(Monday, July 7, 2025) — The International Human Rights Observatory and B’nai B’rith Portugal today honored the memory of Yonathan Netanyahu, the late commander of Israel’s elite Sayeret Matkal unit, who was killed while leading the daring hostage rescue at Entebbe Airport in Uganda at the beginning of July 1976. A commemorative certificate was presented to Netanyahu’s family, acknowledging his role in changing the world’s response to terrorism and defending the dignity of Jewish families everywhere.

Operation Thunderbolt, also known as Operation Yonatan, was the daring rescue of over 100 hostages who were taken to Uganda by pro-Palestinian terrorists. Widely hailed as one of the most astonishing military operations in history, it demonstrated for the first time in two millennia that terrorism and kidnapping targeting Jewish families would carry a steep price for perpetrators, no matter where they struck.

“Today we recognize Yonathan Netanyahu not only as a military hero, but as a moral landmark in the struggle for a more just and equitable world,” said Luís Andrade, the President of the International Human Rights Observatory. “For the first time in two thousand years, terrorists who sought to exploit and terrorize Jewish families learned that such crimes would not go unpunished.”

An image from the ceremony as Mileikowsky receives the award on behalf of the Netanyahu family in Porto Credit: Courtesy

The event brought together community leaders, diplomats, and civil society representatives. Among those delivering remarks was Israel’s Ambassador to Portugal, Oren Rozenblat, who offered both a national and deeply personal reflection on Netanyahu’s legacy:

“Operation Thunderbolt was not just a military operation. It was a message to Jews everywhere, and to the world,” said Ambassador Rozenblat. “The Jewish people are not alone. The State of Israel will always be there to protect Jews, in Jerusalem, in Tel Aviv, or 4,000 kilometers away in Entebbe. It was a message of defiance against terror, of strength rooted in moral obligation, and of Jewish resilience.”

The ceremony also featured reflections from Dan Mariaschin, CEO of B’nai B’rith International, who spoke from Washington.

“Our jubilation that day, 49 years ago, was tempered by the news that Yoni Netanyahu, the leader of the elite IDF commando unit on the ground, had been killed in the operation,” Mariaschin described. “For most people in 1976, the name Netanyahu was not well known. All we knew was that this young officer sacrificed his life to save his fellow Jews. ‘Acharai!’ (‘Follow Me!’) — the IDF’s enduring motto — so aptly characterized Yoni’s bravery. For us, though, Yoni’s bravery renewed our pride in ourselves, as Jews, and as important, reinforced our love and admiration for the State of Israel, the IDF, and for the Zionist idea.”

The ceremony was attended by people from Israel, the US, Belgium, Spain and Portugal, including Rabbi Menachem Margolin, Chairman and the founder of European Jewish Association, which represents communities from Portugal to Ukraine, showing the support of the Jewish Diaspora to Israel, especially during these challenging times.

“Yoni Netanyahu was a symbol and an example of a leader who sacrificed himself for the sake of the people of Israel,” Rabbi Margolin said. “The decision to honor his memory expresses the ideal that is required today from every Jew in Europe: to be courageous and willing to make all necessary sacrifices and efforts in order to ensure the continued existence and prosperity of the Jewish community in Europe.”

“The triumph of Israel against all odds is the ultimate testimony of the divine amongst us,” said David Hatchwell Altaras, President of the Hispanic Jewish Foundation. “Our fight against injustice in every generation is not accidental. It is intrinsic to our Mission in every generation to make the world a better and fairer place.”

Organizers emphasized that Yonathan Netanyahu’s sacrifice remains an enduring symbol of courage, patriotism, and human dignity. As the eldest son of renowned historian Benzion Netanyahu, his life and legacy continue to inspire generations.

The commemorative certificate presented to David Mileikowsky, a cousin of Yoni’s and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on behalf of the Netanyahu family honors his unique place in history and reaffirms a shared commitment to the ideals of justice, moral clarity, and human rights that he so powerfully embodied.

“Some of us are first and foremost poets and suddenly under unexpected circumstances, they have to become warriors, but those fighters who are poets never really die,” said Milikovsky, who preferred to focus on Netanyahu the poet rather than the fighter.

Yonatan “Yoni” Netanyahu was an Israeli military officer who commanded Sayeret Matkal during the Entebbe raid. The raid was launched in response to the 1976 hijacking of an international civilian passenger flight from Israel to France by Palestinian and German militants, who took control of the aircraft during a stopover in Greece and diverted it to Libya and then to Uganda, where they received support from Ugandan dictator Idi Amin. Though Israel’s counter-terrorist operation was a success, with 102 of the 106 hostages being rescued, Netanyahu was killed in action – the only Israeli soldier killed during the crisis.

 Yonatan was the brother of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. After his death, Operation Entebbe was renamed “Operation Yonatan” in his honor.

The operation is considered one of the most heroic and successful rescue missions performed by the IDF or, indeed, any army in the world. Called “an impossible mission” by representatives of England and the US, the rescue demonstrated Israel’s strength, resilience, and determination never to give up on their own.