Navigate to Arts & Letters section

No. 72: Operation Thunderbolt

Heaven sent

by
Liel Leibovitz
December 06, 2011
(Imdb.com)
(Imdb.com)

1977, dir. Menahem Golan. The poster for this action film about the Israeli commando raid to release Jewish passengers held hostage in Entebbe, Uganda, shows a uniform-clad arm reaching out from a cloud and cupping cheering civilians in the palm of its hand. The film itself isn’t much subtler, with bravado and heaps of turgid speeches about Jewish pride. Somehow, this film was nominated for an Academy Award. And somehow, it became a perennial favorite at American Jewish summer camps.

Liel Leibovitz is editor-at-large for Tablet Magazine and a host of its weekly culture podcast Unorthodox and daily Talmud podcast Take One. He is the editor of Zionism: The Tablet Guide.