“Mazel tov, Mazel tov,” “congratulations,” and “lechayim, lechayim” resounded throughout the spacious and crowded hall. The occasion was not a wedding or a Bar Mitzvah, but a reception for the Israeli sailors who participated in the Bicentennial Operation Sail last Sunday. The reception for the sailors of the two Israeli missile boats, Yaffo and Tarshish, was transformed spontaneously into a jubilant celebration of the Israeli rescue mission in Uganda.
Words like “stunning,” “unbelievable,” “magnificent” and “legendary” dominated the conversations between the more than 600 guests among them Jewish leaders, city officials, Israeli diplomats and many celebrities–who came last night to the Essex House to greet the Israeli naval crew.
The Israeli sailors themselves, wearing their white uniforms, were visibly excited and happy with all the attention and admiration they had been receiving since Israel’s audacious rescue operation. “Everybody we meet is so excited. They want to shake our hands, some want to kiss us, and the feeling of being an Israeli in New York these days is just out of sight,” Sgt. Meir Eliyahu, 21, said with a smile. His friend, Sgt. Maj. Yehuda Yisrael, 24, said: “The Israeli raid in Uganda simply made us all a half-meter taller.” Both sailors said that they and the entire Israeli crew have been showered with applause, kisses and affection wherever they go.
PERVASIVE JUBILATION
And the admiration was indeed noticeable last night. Middle-aged women took off their shoes and joined in a hora dance with the Israeli sailors while their husbands clapped their hands and joined in the singing. When Israel’s Consul General in New York, Urt Ben Art, raised a toast to the Israeli army a burst of applause followed, with some giving way to their emotions with calls of “hurrah” and “lechayim.”
The reception, sponsored by the Israeli Consulate and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, was scheduled to end at 10 p.m. But the singing and dancing continued for more than an hour more. “It was a great week,” an old woman said as she was trying to catch her breath after a stormy dance. “I just hope we will have many other weeks like this one.”
Thousands of New Yorkers have already visited the two Israeli vessels and more visitors are expected on board before the boats leave here to visit Philadelphia and Baltimore. Visitors aboard the boats were effusive in their praise for the daring and courage of the Israeli commandos who rescued the hostages in Uganda.
One ship-board visitor turned laughingly to several of the sailors and said: “That was the ultimate in audacity. Better than Errol Flynn could have done.” The sailors basked in the exuberance of the visitors’ reception and returned the greetings and affections.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
