In History
Israel saved the lives of Iranian passengers in a hijacked plane when no Muslim country would allow it to land.
September 19, 1995
On September 19, 1995, Reza Jabbari boarded Kish Air Flight 707, a Boeing 707 carrying 162 passengers and 12 crew members, on a scheduled flight from Tehran to Kish Island in the Persian Gulf.
Jabbari, a flight attendant with the airline, hijacked the aircraft and demanded that it be flown out of Iran. As the plane's fuel ran low, the pilots searched for a place to land — but no Muslim country in the region would allow it.
A safe landing in Israel
With fuel nearly exhausted, the aircraft was permitted to land at Ovda airbase in southern Israel. Israeli authorities ended the hijacking without loss of life, and Jabbari surrendered.
The passengers and crew were cared for and returned home to Iran, and the aircraft was later returned as well. More than 170 Iranian lives were saved because Israel opened its runway when others would not.
It is a moment worth remembering: ordinary human decency, extended across a political divide.
Want to get involved?