Honoured Across the Borders

Michel Bacos was the captain of Air France Flight 139 when it was hijacked on 27 June 1976 by terrorists belonging to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. The terrorists freed the 148 non-Jewish passengers, and offered to release Bacos and his crew. They felt duty-bound to remain on the plane, and refused to leave. They stayed behind with the Jewish hostages.The captives were freed in an Israeli commando raid known as ‘Operation Entebbe’ , and Bacos was dazed in the attack. After the hijacking, Bacos took a two-week holiday and requested that his first flight back be to Israel.

In 1976, Bacos was awarded the ‘National Order of the Legion of Honour’, the highest decoration in France, by President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing. The Israeli government awarded Bacos and his crew medals for heroism, for refusing to leave the Jewish passengers behind. In June 2008, Bacos was awarded the B'nai B'rith International "Ménoras d'Or" (Golden Menorah) in Cannes, France. In 2016, the American Jewish Congress awarded Bacos the organization's Moral Courage Award.
The Israeli National Anthem, Hatikvah, was played at his funeral.

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