Netanyahu (Hebrew)