Jonathan Netanyahu

Jonathan Netanyahu, known in Hebrew as Yonatan "Yoni" Netanyahu (Hebrew:יונתן נתניהו) (March 13, 1946 – July 4, 1976) was an Israeli war hero.

Military Career

• On 1964 Yoni joined the Israeli Defence Forces.
• Excelled in his Officer Training Course.
• Commanded paratroopers company.
• Six Day War – June 1967:
• June 5 — fought the battle of Um Katef in Sinai.
• He and his battalion reinforced the Golan Heights.
• Wounded in his hand during battle, while helping a wounded fellow soldier.
• Went to study in Harvard University but returned a year later because of the Attrition War.
• Went to study in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem but returned to active military service after half a year.
• Joined Sayeret Matkal.
• In the summer of 1972 he was appointed as a lieutenant to the unit's commander.
• 1972: commanded a raid in which senior Syrian officers were captured and exchanged in return for captive Israeli pilots.
• 1973: participated in Operation Spring of Youth ( מבצע אביב נעורים ) in which the terrorists and leadership of Black September (a PLO terrorist group which committed the 1972 Munich Massacre) were terminated by Sayeret Matkal, Shayetet-13 and the Mossad.
• Yom Kippur War — October 1973:
• On the Golan Heights he commanded a Sayeret Matkal force that killed more than 40 Syrian Commando officers in a battle which thwarted a Syrian commando raid in the Golan's heartland.
• Rescued Lieutenant Colonel Yossi Ben-Hanan from Tel-Shames, Ben-Hanan was lying wounded behind Syrian lines.
• Awarded Medal of Distinguished Service עיטור המופת (the Israeli equivalent to the American Medal of Honor).
• Volunteered to serve as armor commander after the war due to heavy casualties in the Israeli Armored Corps.
• Excelled in Tank Officers course.
• Commanded Barak Armored Brigade and turned it into the leading unit in the Golan Heights.
• June, 1975: left the Armored Corps and returned to Sayeret Matkal.
• Became the commander of Sayeret Matkal.
• July 3, 1976: Killed during Operation Entebbe. The Operation is considered a huge success with almost all of the hostages rescued unhurt. The operation is officially called Mivtsa Yonatan in honor of Netanyahu, who planned and led it.