By JONATHAN MICHANIE The annual memorial event Yonatan Netanyahu(photo credit: Courtesy)
A story which has always portrayed Israel’s commitment to its citizens and Jews throughout the world, and had a profound impact on my decision to enlist in the IDF, has been completely tarnished by writer Gregory Burke in his new film 7 Days in Entebbe.Throughout the film, the PLO terrorists are humanized and shown as moral figures who are simply pursuing the cause of independence from a “Zionist, tyrannical regime.” While barely addressing the decision-making processes of the Israeli government or the military planning of the operation, the producers of this film have successfully revised one of the most prominent military rescues of modern history.Orchestrated by Yonatan Netanyahu, the operation set out to send a message to the terrorist PLO and the international community that the Jewish nation will no longer be subjected to senseless violence, discrimination and hate. No matter where in the world they are, we will always be there to bring them home.However, 7 Days in Entebbe has chosen to revise the narrative of this remarkable moment in both Jewish and military history. The movie went so far as to suggest that the Palestinian “freedom fighters” were able to empathize with the experiences of the hostages and claimed to be a nonviolent branch of the Palestinian resistance movement.From distorted portrayals of IDF soldiers to altering facts to turn “Zionism” into a derogatory term, this horrific film represents the zenith of Israel demonization.The film not only defames Israel by humanizing the tactics of the 1976 PLO, but depicts both Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Rabin, two historical peace-makers in modern international relations, as power hungry figures unconcerned with the well-being of the Jewish hostages.From the exaggerated and erroneous accounts of IDF tanks rolling over Palestinian civilians to the inaccurate illustration of how the hostages at Entebbe were treated by the terrorists, the film is intended to convert one of the proudest moments in Israeli history into a promotion of Palestinian “resistance,” meaning terrorism.The film’s focus on the terrorists and not the valiance of both the Israeli soldiers and decision-makers was remarkably disappointing. This film is a disgrace, an affront to all Israelis and a transparent attempt to elevate the Palestinian cause high enough to pardon the hijacking of a commercial airliner.It fosters the illusion that the experience of the Jewish hostages was not much different than that of the hijackers. This attempt to equalize the hostages and their captors is a brazen whitewashing of one of the most horrific crimes committed by the PLO, a terrorist organization. This film reflects the international community’s inability to condemn Palestinian terrorism as a key obstacle to peace; the epitome of the challenges Israel advocates face. Historical revision can only lead to the prolongation of the conflict. Altering history is simple – what is difficult is embracing facts that contradict our own narratives.The author is a former IDF Paratrooper and holds a BA in political science and MA in diplomacy and international security from IDC Herzliya. He is an Israel advocate and Middle East analyst.
