Rami Sherman

rami welcome to the show thank you so much for being with us thank you it's honor for me and it's a double time honor a privilege to be on a show thank you tell us a little bit about your service i know that you know you served in the army at an incredibly high unit share us a little bit about you know a little bit about you and your service that we can get a better appreciation for for what what the service you've done for the jewish people through israel so first of all we have to remember i am quite an alta kaka probably everyone on the show understand this word sure for sure i was born in 53 in the kibbutz up north of israel it was only 500 meters from the syrian border till 67 quite often the syrians shouldn't into the kibbutz like now around gada on my childhood i grew up of course in a different time but more or less the same the shelter was the second house wow and so so i grow and suction understand such a atmosphere so i can understand very much what happened on the all the settlement the kibbutzim and mushavin around the gaza strip so that was the atmosphere where i grew up after 67 the palestinians started to rock it first of all you know it was up north only an hour ago the rocket for four rockets from lebanon to the north part of israel so i grew up in a very military tension at my childhood and then 72 i joined the most elite unit on the israeli army now we can say the world when i was soldiers 72 nobody should say the word on their lips we always cheat if someone asked where do you serve so i have to say different answer but not to say the word say when i sir how come i became an officer at sierra madquel and i served there for eight years wow and then of course in the reserve for oh not for better to say until the age of 50 as an officer and somehow life took me not always we can plan something sometime it's happened and at 76 i was on the front of fighting with the terrorists in antebe when we release 104 ostriches from the terminal over there in in antebe so i was an officer commander on those of the unit and for years i knew that i was there but then in 2016 we prepare for celebrating 40 years of anniversary for the success of the releasing the ostriches and somehow as again you have a plan and him has a different plan for you and [Music] i got a invitation from copenhagen denmark to share the story and since then for the last four years i was around the world when i said around the world from the most west side of america canada to most east side australia new zealand far east of course all part of most of the australia the america big cities and i share the story for jewish community from the most orthodox community to the most the formic israeli who live in america schools youth movement whatever and christians who support israel as well and why i mentioned it this jury because it changed me a lot it wasn't just a story it gave me an opportunity to see something which i couldn't see when i was mostly in israel i started to ask myself why so many jews from a different part of the jewish spectrum wanted to listen to this story because most of them from the middle-aged app they know the story they saw the movies and whatever so while they asked me to come there is no organization who sent me over the community asked me to come yeah and he started to ask myself and then i asked because i was wondering why i asked the people who sat in the front of me sometimes 50 sometimes 500 why do you arrive why do you live home to listen to the story that you know and slowly slowly i understood something more clear that there is there is two stories one it's a israeli story about the antebe operation and it's standing mostly about the army about the way that how we flew over and how we release the ostriches and the how we kill the terrorists etc etc it's a very military view on the operation while for jews especially doesn't matter what is their background the operation show them the connection between the state of israel and the jewish world the jewish communities the importance of the connection of the connection that we are one family as you said that we are one nation what is mean mutual responsibility in many different ways it's not only word it's subsidy so many little things when you ask me to share the story it's just one little way to represent it that we are one family and i understood that is our power we are only 15 million more or less the only way to survive is by being together to remind us that we are standing together here in israel in new york wherever we are and it's not easy as the life of jews it's not easy way of living but still i feel yeah that is the way and that is my inspiration and that is my motivation and that's why i'm so honored to be together with you charlie thank you thank you and and we feel that way it's interesting whenever i get a chance to speak to the soldiers when i go to israel i always remind them that they're not soldiers for the for the state of israel they're soldiers for the jewish people and that's a bigger it's a bigger group of people and there are people from all over the world that have never been to israel or have been to israel very infrequently that that looks at the israeli army with pride and praise for them and even right now what's going on in gaza that is constantly praying for the hell you go you go to synagogues across america and across the world they're going to say amish and a lot many of them never met hailey it doesn't matter you're part of the same family what's what i'd love to ask you we'll be a few minutes that i want to just sort of delve in and of course um there's so many pieces of the story though now i want to talk to you about courage about what it's like to be how old were you there you couldn't have been more than 20 20 how old was 23 you were 23 what was it like if you could just take us into your mind when you're on the plane no and tabby is i mean are you kidding aunt hebby like i always and heavy like i i i feel like i know everyone you know when you land and they shut the lights off i mean i i've only seen this story a hundred times you know say like again debbie like part of our history it's part of our history if there was a holiday on interviews i'm saying like even exactly every piece of ant is in the brains of of of of us when you're in the plane and you're landing right and if i remember the story they there was a there was an issue and you had to land earlier and you took the lights and there was it wasn't an easy even landing but as you're coming down how do you get the courage to do this how do you have it's one thing to train but where does the courage come from to be able to take on these missions that are so dangerous that are so high risk at 23 years old it's a very good question and i'm not sure if i got a clear answer for that but at least i will try to contain and focus on the answer of what you ask i think first of all i grew up in the kibbutz where i was born in an atmosphere that we should do whatever we could for the state of israel and if it's in your blood in your gin this word it gives you something to stand on your foot whatever you are it's game for to the idf through the army of israel to fight against syria and egypt in 73 war yeah for young soldiers to drove towards the fire and they killed but they defends the state the family their friends it's mostly or my childhood i just read write something now about it so that's the first thing the second thing which i think it was gave me courage gave me some strength to to do it that years before not in such a difficult operation but in israel almost everyone i found myself fighting against terrorists so you should run into hotel in tel aviv probably your members [Music] or whatever so to be in a just duration without to act it's strange you to fight against unknown situation unknown people i didn't know how that looked like africa not only the ugandan army soldiers it was the first time i was in africa right right so that is the second thing the shared thing i think it helped me a lot because personally because i was in a duty over there as an operation commander i was occupied so much by thinking what i've got what i have to tell to other before what i have to do so and so so if you are active and not free of thinking it helps you to cross the fear right you're thinking about what you have to do you're not worried about your fear we ask all the soldiers the world field wasn't on the table we asked all the soldiers each one of them who were on the four elkholes they would like to be there as in that he is not feeling well we understand and we took to the last station before we flew down to entebbe we took extra soldiers in case someone would be not in it well enough to be on a plane so only one out from almost 240 who landed in antebe it's nothing and the extra soldiers who wanted to be on the operation was a waiting list much longer than the people who are waiting for their vaccine wow so there were 240 soldiers that went down to entebbe yes 40 they were cru 40 air crew 12 doctors md doctors and paramedics and about 280 soldiers wow so what down in entebbe if we can just do a little bit more on end tubby down in antebe what was it like when you were when you and you landed and there was confusion everywhere was it just following orders that you didn't know where anybody was how did the i mean i know it's a very complicated operation we don't have that much time but i guess can you show us a little bit you know what was going on once you landed just to that before you had those soldiers before you had those um those hostages in your hands was it chaos or did everything go according to plan like what happened if you could share this a little bit i know it's such a compliment i will tell you but i have an idea charlie might be on the shabbat show on mota esha but once very close to the 4th of july this year when it will be 4 45 diversity for the operation we will do a shabbat show and what's a shabbat show when i give a full story about it might be it's a good idea it's a great idea around the world yes maybe we can add this and we can make great give a chance to make others what do you think about it i love it i love it is it a good idea i love it i love it yes we can do it and it will be very very successful because for many in under 30 under 35 there is a chance to listen to someone who was on the ground over there i was landing on the first hercules who were landed in antebe and as we stop by the end of the runway we went out only 33 soldiers on the front was the black mercedes everyone know the story how he tried to cheat the terrorists i was on a land rover jeep behind the mercedes so very much on the front and the first minute sharma which is a context and explain why but the atmosphere over there in antebe it was so beautiful night a lot of stars full moon quiet it wasn't a feeling that we are landing in an enemy land it was a beauty and relaxing after very many hours of flying which is very difficult flight we haven't got enough time to talk about it just to be out to refresh air everywhere was green you know in the middle of the summer in bengal hospital everything is brown and dry and over there it was green parlor trees grass besides the road beautiful night and i so enjoyed just to be it wasn't just thinking okay in a second or two we are going to fight but to enjoy and that is i can't understand the the you know the shifting for one thing to another in a minute or two unbelievable so that that that was that time and when we met two london soldiers on a road and it was a bit disgusting now it's not time to discuss this but immediately everything changed in my head i felt that i we are going to fall it's going to be a catastrophe again as it happened a year before when we tried to save life of high school students on a northern city in israel called ma lot and unfortunately 20 almost 25 high school students they were killed and we felt 25 high school students teenagers they were killed and now i thought it's going to to be happened again because we meet the ugandan soldiers who surround their terminal but we drove we stopped the cars next to the main doors and it was quiet the surprise of the ugandan soldiers and the terrorists and the ostriches and the ugandan in the control tower was the key for succeed on the operation wow the part and i can say today you know if you are at ease and not believe in god so what you say it was a good luck right and if you believe it was a end of god so in a meaning it's just the same it was something that you couldn't understand how that could happen to be in the front of the main door of the ostriches in a second we should run into the all and now it's a question who is killing who who is killing first we knew from our experience the moment the terrorists will recognize that we are there the first action would be to kill the hostages experience we knew that so the the question who is shooting first it's another key and the surprise it's helped you to be the first one and it took only about five to seven minutes where most of the terrorists in the ugandan who were around they were killed and after 52 minutes only from the moment the first aircraft landed in a in antebe where i was the fair hercules with the ostriches took off for mantebe on the way back home only 52 minutes wow all the operation which you are still remember took about 52 minutes and from that point i would like to put one maybe two important story a jewish story because we are on shabbat show first of all i'm a second generation of holocaust survivors my parents lost most of their family in poland during world war ii and my last duty was to lead the ostriches from the old terminal to the plan who wait to take them out and to see to see ostriches walking out with personal bed some of them without shoes the mother hold the baby on their hand immediately the story of the jews who walk to where the crematorium will arrive best train to auschwitz either tropical and whatever awake in my head but together with a very warm feeling of now we are different now we are soldiers of the israeli army of the state of israel the jewish state and we are here to save life which is a very much a jewish statement we are saving life and not killing and to be there to lead the ostriches wow i was so happy to be on the ground it wasn't a question of fear in every second someone could open fire it was dark around but i was full of purpose feeling that it's a reason to do so to take part of bring the ostriches the jewish order that the air crew the french herku back home to their family and and i was lucky to take power in such operation so somehow you know god put me over there and on the way back the only thing what run in my head do you know what was it i fall asleep i was so tired no time to think about the operation not time to recognize what happened just i fall asleep it was such an intense week we couldn't even thinking about what next i just fall asleep wow wow great the human aspect of it so great on 2016 one thing before and i would like to put it's very important to me in 2016 we gave a book to the president of israel ruby rivlin and i wrote some word on the back page and the last sentence was i flew to antebe as the israeli at the kibbutznik as a sabra and i flew back for montebe as a jew but it took me 40 years to understand the meaning wow what a statement and and it's so moving to hear you say it this way how an operation in israel has so much greater meaning than just the people that went because what you were doing really is what you said it was it was the purpose of the jewish people to take care of each other to stand up for each other to use what hashem gives us to take care of those that are that are stuck and you're right you and that's by the way why i watched the story of my whole youth it was because it's not an israeli story it's a jewish story it's a jewish story and it's a jewish story especially the generation after the holocaust because we're what you did in england yeah and what's so special about entebbias it's relevant for today in many aspects we can discuss that now we are recorded for shabbat show but yeah i would be happy to discuss a few aspects which came out from yeah my experience in the last year unfortunately the virus stopped me in cape town south africa and i was stuck here who knows yeah what will be the right time to go again to the world and hopefully if you will find it a practical or the project inspire might be we can do and what's a shabbat show to give a lecture yeah so first i want to thank you for coming thank you for being with us um thank you for what you do thank you for your service and for being an inspiration to all of us um and i wish you uh shabbat shalom and i also wish you only good things for admiration thank you and one question one word i would like to say about the situation that we are now here in israel we can't just talk about what happened 45 years ago it's a time when we should in many different ways to remind ourselves everyone who want to stand for the jewish people who want to stand together with the jews in israel who want to stand with the jewish nation to be together that is the only way it's not an easy time though in many aspects the world criticizes us not the official pity by the people on the street yeah and we should stand together and pray together and be practiced together amen you're 100 i would like to say to tell to the people which unknown people but i know there would be people on shabbat show in some aspect you are on the front and not me and not my people because in some aspect the front it's over there on the media on the street on the show and we should be together to tell their people that we are not the devil on the earth amen i we agree 100 percent and we need to stand together especially now thank you so much thank you so much to meet your friend nice to meet you yeah it's a privilege my honor totally my honor you're a hero you're kidding you're right here right now no please don't use this word i'm a normal man i am not a hero don't use it okay thank you bye thank you bye thanks so much for watching for more content like and subscribe and be sure to tune in live every thursday at 8 pm eastern at the shabacho.com or right here on youtube [Music] you