Jonathan Gruber [1] is an American director of documentary films, commercials, and videos. [2] He is Jewish. [3]
Projects that Gruber directed and produced have screened at festivals and in theaters nationwide and around the world, [4] and have aired on PBS, [5] The History Channel, National Geographic, Discovery Networks, and more.
His film, Follow Me: The Yoni Netanyahu Story, was an in depth look into the private life of the man who became the hero and pivotal strategist in the Israeli rescue of the Israeli hostages [6] from Entebbe, Uganda following the hijacking of an Air France plane by Palestinian militants, which Idi Amin permitted to land in his country. [7] After the Jewish and Israeli passengers were separated and threatened, the Israeli government quickly devised Operation Entebbe, which ended with the rescue of the passengers, but the death of Netanyahu. The film won awards at several national film festivals. [2] [8]
Gruber also directed a film about the American Civil War, Jewish Soldiers in Blue & Gray, [9] and two other notable films. Jonathan currently has one film in development, another in pre-production, and runs a successful film and video production company, Black Eye Productions, which is hired for corporate, PSA, and non-profit work. He was a co-creator and director on the 2018 MSNBC series, The Story of Cool.
Filmography
Benjamin Netanyahu is an Israeli politician, serving as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. He is chair of the Likud party. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime minister in Israel's history, having served a total of over 17 years.
The Entebbe raid or Operation Entebbe, officially codenamed Operation Thunderbolt, was a 1976 Israeli counter-terrorist mission in Uganda. It was launched in response to the hijacking of an international civilian passenger flight operated by Air France between the cities of Tel Aviv and Paris. During a stopover in Athens, the aircraft was hijacked by two Palestinian PFLP–EO and two German RZ members, who diverted the flight to Libya and then to Uganda, where they landed at Entebbe International Airport to be joined by other terrorists. Once in Uganda, the group enjoyed support from Ugandan dictator Idi Amin.
Yonatan "Yoni" Netanyahu was an Israeli military officer who commanded Sayeret Matkal during the Entebbe raid. The raid was launched in response to the 1976 hijacking of an international civilian passenger flight from Israel to France by Palestinian and German militants, who took control of the aircraft during a stopover in Greece and diverted it to Libya and then to Uganda, where they received support from Ugandan dictator Idi Amin. Though Israel's counter-terrorist operation was a success, with 102 of the 106 hostages being rescued, Netanyahu was killed in action – the only Israeli soldier killed during the crisis.
Gruber is a German surname from Austria and Bavaria, referring to a person from a geological depression, mine, or pit. It may refer to:
Iddo Netanyahu is an Israeli physician, author, and playwright. He is the younger brother of Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, and Yonatan Netanyahu, a highly decorated soldier who was killed leading the Entebbe raid, a hostage rescue mission in 1976.
Raid on Entebbe is a 1977 NBC television film directed by Irvin Kershner. It is based on the Entebbe raid, an Israeli military operation to free hostages at Entebbe Airport in Uganda, on July 4, 1976. The portrayal of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was Peter Finch's final performance; he died five days after the film's release.
Victory at Entebbe is a 1976 American made-for-television action-drama film for broadcast on ABC, directed by Marvin J. Chomsky. The film starred Helmut Berger, Linda Blair, Anthony Hopkins, Burt Lancaster, Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Dreyfuss, and Kirk Douglas. Julius Harris portrayed Idi Amin, following the fatal heart attack suffered by the actor originally cast in the role, Godfrey Cambridge. The film was theatrically released in Europe.
Operation Thunderbolt, known in Israel as Mivtsa Yonatan, also called Entebbe: Operation Thunderbolt in the US, is a 1977 Israeli film directed and co-written by Menahem Golan and starring Klaus Kinski, Yehoram Gaon and Sybil Danning. The film is based on an actual event – the hijacking of a flight by terrorists and the freeing of Israeli hostages on July 4, 1976. The operation was known as at Entebbe Airport in Uganda. Operation Thunderbolt follows the events following the flight's takeoff until the hostages' return to Israel. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
Confrontation at Concordia is a documentary film by Martin Himel which documents the 2002 Concordia University Netanyahu riot at Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The film chronicles how pro-Palestinian student activists staged a direct action aimed to cancel the former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address on campus. The talk by the prime minister had been organized by Hillel, a Jewish student organization.
The history of the Jews in Uganda is connected to some local tribes who have converted to Judaism, such as the Abayudaya, down to the twentieth century when Uganda under British control was offered to the Jews of the world as a "Jewish homeland" under the British Uganda Programme known as the "Uganda Plan" and culminating with the troubled relationship between Ugandan leader Idi Amin with Israel that ended with Operation Entebbe known as the "Entebbe Rescue" or "Entebbe Raid" of 1976.
Benzion Netanyahu was a Polish-born Israeli encyclopedist, historian, and medievalist. He served as a professor of history at Cornell University. A scholar of Judaic history, he was also an activist in the Revisionist Zionism movement, who lobbied in the United States to support the creation of the Jewish state. His field of expertise was the history of the Jews in Spain. He was an editor of the Hebrew Encyclopedia and assistant to Benjamin Azkin, Ze'ev Jabotinsky's personal secretary.
To Pay the Price is a 2009 play by Peter-Adrian Cohen based in part on the letters of Israeli military officer Yonatan Netanyahu, who was killed in action during Operation Entebbe at Entebbe airport, by Ugandan soldiers, when the Israeli military rescued hostages after an aircraft hijacking by Palestinian terrorists. Netanyahu was the leader of the assault
Israel–Uganda relations refers to the current and historical relationship between Israel and Uganda. Neither country has a resident ambassador. Uganda has a non-resident ambassador in Cairo.
Some families of Jews and Arabs killed in the Israeli-Arab conflict have chosen to donate organs to transplant patients on the "opposite side". Examples are Yoni Jesner, a 19-year-old student at Yeshivat Har Etzion in Gush Etzion, and Ahmed Khatib, a Palestinian boy shot by Israeli Defense Forces soldiers who mistook his toy gun for a real one. The generosity of families prepared to donate the organs of their loved ones under such circumstances has been praised. Their story was also made the subject of an award-winning BBC World Service program, Heart and Soul, in 2007.
Shay Avital Rapoport is a Major General (Ret.) in the IDF and former head of the Special Operations Forces Command.
Yonatan "Yoni" Chetboun is an Israeli politician and retired officer in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Chetboun served as a member of the Knesset, where he sat on the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. During his active-duty service, the IDF awarded him the Chief of Staff Citation for actions taken during the Second Lebanon War. Currently, he runs Kanaf Strategy, a strategic consulting firm for companies and public organizations.
The Shapell Manuscript Foundation(SMF) is a non-profit independent educational organization dedicated to research and the collection of historical documents and original manuscripts. The Foundation focuses on the histories of the United States and the Holy Land, with emphasis on the people and events of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Entebbe is a 2018 action thriller film directed by José Padilha and written by Gregory Burke. The film recounts the story of the Entebbe raid, a 1976 counter-terrorist hostage-rescue operation, and stars Rosamund Pike and Daniel Brühl.
Ángel Bonanni is a Uruguayan-Israeli actor and model.In Israel, he is known for his model campaigns and acting roles in TV and film projects ,such as the Israeli thriller series, False Flag (Kfulim) (2015-2019). He is also known to international audiences for his English-language roles on American television. He had a recurring role on Shots Fired (2017) and a regular role as Detective Tommy Gibbs in Absentia (2017-2019). He was part of the main cast of the first season of Condor (2018), playing assassin Deacon Mailer. He also played Yonatan Netanyahu in the film, Entebbe (2018).
Follow Me: The Yoni Netanyahu Story is a 2012 American documentary film written by Jonathan Gruber, who co-directed the film with Ari Daniel Pinchot. The film documents the life and death of IDF officer Yonatan “Yoni” Netanyahu, a member of Sayeret Matkal and the elder brother of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The film uses Yoni's writings, interviews, and archival footage to detail Yoni's personal life and achievements, culminating in his sacrifice during Operation Entebbe. Yoni's writings are read by New Zealand actor Marton Csokas.