Stern (55) was 6 years old when she boarded Sabena’s flight number 571 from Brussels to Lod, with a stopover in Vienna. These were the 1970s, a period in which Palestinian terrorism began to rise with several operations against Jordanian and Israeli targets in the form of the “Black September” organization.
When the plane made a stopover in the Austrian capital, the kidnapping operation escalated when two disguised terrorists in civilian clothes joined two more who were already on the plane, went into the bathroom and took out the weapons which included guns and bombs.
“I remember everything. I was the only girl on the plane,” Stern recalls in a conversation from Belgium with “Israel Today.” “I drove from Brussels via Vienna to Tel Aviv. Two terrorists went up in Brussels and two more in Vienna. How can you not remember that? We had no food and drink, and I remember when I went to the bathroom one of the terrorists aimed a rifle at my face because I had a chain with a Star of David, like “She wanted me to die.”
“I just wanted it to end”
As is well known, fighters from the General Staff patrol under the command of Ehud Barak broke into the plane while disguised as technicians. They pulled out Berta pistols and within a minute neutralized the four terrorists. Two were killed and two terrorists were arrested. Netanyahu injured his arm in the operation.
“Later, when the soldiers entered the plane in disguise, I was the first to get out of it. I just wanted it to end. We went to Ben-Gurion Airport, where there were lots and lots of people. I talked to Moshe Dayan, Shimon Peres and Golda Meir, who was not really nice,” she describes. Stern.
50 years later, she treasures the event in her heart and emphasizes: “I did not ask for anything when it happened. I did not ask for a map (Belgian authorities; DP) nor from the country. I just want to come to Israel to get the vaccine, please, “begs Stern, who owns an Israeli identity card.
personal favor
Europe is in the midst of a third wave of morbidity, with vaccination on the continent faltering and characterized by slowness and inefficiency. Stern is pessimistic about the possibility that the matter will be resolved soon and declares: “I want to immigrate to Israel. I’m tired of this, that’s it,” she says in despair.
This feeling also characterizes Stern’s conduct vis-à-vis officials, including the Israeli embassy in Brussels.
“The embassy here in Belgium is closed,” she notes. “Everything is closed and you can not talk to anyone. It is very complicated here. In Belgium there are vaccines of Moderna, Astraznica and Pfizer, but do not let get vaccinated. I went twice and did not want to give me because I am too young. They do not have enough vaccines for everyone.”
The survivor asks for a personal favor from the prime minister, who saved her five decades ago: “My father is buried on Mount of Beatitudes in Jerusalem and I have not gone to see him for two years. Last year my flight was canceled. There are no flights from Belgium at all.
“Netanyahu can do me a favor. I want him to call me, it remains in my heart. If he finds a job for me, I will also immigrate to Israel,” Stern concludes optimistically.