Eretz Israel is our unforgettable historic homeland...The Jews who will it shall achieve their State...And whatever we attempt there for our own benefit will redound mightily and beneficially to the good of all mankind. (Theodor Herzl, DerJudenstaat, 1896)

We offer peace and amity to all the neighbouring states and their peoples, and invite them to cooperate with the independent Jewish nation for the common good of all. The State of Israel is ready to contribute its full share to the peaceful progress and development of the Middle East.
(From Proclamation of the State of Israel, 5 Iyar 5708; 14 May 1948)

With a liberal democratic political system operating under the rule of law, a flourishing market economy producing technological innovation to the benefit of the wider world, and a population as educated and cultured as anywhere in Europe or North America, Israel is a normal Western country with a right to be treated as such in the community of nations.... For the global jihad, Israel may be the first objective. But it will not be the last. (Friends of Israel Initiative)

Saturday 26 March 2011

A Friend in Need ...

... is a friend indeed.

The late Elizabeth Taylor, a convert to Judaism, starred in one of the two Hollywood films that came out virtually simultaneously following the extraordinary rescue of most of the 105 Jewish passengers aboard an Air France jet bound for Israel that was hijacked by Palestinian terrorists and members of the notorious German Baader Meinhoff gang in the summer of 1976 and forced to fly to Entebbe Airport in Idi Amin's Uganda.  It was a shocking episode, in which the captors separated Jews from non-Jews (who were not detained), and in which three Jewish hostages died. Another, an elderly woman who had been taken to hospital earlier after choking on her food, was shot on Amin's orders in reprisal for the raid. The Israeli commandos who executed the daring raid, which captured the imagination of the world, were led by Binyamin Netanyahu's brother, Yonatan Netanyahu, who was killed in the execution of his duty.  Now, in the wake of Elizabeth Taylor's death this week, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) has released the following report (dated 16 June 1977) from its archives:
Movie actress Elizabeth Taylor offered herself as a hostage for the more than 100 Air France hijack victims held by terrorists at Entebbe Airport in Uganda during the tense days before the Israeli rescue raid last July 4. That disclosure was made here by Israel's Ambassador to the United States, Simcha Dinitz, at a Jewish National Fund gala honoring Ms. Taylor and her husband, John W. Warner, for their devotion to the land reclamation work of the JNF and other humanitarian causes.
Dinitz, who presented the couple with a certificate for a forest to be planted in their names within the American National Bicentennial Park near Jerusalem, said that Ms. Taylor's offer was "appreciated" and "the Jewish people will always remember it."
More than 1200 friends and supporters of the JNF attended the event which was addressed by Moshe Rivlin, the JNF's new world chairman who flew in from Jerusalem for the occasion. "We hate to destroy, we love to build, and it is the common desire of the people of Israel for peace no matter what party is in power," Rivlin said.
Ms. Taylor said "The trees we planted with our own hands in Israel symbolize a new hope that the whole world, Christian, Jew and Arab, will live as one in harmony and under one God."
For more on her pro-Israel activities see: http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/263133/elizabeth-taylor-stood-israel-benjamin-weinthal

6 comments:

  1. R.I.P Liz.

    One of my cousin was a commando on the raid at Entebbe Airport.

    Today's piece of useless information for you Daphne!!

    Gitte Shabbos

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  2. Thanks, Shirlee. Shabbat Shalom.

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  3. Thanks for that information Daphne. I loved her. Great actress. I also found this out:

    * She fought for the release of Soviet Jewry, including Refusenik Ida Nudel, from persecution in the Communist USSR;

    * She condemned the U.N. “Zionism is racism” resolution;

    * She visited Israel repeatedly and was close to Prime Minister Menachem Begin of Likud;

    * She sold Israel Bonds and was banned (along with her movies) in most Arab/Muslim countries because of it–she also purchased over $100,000 in Israel Bonds, in the late ’50s when Israel badly needed the capital;

    * She canceled a trip to Moscow because of the Soviet Union’s anti-Israel stand;

    * She gave a lot of money for one of her three favorite major charities, Israel War Victims Fund. When Taylor auctioned off her jewelry at Christie’s, the money went to her various favorite charities.

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  4. Thanks for all that additional information, Roger.
    I had no idea!
    Funny how people's perceptions differ - I wasn't particularly impressed with her as an actress, thinking that she over-acted, although she was of course very beautiful. A recent contestant on "American Idol" (I'm hooked! Don't say a word!), Rachel Zevita, looked very much like the young Liz Taylor.

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  5. Yes, I too had no idea and my opinion of her was as superficial as the next person's, thinking that the best role she played was that of Elizabeth Taylor! But after reading this:

    "All your (over)acting is forgiven, Liz, come back! :)

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  6. She didn't over act. It was the style of the day

    She was brilliant in "Cat on hot tin roof"

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