Uganda just erected a bronze monument honoring the brother of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu.
That is spectacularly awkward for New York City's socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who was born in Uganda and has publicly called the Israeli prime minister a "war criminal." As reported, the statue commemorating Lt. Col. Yonatan "Yoni" Netanyahu was revealed on August 1 at the old Entebbe Airport terminal, right where Israeli commandos pulled off one of the most legendary hostage rescues in modern history.
The timing could not be more delicious. The monument marks half a century since Operation Thunderbolt, the jaw-dropping 1976 mission in which Israeli forces swooped into Uganda and freed more than 100 hostages from armed militants. Yoni Netanyahu led the assault team and paid the ultimate price, killed by a sniper's bullet on July 4, 1976. He remains the sole Israeli soldier who perished during that operation.
Here is the backstory. An Air France plane carrying 246 passengers from Tel Aviv to Paris was seized by hijackers and rerouted to Entebbe, which was then controlled by the regime of dictator Idi Amin. The militants wanted $5 million and the release of dozens of imprisoned Palestinian fighters. Israel's response was swift and stunning, rescuing 102 of the 106 hostages still being held. The raid became so iconic it spawned multiple films, starting with a 1977 movie.
Senior Ugandan military officials attended the unveiling ceremony, which underscored the dramatically improved diplomatic relationship between Uganda and Israel since the Amin era.
Now back to Mayor Mamdani. Born in Uganda and holding dual citizenship, he relocated to America at age seven after spending part of his early years in South Africa. He has openly suggested that Netanyahu could face arrest if he set foot in New York City. He has repeatedly labeled the Israeli leader a "war criminal" on social media and in video messages.
So his birth country rolling out the red carpet for a Netanyahu monument? That is political comedy gold.
"The Mamdani family must be plotzing," one social media user quipped. Former Brooklyn Democratic Assemblyman Dov Hikind, who founded Americans Against Antisemitism, was far more pointed. "I have no doubt this makes the mayor lose sleep, and he hates every moment of it. Too bad," Hikind said. He named his own son Yoni after the fallen commando, calling him "a hero of the Jewish people" who was confronting the same terrorism Israel faces today.
Making this family drama even juicier, Mamdani's father, Columbia University professor Mahmood Mamdani, published a book in February titled "Slow Poison" examining Uganda's political evolution under Amin and current leader Yoweri Museveni. The elder Mamdani argues that foreign powers, including Israel, helped shape Uganda's political landscape and contributed to Amin's rise. Reviewer Jonathan Beloff pushed back hard, noting the professor conveniently ignores how Amin actively supported the hijacking and targeting of Jewish and Israeli passengers aboard that very Air France flight.
The irony here is practically screaming from the rooftops. Uganda, the country Mamdani hails from, just gave a permanent tribute to the Netanyahu family while the mayor spends his energy trying to get Benjamin Netanyahu locked up. You genuinely cannot script political awkwardness this perfect.
Like what you see? Then sign up for our Free Newsletter
