A First Hand Account of the Entebbe Raid by Rami Sherman (1) (1).Pdf
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ST ANNES HEBREW CONGREGATION The Synagogue Orchard Road, St Annes-on-Sea, Lancs FY8 1PJ Telephone: 01253 721831 Rabbi Ephraim Guttentag 07909 257577 Email: [email protected] Date as Postmark Dear Member A First Hand Account of The Entebbe Raid by Rami Sherman St Annes Synagogue – Monday 8th May 7:30 p.m . On 4th July 1976, Israeli Commandos took part in a rescue, now known as Operation Entebbe, which became known as one of the most astonishing military missions ever seen, and is one of the proudest events in Israel’s history. Rami Sherman was a hero of that raid, and I am immensely proud that he will be visiting our synagogue in St Annes to give us his account of those remarkable events, over 40 years ago, which those of us of a certain age remember so well and which has been the subject of at least two films. This gives us a unique, and probably never to be repeated opportunity, to hear, at first hand, the amazing story of the rescue. His address will be in the Daniel Rose Hall of our synagogue at 7:30 p.m. on Monday 8th May. We will also use the evening to mark Israel’s Independence Day, Yom HaAtzmaut, which takes place in the previous week. Israeli style refreshments will be served and there will be an entry fee of £5. Entry must be pre-booked, by confirming your attendance with me by phone (07768 400144) or email ([email protected]). I urge you not to miss this opportunity. If you wish to remind yourself in advance of the details, there is a very good account at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OperationEntebbe. Kind Regards Robert Pinkus President Rami Sherman Rami Sherman was born on 4 April 1953. His parents were Holocaust survivors and came to Israel in 1945. Rami grew up on Kibbutz Lehavot Habashan, which is in the north of the country and was on the Syrian border until the Six Day War in 1967. He was educated in the Kibbutz system. In 1972, Rami enlisted to the army and was accepted into an elite unit, which today is allowed to be named – Sayeret Matkal (the Chief of Staff’s Special Forces). He successfully finished the combat soldier course and was sent to Officers School in order to return and receive command on a squad within the unit. In 1976, when an Air France place was hijacked and rerouted to Entebbe, Rami was the Operations Officer of the unit, under the command of Yoni Netanyahu z”l. In his capacity as Operations Officer of the unit, he was in involved throughout the week, preparing the unit for the Operation. Among other things, he coordinated between the unit and Dan Shomron, the Commander of the Operation, and the coordination required between the unit and the Israeli Air Force. Within the Operation, Rami was part of the 33 officers and soldiers who freed the hostages at the Entebbe terminal. He arrived with the first Hercules that landed in the airport, and was in the car that was driving behind the famous Mercedes. After Yoni Netanyahu was injured, he drove him to the Hercules, where a team of medical professionals were waiting, but unfortunately they could not save Yoni’s life. Later, Rami was the commander who led the rescued hostages to the Hercules. Upon returning to Israel, Rami continued to serve in the unit, and was a Special Operations Commander until 1980. After he was released from active duty, he helped establish the reserves unit. At age 50, he was released from doing reserve service. Rami is married, has two daughters and is grandfather to five grandchildren. In 1990, Rami finished his studies is physiotherapy at the University of Tel Aviv, and since that time he has worked as a physiotherapist in various positions, including, among other things, as a physiotherapist for the Israeli Olympic team. In 1993, Rami and his family moved to Kibbutz Ma’agan Michael, where they still live today. .