Shimon Peres was 93 when he died today after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage two weeks ago. We thought of him as young at heart. But once upon a time, he was actually young.
In 1977, a much younger Shimon Peres had a cameo appearance in an Israeli film about Operation Entebbe. The movie’s English title is Operation Thunderbolt, but to Israelis, the movie (and the operation) will always be known as Mivtza Yonatan, after the brother of Binyamin Netanyahu. (Yoni Netanyahu was killed during the daring rescue attempt to free the Israeli hostages held captive in Entebbe.)
Shimon Peres would have been 54 at the time this movie was made. The movie isn’t a great one, but one that Israelis love. It’s part of our popular culture, and carved into our hearts. It expresses our national pride, our Israeli chutzpah in the face of extreme danger, because “ein breira,” there was “no choice.”
We don’t leave our people twisting in the wind, at the mercy of ANYONE.
So we all love that corny old movie. And I always get a kick out of seeing a young Shimon Peres. His nemesis, Rabin, is also there, as are some other more obscure politicians. See how many you can spot. I have the starting time set shortly before Shimon Peres makes his entrance, but really, watch the whole thing.
You see Shimon briefly at 1:39:33 in the movie, as well.
He was always debonair, even in jeans and a casual jacket.
Rest in peace, Shimon Peres,
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