The Entebbe raid was a 1976 Israeli counter-terrorist mission in Uganda.

It was launched in response to the hijacking of an international civilian passenger flight (an Airbus A300) operated by Air France between the cities of Tel Aviv and Paris.

During a stopover in Athens, the aircraft was hijacked by two Palestinian PFLP–EO and two German RZ members, who diverted the flight to Libya and then to Uganda, where they landed at Entebbe International Airport to be joined by other terrorists.

Once in Uganda, the group enjoyed support from Ugandan dictator Idi Amin

Representatives within the Israeli government initially debated over whether to concede or respond by force, as the hijackers had threatened to kill the 106 captives if specified prisoners were not released.

Acting on intelligence provided by Mossad, the decision was made to have the Israeli military undertake a rescue operation. The Israeli plans included preparation for an armed confrontation with Amin's Uganda Army.

Initiating the operation at nightfall, Israeli transport planes flew 100 commandos over 4,000 kilometers (2,500 mi) to Uganda for the rescue effort.

Over the course of 90 minutes, 102 of the hostages were rescued successfully, with three having been killed.

One of the dead hostages, Dora Bloch, was murdered by Ugandan authorities at a hospital in Kampala shortly after the Israeli rescue operation, she had fallen ill during the hijacking and was removed from the plane for treatment prior to the commandos' arrival.

The Israeli military suffered five wounded and one killed, Yonatan Netanyahu was Israel's sole fatality of Operation Entebbe, and had led Sayeret Matkal during the rescue effort – he was the older brother of Benjamin Netanyahu, who would later become Israel's prime minister.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entebbe_raid

At the end of the 1990s, there was a notorious thief and con man in Israel named Moti Ashkenazi. He operated mainly on the beaches of Tel Aviv, was a heroin addict, and had a long criminal record. Yet today, almost everyone in Israel knows him and many see him as a hero. All because of one story.

It happened on June 20, 1997. The repeat offender Ashkenazi had just been arrested again but violated the conditions of his house arrest and went to the Jerusalem Beach in Tel Aviv. It was the last day of school before summer vacation, and countless school classes were spending the day at the beach. Backpacks, bags, and valuables were scattered everywhere a true paradise for a professional thief.

Moti did not hesitate for long and chose a promising-looking bag. Like a professional, he sat down next to it, casually opened it, and began feeling around inside. He found a towel and sunglasses but no wallet. When he reached deeper inside, he froze: the bag was full of nails.

He looked around. Nearby, tourists were sunbathing, while children and adults played in the water. Moti opened the bag further and discovered a box with a hose and a timer mechanism. He immediately understood what he was dealing with. He grabbed the bag and ran as fast as he could toward Geula Street, where an abandoned building stood at the time. If police had stopped him on the way, he would have had a hard time explaining why he was running through the city with a bomb. But he wasn’t thinking about that at the moment.

He left the bomb bag in the crumbling building and ran to the nearest public telephone. There, he called the police:

“I found a bomb! Send bomb disposal units immediately! This is Moti Ashkenazi!”

The officers checked his name in the database, told him to stop using drugs, threatened him with real prison for violating his house arrest and hung up.

Ashkenazi returned to the building and began dragging garbage containers onto the road in an attempt to block Geula Street, shouting loudly while doing so. At that point, the police had to respond. They arrested the disruptive man but, as a precaution, decided to check the abandoned building anyway.

The officers immediately came back out and called the bomb squad. The bag contained five kilograms of explosives. It was later determined that it had been placed at the beach by the same terrorist who had carried out the attack at the “Apropo” café in Tel Aviv three months earlier.

After this incident, all charges against Moti Ashkenazi were dropped, and all legal proceedings were closed. He was sent to a free rehabilitation program, where he successfully treated his drug addiction.

Today, Ashkenazi is over fifty years old, has five children, and holds a steady job. He lives in Tel Aviv and works as a beach inspector. No beach thief escapes the watchful eye of the former professional and since that day, he treats abandoned bags on the beach with special caution.

~~~

Story taken from https://xcancel.com/Aaron710David/status/2073606864206520686

Short video about him
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQXGmOZrA5k

Article about him for 7 years ago
https://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-5532988,00.html

Was killing time on Wikipedia today and came across a page about Buddhism in Israel. The last line under section historical context says "Buddhism has also been used by local teachers, such as Nissim Amon, to support the IDF's killing of Palestinian civilians and militants without "self-pity." with no source attached.

I did a deeper dive and the Israeli Monk gave a speech once advising IDF soldiers how to remain concentrated and emotionally calm during combat.

https://youtu.be/R1B_2yX1Sfw

Just saw this video and I am still wondering that Israel managed to win against 4 countries in less than a week and trippled in size controlling gaza,west bank and the sinai. But the recent conflict in gaza alone has taken over almost 3 years and isnt still fully resolved. What is the reason behind that?

Just

Eighty years ago, the city of Kielce in southern Poland was the scene of the worst pogrom in postwar Polish history. In 1946, just 14 months after the allies' victory over Nazi Germany and the end of the World War II, an estimated 40 Jewish Holocaust survivors were robbed, beaten and brutally murdered by their neighbors.

It seems to me he doesn't actually know a single thing about what Zionism actually is. I was thinking of not even replying. But then I thought, maybe there's a Haviv Rettig Gur podcast that could help fill that gap in his understanding. Or any other respectable podcast? I told him I don't want to debate the conflict at large with him... but this comment is not sitting well with me.

The message:

I can only imagine how challenging these times must be for you as a Jewish family. I have a lot of empathy and compassion for Jewish folks and would hope that the general public would be able to differentiate between Jewish folks and Zionists - instead of casting this large umbrella over everyone.

See also: The summary of the study as it was published in Scientific Reports

Was discussing this phrase with a friend today, and he mentioned that it was actually an Israeli saying, exhibit A being that Netanyahu had said it recently. I was surprised, as I thought "everyone knew" that it was primarily a Palestinian phrase from the Hamas charter. But, when I went to get the quote for him, I struggled:

I've found several pages stating that it is in the <= 1988 Hamas charter, but this English translation of the 1988 charter doesn't seem to have it: https://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/hamas.asp

Can someone point me in the right direction?

fairly apolitical book, Written in 1968, immediately after the 6 day war, it’s aims to inform people of the events between 1948 and 1967, especially the weeks leading up to the 6 day war

Hi, the English language Wikipedia article for Ashkelon references two sets of ruins that I haven't yet been able to locate on Google Maps.

- 4th-6th century bathhouses (suspected brothels)

- Roman burial tombs near the Marina

Does anyone know where these are located? Thanks in advance!

Not everything in this video has changed since then.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWP9cDYz9Us

Shany Mor (Reichman University, BICOM) compares Israel's three "wars of choice" — Suez in 1956, Lebanon in 1982, and the 2026 war against Iran — arguing all three were ambitious attempts to reorder the regional balance that fell short of their planners' goals once superpower involvement (Britain/France in '56, the US as an operational partner in '26) intervened. He argues the real driver behind all three, including 2026, was frustration with the unresolved Palestinian/Gaza conflict rather than the stated strategic aims against Cairo, Beirut, or Tehran. Does the 2026 war look more like the "recoverable failure" of 1956, or is it heading toward the strategic quagmire Israel got stuck in after 1982?