Eli Gelfand, MD, FACC

Fifty years ago today, Air France Captain Michel Bacos showed the world what true moral courage looks like. When Flight 139 was hijacked by Palestinian and German terrorists and flown to Entebbe, the non-Jewish passengers were eventually released. Bacos and his crew were also offered their freedom. However, Bacos, who also served in the French army under DeGaulle, refused to leave his Jewish passengers. All his crew also refused, without exception. Instead, they chose to remain alongside the 94 Jewish hostages, fully aware of the danger they faced. As Bacos later said, abandoning his passengers was simply "unimaginable." Days later, they were freed in the legendary Israeli rescue mission, Operation Entebbe, led by Yoni Netanyahu, who would die in the battle. For his extraordinary courage, Bacos was honoured by both France and Israel. Yet his greatest legacy was not the medals he received, but the example he set: that decency, duty and humanity must never yield to terror or antisemitism. Michel Bacos was a true hero. May his life, his courage and his memory forever be a blessing and an inspiration.