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cabinet thought like him. Even Menachem Begin, the bold activist, agreed with him. Motta Gur, the IDF chief of staff, ridiculed my little group, compared our plans to James Bond stories and called us the ‘Fantasy Council.’ I knew that even if I had a good plan, I couldn’t get it approved by the cabinet over the objection of the chief of staff and the reluctance of the prime minister. I decided to try obtaining the support of some cabinet ministers. I went to Hayim Tzadok, the minister of justice, a strong supporter of Prime Minister Rabin, but also a very wise and objective man. In utmost secrecy I revealed the plan to him. ‘An excellent plan,’ he said, ‘I’ll support it at the cabinet.’
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  “I got another encouragement from my friend Moshe Dayan, the former defense minister. I found Moshe in the Tel Aviv Capricio restaurant, in the company of Australian guests. I admired Dayan and valued his opinion. We ordered two glasses of wine and moved to a nearby table. I told Dayan about the plan. I remember how his eye sparkled. ‘That’s a great plan,’ he said, ‘and I support it a hundred percent.’
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  “But Motta Gur kept refusing to endorse the project. Only at the very last moment, on Friday morning, I brought him a new and detailed intelligence report about Entebbe, the hostages and the terrorists guarding them. This report made Motta change his mind. He became a staunch supporter of the mission.
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  “Now, at last, we could go to Rabin and ask for his support.”
    Â Â Â  TAMIR PARDO, SAYERET MATKAL’S COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER, LATER HEAD OF THE MOSSAD
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  “There were many heroes in this mission. Everybody who took part in this operation—in every category—deserves a place in the Entebbe pantheon. The mission was well prepared but the guy who planned the air force part deserves special appreciation. To fly four Hercules aircraft to the heart of Africa; to land those without being detected; to discharge the forces without being fired at, even one shot; and to get them back after the rescue of the hostages—this is an act deserving our praise. Ido Ambar, who was a colonel in the IAF and head of the planning team, deserves special honors. True, military orders are always signed by generals and senior commanders, while the men who worked day and night, and brought to the task so much talent and creativity, remain sometimes in the shadows.
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  “We, the takeover force, had trained well, and each and every one of us knew exactly what his place was and what his role in the operation was. During the long flight all I did was try to sleep and to not throw up because of the violent shaking and jumping of the planes that flew at different altitudes and chose different paths.
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  “I was a twenty-three-year-old captain. In the assault of the Old Terminal I was in the first Land Rover, the jeep that moved ahead of the Mercedes. When our attack started I was beside Yoni. He was about a yard away from me when he was killed. In front of us stood a Ugandan soldier and he kept firing at us. I killed him. I think he was the one who shot Yoni, but there is another version—that Yoni was killed by a soldier firing from the old control tower or by a terrorist.
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  “I had a lot of esteem for Yoni as a commander. I saw him in action, and he had a very important part in the success of the Entebbe mission. When he fell, I bent over him and saw that he was seriously wounded. I alerted the doctor at once andradioed Muki Betzer, his deputy, to assume command. Later I