The Japanese gunman captured in the Lydda Airport massacre last week says he never hated Israel and did what he did only because he was ordered to. Kozo Okamoto made that remark to the Counsellor of the Japanese Embassy who visited him in prison where he is still undergoing interrogation. Okamoto, a member of the Japanese underground terrorist group Red Star, reportedly told his countryman, “I cannot say I hate Israel. Once I saw ‘Exodus’ (the movie) and I was very impressed. What I did could have been done anywhere. I got an order and so it happened at Lydda.”
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.