ByALAN ROSENBAUM

JULY 3, 2026 19:31

Half a century ago, on July 4, 1976, America marked its bicentennial with nationwide festivities.

Gerald Ford held the presidency after succeeding Richard Nixon, who stepped down amid the Watergate affair in 1974. Bicentennial highlights included nightly sixty-second TV spots known as the Bicentennial Minute, airing from 1974 through 1976, plus Operation Sail featuring tall ships and naval vessels parading through New York Harbor. The American Freedom Train crossed the lower forty-eight states, showcasing historic items including George Washington's annotated Constitution.

These events were crafted over years to highlight revolutionary ideals. Yet the truest demonstration of American principles, including liberty's defense, steadfast bravery, and respect for life, emerged unexpectedly that holiday weekend through Israel's bold liberation of 102 Jewish and Israeli captives held by Palestinian and German militants at Entebbe Airport in Uganda after their Air France jet was seized.

Elation swept Israel and Jewish communities worldwide. Within days of the hostages' return to Ben-Gurion Airport, Israeli clothing outlets sold popular T-shirts showing Ugandan leader Idi Amin with a Hebrew caption reading Kol Hakovod Le'Zahal, or Well done, IDF.

Over five decades, many volumes have examined the IDF mission initially titled Operation Thunderbolt and later renamed Operation Yonatan to honor Yonatan Netanyahu, the prime minister's elder brother and the raid's commander who fell during the assault. These works detail choices, timelines, and outcomes. Four major films and television productions, along with countless online videos and documentaries, have also covered the episode.

With Entebbe's memory slowly receding for Israelis and Jews globally, what significance remains? How did it influence ties between Israel and Diaspora communities, and how should its story be viewed alongside the October 7, 2023 attacks? What insights might current leaders draw from those earlier choices?

Marking the fiftieth anniversary, the Magazine interviewed five notable Jewish voices with strong American connections: historians Michael Oren and Gil Troy, former basketball star Tal Brody, writer and columnist Barbara Sofer, and Rabbi David Wolpe, a leading American spiritual figure. All but Wolpe reside in Israel.

The mission that resonated worldwide

Michael Oren, the American-born Israeli diplomat, historian, and former politician, recalls hearing the news while chipping ice behind a liquor store in Los Angeles. He was assisting Orson Welles by day and working nights to cover expenses. On Saturday evening, July 3, a coworker mentioned an extraordinary Israeli achievement.

Preparing to immigrate, Oren felt immense pride. He longed to reach Israel and enlist, aspiring to emulate Yoni Netanyahu as a lone soldier. He joined the IDF in 1979 and rose to officer rank in the Paratroopers Brigade.

Now seventy-one, Oren served as Israel's ambassador to the United States from 2009 to 2013 and as an MK with the Kulanu Party from 2015 to 2019. He views Entebbe as Israel fulfilling its role as the Jewish people's protector.

The state honored its declared purpose by dispatching forces to rescue Jews, accepting potential costs. That remains Entebbe's core message, he notes.

If recounting the tale to a young Jew abroad, Oren would distill it into two Hebrew words: Chazak v'ematz, urging strength and courage while refusing to yield to terror.

He notes that hostage rescues by elite units often falter, citing the failed 1980 American effort in Tehran that cost eight lives. Success is never guaranteed.

The Entebbe triumph fostered hopes that Gaza hostages after October 7 could be freed swiftly, yet proximity proved no advantage and the outcome differed.

Oren highlights an overlooked element: antisemitism's role. The hijackers, including two Germans, divided captives by background, releasing non-Jews while retaining Israelis and Jews, evoking Holocaust selections from three decades prior.

Though Entebbe fades for younger Israelis amid frequent crises, including Iranian missile strikes, its example of unpredictability offers policy lessons. Israel often follows predictable patterns, yet Entebbe succeeded through bold improvisation.

Oren calls it a moral victory that captured Israel's fundamental purpose, a lasting model of courage, ingenuity, and daring.

A turning point for Jews abroad

Gil Troy, an acclaimed historian of American presidents and Zionist advocate living in Jerusalem, was fifteen in July 1976 and deeply engaged with bicentennial events. He left those celebrations for Camp Tel Yehudah, a Young Judaea Zionist camp in New York.

Troy remembers the hijacking began June 27 from Athens, with a stop in Libya before reaching Entebbe early on June 28. Non-Jewish passengers were freed in stages, forty-seven on June 30 and 101 more on July 1.

This was no brief incident but a prolonged ordeal. At camp, Troy and friends followed radio updates nightly, experiencing ongoing tension until Shabbat ended and news of freedom arrived, sparking celebration that overshadowed missed bicentennial events.

The moment forged a deep connection to Israel despite the distance, illustrating the strength of Jewish history and Zionism.

Troy believes Entebbe transformed Jewish self-perception, instilling greater confidence and pride that continues among younger American Jews today.

The rescue arrived after Munich in 1972, the Yom Kippur War, and early Palestinian attacks that spread fear and required synagogue security measures. It demonstrated that a Jewish state could safeguard its people everywhere.

While affirming Jewish self-reliance, Entebbe also reveals ongoing challenges, including persistent antisemitism that Herzl did not fully anticipate.