Name: Yonatan Netanyahu (also known as Yoni Netanyahu)
Date of Birth: March 13, 1946.
Place of Birth: New York City, NY, USA.
Death: July 4, 1976 (aged 30) in Entebbe, Uganda.
Education: Harvard University, Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Profession: Lieutenant Colonel. Israeli Army)
Yonatan Netanyahu might be best known as the older brother of the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but the guy is really much more than just that. He is one of the greatest heroes of the Israeli army.
He was born in New York , first child of his mother Zila Netanyahu, and father Benzion Netanyahu. He later had the famous brother, Benjamin Netanyahu and Iddo Netanyahu.
Yoni Netanyahu (Yonatan nickname), was pretty good at everything he tried. He was an excellent student, and later one of the greatest men of the Israel Defense Forces.
Yonatan Netanyahu as a Military Army:
In 1964, Yonatan Netanyahu joined the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces), he was only 21, around a year later, he was already the leader of a paratroopers group! He participated in almost every single battle Israel took a part in. At least the battles he lived to witness.
Yoni Netanyahu all of a sudden became one of Israel’s greatest army men. He commanded a unit of Israel Special Forces in Enetebbe (Uganda), where terrorists hijacked a plane and took Israeli travelers as hostages, his unit was able to free all hostages (three were killed in action), kill all terrorists and save the day. Unfortunately Yonatan Netanyahu was (the only Israeli soldier) killed in that operation.
Yonatan Netanyahu as a Writer:
I am not the one with the best taste for art, but it is very obvious that if he was given a chance to grow up, I am sure he would have been a great writer. Afterall, the guy was exceptionally excellent at everything he tried to do (green here!)
Yonatan wrote some famous letters to his parents, girlfriend and brother. Here are some excerpts from his letters:
“Man does not live forever, he should put the days of his life to the best possible use. … I don’t want to reach a certain age, look around me, and suddenly discover that I’ve created nothing.”
Pictures of and related to Yonatan Netanyahu:
More sites and pages about Yonatan Netanyahu:
Yoni.org.il: A Hebrew and English website about Yonatan Netanyahu, with pictures and information about him.
Soldier Yoni Blog: A blog dedicated to to the life of our great Yoni Netanyahu.