The Entebbe Rescue Trivia Quiz

Answer: The bicentennial of the United States

The Air France airliner was hijacked on June 29, 1976, and the hostages rescued five days later, on July 4, 1976. This date, of course, corresponded to the United States bicentennial celebrations. Many journalists, writing at the time, drew a parallel between the Fourth of July, which celebrates American freedom, and the freeing of the hijacked passengers from Entebbe.

Answer: The flight was from Tel Aviv to Paris, with a stopover in Athens

The Airbus A300 took off from the Tel Aviv airport on June 27, 1976, for Paris with a stop-over in Athens. It was in Athens that four hijackers entered the airplane and forced the pilot to divert the flight to Libya.

Answer: The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Baader-Meinhof Gang

Four terrorists, two of them members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and two Germans belonging to the Baader-Meinhoff gang, boarded the plane in Athens. The security at the airport in Athens was so lax that one of the terrorists wore a machine gun under his jacket.

The terrorists forced the plane to flight to Libya, where it refueled, and then on to Entebbe in Uganda. Two additional terrorists joined them in Uganda. Idi Amin, who had formerly enjoyed positive relations with Israel, and even took some military training there, gave his full support to the terrorists. Ugandan soldiers were instructed to provide security for the hijackers.

The hijackers demanded the release of 53 terrorists held in jail in several countries, including Israel.

Answer: The hijackers freed them, but they insisted on staying with the hijacked passengers

After arriving at Entebbe airport in Uganda, the terrorists separated the Jewish passengers (80 Israelis and 20 French Jews) from the non-Jewish passengers, who were allowed to board a plane that would return them to France. The hijackers released the crew, but Captain Michel Bocas insisted that he was responsible for his passengers and would remain with them.

The remainder of the crew followed his noble example. In addition, a Catholic nun attempted to remain with the hijacked passengers, but the hijackers forced her onto the plane leaving for France. Captain Bocas was later reprimanded for actions by Air France! In Israel, however, he is considered a hero, and he traveled to Israel on the 25th anniversary of the Entebbe rescue and was warmly received by his former passengers, as well as the general public.

Answer: An Israeli construction company had built the airport

During the 1960s, Israel provided considerable aid to developing nations in Africa. Most of this was agricultural, but Israeli construction companies were also active in many African nations, including Uganda. The fact that an Israeli construction company had built Entebbe airport and still had the blueprints, allowed the IDF to plan the rescue mission in minute detail.

In addition, Mosad agents interviewed the released passengers who arrived in France. One of these, in particular, had a remarkable memory, and was able to provide the Israelis with information about the hijackers, their weapons, the terminal, etc.

Answer: The brother of Benjamin (Bibi) Netanyahu

Lt. Col. Yonatan (Yoni) Netanyahu was an officer with the elite Sayeret Matkal unit, and was chosen to lead the forces that freed the passengers. He was shot by a Ugandan soldier during the operation, and was the only Israeli military fatality. A second Israeli soldier was seriously wounded during the raid, and has been confined to a wheelchair ever since.

In addition to Netanyahu, three of the hostages were killed during the gun battle, as were all six terrorists and 45 Ugandan soldiers. Following Netanyahu's death, the name of the operation was changed from "Operation Thunderball" to "Operation Yonaton". Bibi Netanyahu, of course, has served in many public capacities in Israel, including that of prime minister.

Answer: A black Mercedes limousine, identical to that of Idi Amin

Not only was the planning of the Entebbe Operation meticulous, it was also creative. The IDF borrowed a Mercedes limousine from a wealthy Israeli and had it painted black, so that it was an identical model of the car Idi Amin used. In addition, several Land Rovers were included.

The speeding Mercedes, accompanied by the jeeps, was intended to give the Ugandan soldiers the impression that Idi Amin was arriving at the airport with his security guards, rather than an elite group of IDF soldiers.

Answer: Ninety minutes

In the days leading up to the rescue, the military teams involved practiced the operation in a specially constructed model of the Entebbe terminal. The aircraft carrying the commando teams flew at a low altitude to avoid being picked up on radar. Once the aircraft had landed, ramps were lowered and the vehicles used in the rescue exited the planes. Entering the terminal, they ordered (in Hebrew and English) the hostages to keep low, and after just three minutes, only three of the terrorists were left alive.

After eliminating the remaining terrorists, the commandos shepherded the dazed hostages onto planes and took off back to Israel. Ninety minutes passed between the time the Israeli planes landed in Entebbe and took off again for Israel. (Information for this question comes from spec.warnet.net)

Answer: Idi Amin ordered his soldiers to murder her after the rescue

Dora Boch, a 74 year-old Jewish woman who held a British passport, was one of the hostages held in Entebbe. After choking on some food, the terrorists allowed her to be taken to a local hospital. Apparently Mrs. Bloch received acceptable medical care before the Israeli commando raid.

The day of the raid a British diplomat came to visit her in hospital. He returned an hour later, and Mrs. Bloch was missing. In 1979, after Idi Amin was deposed, Mrs. Bloch's family was able to locate her remains in a swamp outside the city.

She had been dragged out of the hospital and shot.

Answer: Yaphet Kotto

"Raid on Entebbe" was a made-for-television movie released just a year after the actual events. Directed by Irvin Koster, the film won a Golden Globe Award for the best television drama that year. In addition to "Raid On Entebbe", two other films, (one in English and one in Hebrew), have been made about the Entebbe raid. William Stevenson published a book called "Ninety Minutes in Entebbe", and the video game "Global Operations" is also based on the rescue operation.

Information for this quiz came from a variety of sources, including Wikipedia, The Jewish Virtual Library, and The Jerusalem Post newspaper.