50 Years After Entebbe, the Youngest Hostage Marks the Anniversary with a Thanksgiving Service

Fifty years after the Entebbe raid, Shai Gross, known as “the Entebbe boy,” marked the anniversary with a special thanksgiving kiddush. Gross was 6 when he was kidnapped with his parents on an Air France plane carrying 105 Israeli passengers and crew, and he was the youngest hostage held in the 1976 hijacking that led to Israel’s rescue operation in Uganda on Saturday night, later renamed Operation Yonatan.

In recent weeks, Gross returned to Entebbe to close a personal circle and recreate the experience. As an adult, he went back to the old Entebbe airport, where he had celebrated his sixth birthday during the hostage crisis. This week he paused to give thanks and to recall, as the article puts it, the bravery, unity and determination that made Operation Entebbe one of the defining moments in Israel’s history.

The article also highlights another recipient of public recognition, Hallel Miriam Peretz, granddaughter of Miriam Peretz and daughter of the late Eliraz, who received the President’s Award this week for her work in national service. She was 5 when her father fell in battle, and she now serves in a special national service placement in a special education kindergarten while accompanying bereaved families for the “New Connection” association.

In a separate story, high school graduate Ilay from Mekif T in Rishon Lezion chose an unusual year-end gift for his homeroom teacher, Dana Kinan. Instead of buying a standard present, he donated money to the oncology department at Sheba Medical Center and dedicated the donation to her. Kinan said she was deeply moved and told Serugim that the gesture was “the most beautiful gift a student can receive.”