The little-known tale of how the Rebbe prevented Ariel Sharon from boarding an El Al flight hijacked by Palestinian terrorists.
It was on July 23, 1968, a year after Sharon successfully led a powerful division into the Six-Day War as a Major-General in the Israel Defense Forces.
Before returning to Israel, Sharon came to Lubavitch Headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn to meet the Rebbe, with whom he had a unique relationship and countless encounters.
While speaking with the Rebbe, Sharon periodically checked his watch, as he was scheduled to return to Israel that night, Sara Levy wrote about that fateful meeting.
The Rebbe suggested that Sharon stay a little longer and take another flight. Sharon complied and they finished their conversation.
 |
| El Al passenger flight 426 |
Later that night, El Al passenger flight 426 was hijacked by three members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a Palestinian terrorist organization founded in 1967.
Sharon was meant to be on that flight.
The aircraft, a Boeing 707, was hijacked on the London-Lod leg of the flight and diverted to Dar El Beida (renamed Houari Boumedienne Airport) in Algiers, the capital of Algeria.
All Jewish passengers were held for 5 weeks before being released unharmed. According to those released, the hijackers seemed to be looking for "someone important," and they were enraged when they realized that he was not aboard.
It was later revealed that the entire incident was an operation executed to capture Ariel Sharon, known today as the greatest field commander in Israel's history.
A while later, Rabbi Zev Segal of congregation Young Israel of Newark who served as President of the Rabbinical Council of America (RCA), decided to corroborate the story with the Rebbe himself.
The story was so astounding that I decided to confirm it with the Rebbe himself. When I saw him next, I asked him, “Is it true that you stopped Sharon from going on the plane that was hijacked?”
He said, “Yes.”
So, of course I had to ask him the next obvious question, “Why didn’t you stop the plane from flying?”
He answered me, “Do you really think I knew that they would hijack the plane? I didn’t know. But when Sharon came to see me, I had the sense he should not go. So, I told him to stay.”
