Meir Halevi Gover
IDF MIAs
1947-2021
Second Edition
a Second Generation publication
Cover Design by Meir Halevi Gover
Photo: N12 2016
Product of Israel
MEIR Halevi GOVER
=================================
IDF MIAs
1947 – 2021
Second Edition
a SECOND GENERATION
publication
Copyright © 2021 by Meir Halevi Gover
All rights reserved.
a Second Generation publication
Permission: Any part of this album may be reproduced, stored
in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means;
electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or otherwise,
provided it is for non-commercial and non-profit purposes
only and remains identical in content, format and wording with
this publication and provided that full credit for the wording,
captions and photographs is attributed to the sole author and
publisher of this publication © MEIR HALEVI GOVER.
Author and Publisher’s E-mail address: mggover@gmail.com
ISBN 978-965-92760-9-7
Product of Israel
מאיר הלוי גובר
חללי צה"ל
שמקום קבורתם לא נודע
מקל"נים 1947-2021
מהדורה שנייה
ספרי הדור השני
CONTENTS
CHAPTER
#
CHAPTER NAME
PAGE
PART A
PART B
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
23.1
IDF MIAs
Electronic Bracelet
Alphabetized Table
MIAs By Age
MIAs by Birth Location
Years Range MIAs
December 1947‐August 1949
Israel's War of Independence
December 22, 1947
Safed, Galilee December 13, 1947
December 22, 1947 Beit‐Nabala
January 01, 1948. Zrifin
January 1948. Nablus
January 13, 1948. Etzion
March 15, 1948. Unknown
The KASTEL Battles I
KASTEL Battles II
KASTEL Battles III
Mishmar Haemek Battles
Jaffa Battles II
Jaffa Battles II
Jaffa Battles III
Jaffa Battles IV
May 1948. Operation MEDINA‐11 MIAs
IDF's NAVY
The NEGEV Battles
Jerusalem May, 1948
Operation MEDINA. Tirah
Malkia Battles. Upper Galillee
Operation DEKEL
Last War of Independence MIA
1
8
13
25
26
28
29
30
34
45
61
67
72
80
85
90
96
101
106
112
117
125
175
179
233
238
271
285
300
333
368
PART C
24 MIAs 1949‐1957
25 November 23, 1952. 7 NAVY MIAs
PART D
MIAs 1960‐1967
PART E
MIAs 1967‐1973
26 EILAT Destroyer‐16 MIAs
27 IDF Air‐Force
PART F
28 DAKAR Submarine‐69 MIAs
PART G
MIAs 1968‐1973
29 The KARAMEH Operation. March 21, 1968
PART H
MIAs 1973‐2014
30 The YOM‐KIPPUR WAR
31 The ELTAGAR Tank Enigma
32 The BEN‐DROR Tank Enigma
33 MIAs Air‐Force
33a MIAs NAVY
34 MIAs Armored Corps.
PART I
MIAs 1975‐2014
35 MIAs NAVY
36 MIAs Air‐Force
37 June 11, 1982. The Sultan Yacoub Battle
38 MIAs NAVY
39 MIAs Air‐Force
PART H
Post LEBANON Wars
40 Operation "PROTECTIVE EDGE"‐"TZUK EITAN"
NAME INDEX
371
372
390
442
472
473
531
543
544
693
694
702
703
707
719
725
742
749
757
758
765
772
778
783
787
790
796
809
1
PART A:
IDF MIAs
2
This album is about the men who fell for the State of Israel but remain MIA to date.
Many of the MIAs were in my age bracket when they became MIAs. This triggered me to write
this album. It seems that I shared with many of them growing up in the 1950s, the years of
innocence during Israel’s first years of existence. Nobody was rich but nobody felt poor either.
We were happy first born children growing in innocent, maybe even naïve neighborhoods across
Israel, entirely not exposed to the main powers running the big world around us.
And why write this album in English, not in Hebrew? I found no English written material about
this subject of Israeli MIAs, thus decided to expose English language readers to the subject of
this album.
This album is not about the full scope of the Israelis fallen for their state in the Modern Zionism1
era. This book is about the Israeli MIAs during the 74 first years 1947 to 2021.
October 29, 1947 was a major date in the history of the only Jewish state worldwide. United
Nations Resolution 1812 partitioned the small land of Palestine, controlled then and since 1917
under a British Mandate, into two independent countries: The Jewish state of Israel and the
Arab state of Palestine3. The city of Jerusalem was to become under this resolution an
international independent territory.
Some historians claim that the modern times Jewish – Arab conflict over the land of Israel
initiated as early as 1881, the year of first modern days massive flux of Jews into Israel which
was given the title “The First Aliyah”4. Those historians count the victims of the Jewish – Arab
1
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zionism
2
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Partition_Plan_for_Palestine
3
https://www.britannica.com/topic/United‐Nations‐Resolution‐181
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Partition_Plan_for_Palestine
4
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Aliyah
3
conflict over Israel starting as early as 1881. I decided to border the scope of the conflict more
sensibly to the period starting with UN Resolution #181, i.e. October 1947 and onwards to date
(2021).Thus, for example, the May 01, 1943 sinking of the SS Erinpura5 incident is not part of
this book, even though the number of victims in this incident was massive 796 victims of which
140 were Jewish soldiers serving in the British Armies, drowned in the Mediterranean, 50 KM
north of Benghazi, Libya.
This album is not even about all the fallen in the Israeli Wars since the Israeli War of
Independence and onwards. This album is reduced to the MIAs6 in the Israeli Wars, i.e. the
fallen who remain Missing in Action to this day (2021). Their bodies were not recovered since
the various battles they were involved in. Thus their remains could not be put into proper rest.
Most all IDF’s7 MIAs are of the Jewish faith, three are of the Moslem faith and one was
Christian. All major religions do stress the proper burial of the dead, thus the MIA phenomena
remains unusual but still cannot be overlooked.
There were exceptional cases where the remains of a deceased could not be recovered while
there were many other cases where sheer negligence was the reason why the MIA’s body or
remains was left behind in the battlefield forever.
Each Israeli MIA is represented in this book by his black and white photograph and most are
represented by their “Pillow” as well. “Pillow” is the popular name for the rectangular stone put
upon the head of each buried soldier. “Bed” is the name attached with the grave in which the
dead Israeli soldier body remains are put to rest. However, the MIAs graves “bed” less for the
trivial reason that the MIA’s body remains are missing, thus the MIA’s grave is merely symbolic
and empty and thus “Bed” less.
5
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Erinpura
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bWXuVPgPSo
6
MIA = Missing in Action
7
IDF – Israel Defense Forces. Hebrew: צה"ל – צבא הגנה לישראל
4
Fig. 01: Mount Herzl, Jerusalem (March 2021). Standard “normal” soldiers’ graves: i.e. a
“Pillow” and a “Bed” for each fallen soldier.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
5
Fig. 01A: Mount Herzl, Jerusalem (March 2021). NON‐Standard symbolic graves for the
MIAs: i.e. a “Pillow” only to identify the MIA. NO “Beds” since the MIA’s body remains were
not recovered.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
My calculations point to just under 250 Israeli soldiers who are still MIAs - Missing in Action
between 1947, the year when the War of Independence had initiated and 2021, the year this
album is published. Roughly a third of the MIAs are 84 Israeli Navy soldiers, quite a high
percentage, not in favor of the Israeli Navy. This high percentage of Navy MIAs constitutes the
14 Navy soldiers perished in the Egyptian missile bombing and sinking of the ‘Eilat’ Navy
Destroyer on October 1967, east of Port Said on the Mediterranean and the 69 Navy sailors
6
who sunk with the Dakar submarine. Three cursed months for all Israelis.
The Dakar submarine was purchased by Israel from the British after serving the British Navy
for many years. British shipyards reconditioned the Dakar according to Israeli requirements.
During the virgin voyage of delivering the Dakar from England to Israel, the Dakar submarine
disappeared at high seas. Further investigation recovered that the Dakar was not attacked by any
hostile Navy, nor any boat colided into it. It took 31 years to recover the remains of the Dakar in
the Mediterranean, 485 KM west of Haifa, 3 KM deep. The Dakar sinking is attributed now
(2021) either to a mechanical constructional failure or to an erroneous maneuver which caused
an immediate technical structure collapse of the submarine body and thus the suffocation of its
entire 69 men crew or combination thereof. One of many conclusions was to staff submarines
and destroyer boats with the minimal manpower required for orderly operation and stay
“economical” with the men count aboard at any given time.
About 15 of the Israeli MIAs are Air Force Pilots and Air-Navigators. This constitutes 6% of
the MIAs.
Taking into account the Navy and the Air Force MIAs, leaves the main body of about 60% of
the MIAs to IDF’s Infantry and the Armored Corps.
One ought to be careful to differentiate between the total number of Israelis who fell during the
various Middle East wars involving Israel and the much lower number of IDF’s MIAs. Indeed,
each victim is a full world, but naturally the number of the Israeli MIAs is so much lower than
the total number of Israelis fallen in Middle East wars.
A special permanent IDF unit has the sole task of locating IDF MIAs. Over the years this unit
had located the remains many who were considered MIAs. Each located MIA is then removed
from the MIA list.
Some forensic questions had aroused as to what will suffice scientifically to identify an MIA
remains vis a vis the quantity and quality of his remains. Obviously DNA remains of the
deceased, in sufficient amounts so to identify the remains by comparing the remains DNA with
the DNA of his close living family member would be the most accurate way. Alas, not always
remains discovered after dozens of years are in quality or in quantity to produce good forensic
7
results. There were few cases where family of an MIA located after many years claimed that the
coffin of their dear one is actually empty and contains no remains at all. This is a sensitive issue.
The author skipped particular such cases
Most 248 men who remain IDF MIAs to date (2021) are of the Jewish faith. Orthodox Jewish
customs require mourning the death annually on his anniversary death date by reciting the
KADISH prayer and mentioning the deceased Jewish Death Date – the YAHRZEIT8. Hence,
the YAHRZEIT of each Jewish MIA is included in this album.
“Giving Face to the Fallen”9 is a non-profit Israeli organization whose goal is to memorize the
fallen for Israel. One of their goals is to add basic details sometimes missing; such as the location
and circumstances of each death. Obviously, IDF MIAs missing such information are on their
mission lists.
Photo 01: MIA Emblem in Texas.
8
http://mykaddish.com/yahrtzeit‐basic.html
9
https://latetpanim.org.il/en
8
The Electronic
Bracelet
9
Most present (2021) soldiers are electronically equipped. It seems that future wars will be
conducted where the future soldier will be much more electronically equipped. One such
accessory will be no doubt, a military spec sort of Electronic Bracelet or a similar dressed on
device embedded in the soldier’s battle uniform. Such device will “waze” the soldier’s position
anytime, anywhere.
Fig. 02: Electronic Hand Bracelet.
Photo: Wikipedia
10
Fig. 03: Electronic Ankle Bracelet.
Photo: Wikipedia
If at any time during the battle or the military maneuver the soldier goes into a halt, the bracelet
will record his last position. Such bracelet will apply to all soldiers: in Infantry, in Armored
Vehicles, on Navy and Air Force instruments.
Naturally, some sort of a creative coding solution will need to be developed in order to avoid
electronic penetration to such bracelet by the enemy.
Once such Bracelet will become field operational, the number of future MIAs will drop
considerably. It will apply not only to MIAs; Mountaineers or valleys trackers in remote or less
11
remote parts of the world will not go lost again and again and if they will, somebody behind will
know where they are at any given point of their voyage1.
1
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_tagging
29
PART B:
IDF MIAs
December
1947 –
August 1949
30
1.
ISRAEL’s WAR
of
INDEPENDENCE
The Men with the
1
Handsome Forelocks
1
CHUPCHIK in Russian
31
Fig. 04: Mt. Herzl, Jerusalem. The War of Independence MIAs fell as early as December 1947.
War of Independence MIAs goes to August 1949.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021.
32
On October 29, 1947 Jews in British Israel and in heavy Jewish populated locations around the
world were rejoicing in the streets as a result of the United Nation Resolution 181; however
hostilities between Jews and Arabs in Palestine initiated the day following the resolution.
Israel’s War of Independence initiated on November 30, 1947.
The first hostility is considered the Sunday, November 30, 1947 Arab attack on a civil bus going
south of Petah-Tikva carrying civilian passengers enroot from Petah-Tikva to Jerusalem. Two
of the Jewish bus passengers were killed.
The War of Independence lasted about 1.5 years. The last of the Armistice Agreements was
signed on July 1949. No Arab country signed a peace agreement with Israel up until the Israeli –
Egyptian Peace Treaty on 1979.
Back in 1948 amidst the War of Independence, the popular Hebrew poem ‘Song of
Comradeship’2 was written by poet Haim Gouri3 and was set for music by composer Shasha
Argov4. This poem became the hymn of the War of Independence. It collectively perpetuates
the Jewish men fallen as ‘The Men with the Handsome Forelocks’5, very befitting when one
does go through the forelocks as depicted in this album in the pictures of the fallen, one by one.
The number of MIAs solely during the War of Independence during the years 1947-1949,
and as of 2021, at 73 years of Israel’s independence, remains high 97 [Ninety-Seven].
97 MIAs during the War of Independence seems a high number. An effort is still to be
made to reduce the number, i.e. to identify the location where they became MIAs.
The issue of collecting the remains of IDF soldiers from battlefields was performed with gross
negligence. A May 1948 Ordinance to collect the dead from the fields was not executed6. The
task was delegated since to the IDF’s Rabbinate Units.
2
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hareut
3
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haim_Gouri
4
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sasha_Argov
5
Hebrew: ''יפי הבלורית והתואר
6
https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A0%D7%A2%D7%93%D7%A8%D7%99_%D7%9E%D7%9C%D7%97%D7%9E%D
7%AA_%D7%94%D7%A2%D7%A6%D7%9E%D7%90%D7%95%D7%AA
33
Fig. 05: November 29, 1947. The Pronunciation of U.N. Resolution 181 to divide Israel between
two states: a Jewish State (green), an Arab state (orange) and neutral Jerusalem (white).
Photo: Wikipedia
34
2. December
22, 1947.
First IDF
MIAs
Kibbutz Mishmar
Hanegev’s Water Line
Battle.
35
Fig. 06: 2021. MIAs Zone: Jerusalem, Israel Mt. Herzl National Monument. Zone B’, Plot 2.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
36
The first two IDF MIAs on Israel’s War of Independence had fallenl in the Kibbutz MishmarHanegev battle. Kibbutz Mishmar Hanegev is located in the northern NEGEV region, 80 KM
south of Tel Aviv and 20 KM north east of Beer-Sheba. The Kibbutz was established in October
1946. By the end of 1947, following the United Nations Resolution 181 to establish two states a
Jewish and an Arab state in Palestine, the Kibbutz was merely one year young. The kibbutz main
manpower body consisted of 50 Holocaust survivors from Poland and Lithuania. They were
members of the Zionist left wing party POALEY ZION-Left. At breakdown of the hostilities
the Kibbutz members were drafted in the PALMAH – HANEGEV infantry brigade, one of the
then three PALMAH brigades.
Two main water lines were laid down to this region by August 1947 to replace the local stale
wells. The water lines needed constant protection from local Tarabin al Tsana7 Tribe Bedouins
who objected the fact that the water lines were running through territory which the Bedouins
considered their own. Obviously, the Bedouins lacked ownership documents.
Menachem Honen and Mordechai Kalman were two young draftees who were summoned to
in the Kibbutz in platoon AMELIM in order to protect the new water lines. The platoon became
part of the PALMACH 12th Squad under Commander Moshe Brachman8, reporting to Isaak
Rabin9.
Menachem Honen was born in Istanbul, Turkey on September 22, 1928. At age 15, in 1943 he
made Aliyah. He was drafted in 1947 in the PALMACH infantry.
Mordechai Kalman was born on December 25, 1928 in Korozin, Rumania. At age 16, in 1944
he made Aliyah.
By November 1947 they were positioned with a squad guarding the Mishmar Hanegev water
line. On December 11, 1947 the water line guard squadron was ambushed by local Bedouins, just
south of Mishmar Hanegev. Few of the squadron men were killed and their bodies carried back
to the kibbutz. Honen and Kalman’s bodies were not recovered, not even on the following days.
It is quite impossible to establish today (2021) if Brachman’s Squad men returned to search for
7
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarabin_Bedouin
8
https://www.palmach.org.il/veterans/veteranpage/?itemId=73341
9
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yitzhak_Rabin
37
the two missing bodies of their comrades in the following days or if the local Bedouins
kidnapped the two bodies from the battlefield. In 1947 the emerging IDF was merely in
establishing the standard of “NEVER desert a body of a fellow soldier in the battle field - if
necessary, return soon enough to recover his remains”. There were constant rumors spreading
that the Arabs mutilated Jewish soldiers’ corpses, undressing them, cutting their genitals and
then photograp them in humiliating postures.
Following Israel’s War of Independence, the territory around Mishmar Hanegev became
part of the State of Israel. The Tarabin Bedouin tribe became Israeli citizens in 1948 just
one and a half year following the Mishmar Hanegev MIAs incident. Surely they could have
been interrogated long since, in order to identify the members of the pack who killed the
two Jewish MIAs.
Fig. 07: 1947‐1948 The “NEGEV Animals” platoon @ Mishmar Hanegev: Shlomo Carmel,
Bentz, Amos Krasnicki, Saul Sapir, Uri Zlatin, Baruch Shapir (not identified per person).
Photo:
https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9E%D7%A9%D7%9E%D7%A8_%D7%94%D7%A0%D7%92
%D7%91
38
Fig. 08: May 1947. The then new water line just south to Kibbutz Mishmar Hanegev.
Photo: https://mishmar‐
hanegev.localtimeline.com/index.php?lang=he#[showWindow/event/3/image/12]
39
Fig. 09: Menachem Honen. War of Independence MIA #110.
Killed: December 11, 1947, south of Kibbutz Mishmar Hanegev.
Yahrzeit: 28 KISLEV 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
10
This book is about IDF’s MIAs, not about the IDF’s full victims list. Unfortunately the total IDF victims count
scope is much higher than the MIAs count.
40
Fig. 10: IDF Personal Number 170053 Private Menachem Honen old Pillow.
Photo: Billiongraves.com
41
Fig. 11: IDF #170053 Private Menachem Honen new Pillow.
Rank added. ‘Turkey’ spelling in Hebrew was amended.
Age: 21
Born: Istanbul, Turkey
Parents: Leah and Samuel Honen.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
42
Fig. 12: Mordechai “Motke” Kalman.
Killed: December 11, 1947 south to Kibbutz Mishmar Hanegev.
YAHRZEIT: 28 KISLEV 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
43
Fig. 13: IDF Personal #170055 Private Mordechai “Motke” Kalman old Pillow.
Age: 19
Born: Kordozin, Rumania
Parents: Rachel and Chaim Kalman.
Photo: BllionGraves.com
44
Fig. 14: IDF Personal #170055 Private Mordechai Motke Kalman new Pillow.
Rank was added
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 202149
45
3. The Battle over
Safed, Upper Galillee
December 13, 1947.
46
Menachem “Nachmu” Mizrahi was born in 1926 in Safed. December 13, 1947 at age 19, was
his last day. Merely two weeks before, United Nations Resolution 181 threw British Israel into
chaos. The town of Safed in the upper Galilee was designated to be part of the Jewish territory.
Practically was divided for about 1,000 years long between two distinctive quarters: the Jewish
quarter and the Moslem (Sunnite) quarter. Both communities lived usually in harmony but under
a distinctive separation.
There were few cases of intermarriage, usually a Jewish bride marrying a Moslem groom, but
those were uncommon. Modern researches (21st Century) point to a distinct genetic similarity of
the Y chromosome lines between Jews and Moslems from Safed, pointing to the phylogenetic
possibility that at least some of the Moslems who lived in Safed were Moslemized perhaps as
early as the 8th to the 12th Centuries CE.
Being on an intelligence mission for the Haganah11 in Safed, Menachem Mizrahi made his
way on December 12, 1947 down from the Jewish quarter to the Moslem quarter, where he
disappeared ever since. Rumors spread across the Safed Jewish community that extreme Safed
Arabs caught and tortured him then murdered him and burned his remains.
His disappearance set the signal to what was to come four month later: the battle over Safed.
This battle lasted 3 weeks, April 16 to May 11, 1948 and was conducted between the IDF and
the Arab Liberation Army12 headed by Colonel Fawzi al-Qawuqji13.
The Arabs lost. Most all the Arab population evacuated the town.
Fawzi al-Qawuqji lived to be 87 and died in 1977 in Beirut Lebanon surrounded with Arab
refugees from Safed. An historic question remains open: could he or people around him, shed
light on the whereabouts of Menachem Mizrahi on December 1947 in Safed.
11
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haganah
12
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_Liberation_Army
13
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fawzi_al‐Qawuqji
47
Fig. 15: Menachem “Nahmo” Mizrahi.
Killed: December 13, 1947
YAHRZEIT: 30 KISLEV 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
48
Fig. 16: IDF Personal #172819 Private Menachem “Nahmo” Mizrahi old Pillow.
Age: 19
Born: Safed, Israel
Killed: December 13, 1947.
Parents: Pirhia and Jacob Mizrahi.
Photo: billionGraves.com
49
Fig. 17: IDF Personal #172819 Private Menachem “Nahmo” Mizrahi new Pillow.
Age: 19
Born: Safed, Israel
Parents: Pirhiya and Jacob Mizrahi
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
50
Moslem Ahmed Nimer al-Abdalla احمد نمر العبد ﷲwas born June 20, 1923 in the el-Heib Arab
tribe in the Galilee. During the War of Independence he served in the IDF Minorities
Platoon.
The IDF Minorities Platoon was established in the PALMACH under the command of Isaac
Hankin. Its soldiers came from the Bedouin, Druze and Cherkessk communities14.
At age 25, married with three children, Ahmed Nimer al-Abdalla participated in a raid
conducted by the IDF in Wadi Lemon near Safed, where he lost his life on July 01, 1948.
His body was never recovered.
14
https://kotar.cet.ac.il/KotarApp/Index/Chapter.aspx?nBookID=104817776&nTocEntryID=104820361
51
Fig. 18: Ahmed Nimer al-Abdalla احمد نمر العبد ﷲ
No picture of his is available. Either his family wish or he was never photographed.
52
Fig. 19: IDF Personal #174017 Private Ahmed Nimer al-Abdalla’s Pillow.
Age: 25
Born: Tuba Zangria, British Israel
Parents: Matra and Nimer al-Abdalla
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
53
Moslem Dib el-Heib ديف الھبof the Sunni Moslem faith was born in 1910 in the Arab village
of Tuba in the Upper Galilee. He was member of the Arab el-Heib tribe which on the War of
Independence supported the Jewish cause. On July 1948 he and another tribe member were
recruited for a reconnaissance mission in the Arab village of Akrabe, near Safed.
They were caught by Syrian forces stationed in Akrabe. The second man denied any connection
to a reconnaissance mission for the Jews and was freed within three months. Dib el-Heib
confessed that he was on mission for the IDF and thus was executed in the Arab village of
Tarshiha. He left behind his wife and six children. His burial location is not known.
He remains MIA to date. Assuming that he was buried in or near the Moslem cemetery in
Tarshiha, question remains if his remains are still traceable to date.
54
Fig. 20: Dib el-Heib ديف الھب
Photo: Not available. Either his family wish or he was never photographed.
55
Fig. 21: IDF Personal #176004 Private Dib el-Heib ديف الھبold Pillow.
Photo: BillionGrves.com
56
Fig. 22: IDF Personal #176004 Private Dib el-Heib ديف الھبnew Pillow.
Age: 38
Born: Tuba Zangria, Turkish Israel
Parents: Maryem and Hader el‐Hib
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
57
Moslem Mohammad Hasan Salem محمد حسن سالمwas born in 1905 in the Arab village of
Muftachra in the Hula lake valley up in northern then Turkish Israel. He was married and had
two boys and two girls. He worked in the nearby Kibbutz Sde- Nehemiah and thus was
recruited in the HAGANAH forces.
On October 24, 1948 Mohammad Hasan Salem was on a reconnaissance mission to meet some
Arab informers. He encountered a Syrian force and was executed by them. His body was
interned in the Arab village of Arfiah, east of Kibbutz Gadot.
He remains MIA to date.
58
Fig. 23: Mohammad Hasan Salem محمد حسن سالم
Photo: Not available. Either his family wish or he was never photographed.
59
Fig. 24: NO IDF Personal #, NO rank Mohammad Hasan Salem محمد حسن سالمold Pillow.
Photo: BilionGraves.com
60
Fig. 25: NO IDF Personal #, NO rank Mohammad Hasan Salem محمد حسن سالمPillow.
Age: 43
Born: Muftachra, Turkish Israel
Parents: Asba and Hasan Salem
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
61
4.
December 22, 1947.
1 MIA
Beit-Nabala, Israel
62
Nissim Moses Attyia was born in 1926 in Jerusalem, British Israel. In 1942, at age 16 he
joined the PALMACH in Jerusalem.
By 1943, an Arab Platoon department was established within the PALMACH. The mission of
this department was to gather intelligence among the Arabs in Palestine and in the neighboring
Arab countries. Sephardic15 and Mizrahi16 Jews who spoke Arabic, looked like Arabs and could
portray Arabs joined the PALMACH Arab platoon.
On October 09, 1945 Nissim Moses Attyia was in the PALMACH platoon which broke into the
Atlit Detention Camp where the British kept captive visa-less Jewish immigrants to Palestine.
This operation released 2,000 Jewish detainees from British captivity. The detainees were then
hidden in Kibbutz Yagur and later dispersed over the country.
In 1946, Attyia was found fit and joined the Arab Platoon of the PALMACH.
On December 14, 1947 a convoy of arms, ammunition and food supplies made its way from
Petach-Tikva to Ben-Shemen. The convoy took a detour route in order to avoid the Arab
populated town of Lod.
The detour route took the convoy near the Arab village of Beit Nabala. A squad of the Arab
Legion17 soldiers was stationed by then In the British camp near Beit Nabala18. The Arab
Legion soldiers attacked the Jewish convoy. Most convoy vehicles managed to speed up and
escape. The last two trucks stumbled. The Arab Legion soldiers, armed with British Bren light
submachine guns19 killed the Jews injured in the two trucks at point blank distance. 13 Jewish
soldiers died with their commander Abraham Baram.
Few oddities about the Arab Legion soldiers stationed inside a British Army Camp:
1. Who had permitted such housing in the British camp? After all, the British were committed
to ‘neutrality’ in the Jewish-Arab conflict.
15
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sephardi_Jews
16
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sephardi_Jews
17
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_Legion
18
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayt_Nabala
19
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bren_light_machine_gun
63
2. Who armed The Arab Legion soldiers with British made Bren submachine guns?
3. Who had supplied the ammunition for the Brens?
Golda Meir, representing the Jewish Agency20, protested to Sir Allan Gordon Cunningham21
the Brit High Commissioner22 in Jerusalem. The British agreed symbolically to add a British
liaison to each future such convoy but going to Ben-Shemen only…
4. Who supplied the Arab Legion soldiers with the real-time information about the Jewish
convoy going to pass on the road adjacent to the Beit Nabala Base?
PALMACH policy was to avoid by all means such incidents where Arabs murder defenseless
Jews. The PALMACH Arab Platoon was ordered to locate the Arab commanders responsible
for the Beit Nabala massacre.
On or around December 20, 1947, Nissim Attyia of the PALMACH Arab Platoon was sent
from Jaffa to Lod23 in order to gather intelligence about the Beit Nabala base and the
neighboring Arab villages of Dir Tarif, Tira and Koole.
Attyia was never heard from thereafter. He is presumed MIA as of December 22, 1947.
20
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_Agency_for_Israel
21
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Cunningham
22
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_commissioner
23
https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A0%D7%A2%D7%93%D7%A8%D7%99_%D7%9E%D7%9C%D7%97%D7%9E%D
7%AA_%D7%94%D7%A2%D7%A6%D7%9E%D7%90%D7%95%D7%AA
64
Fig. 26: Glilot, Israel. Nissim Attyia on the Intelligence soldiers Memorial for the fallen.
Photo: Wikipedia.
There is little doubt that Nissim Attyia remains are somewhere in the area of Beit Nabala,
Dir Tarif, Tira and Koole. This territory is part of the State of Israel since 1948, yet
Attyia’s remains were not recovered…
65
Fig. 27: Nissim Moses Attyia.
Killed: December 22, 1947
Yahrzeit: 09 Tevet 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
66
Fig. 28: PALMACH Brigade soldier Nissim Moses Attyia Pillow.
NO IDF Personal Number, NO rank.
Age 21.
Born: Jerusalem, British Israel
Parents: Jamila and Isaac Attyia.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
67
5. January 01, 1948.
1 MIA
Zrifin (Sarafend),
Israel
68
Baruch Behar was born July 13, 1926 in Alexandria, Egypt. He made his way to British
Israel in 1946 and lived at his uncle’s, his mother’s brother, in the Hatikva quarter in Tel Aviv.
A cousin of his, Mordechai Max Behar, who was born in Egypt as well, fell at age 27 in the
Kastel battles on April 06, 1948.
On May 1947, at age 21 Baruch Behar enlisted to the British Police Force (Hebrew: Notrim Guardsmen)24. He served as a Guardsmen in the Sarafend Camp (Hebrew name: Zrifin), 15 KM
south east of Tel Aviv.
On October 16, 1947 he enlisted in Tel Aviv as a Haganah member, but oddly enough, there is
no record of his IDF personal number. Behar remained in the British Watchmen Corps while
being a Haganah member.
Baruch Behar disappeared sometime between the end of 1947 and the beginning of 1948. His
family arrived from Egypt in 1950, parents, 4 sisters and 3 brothers. His parents did not last long
due to the grief following his disappearance.
As Baruch Behar disappeared likely between Tel-Aviv and Zrifin, one would think that
Israel would do more in the last 73 years elapsed since his disappearance (2021). A cousin
of his, Mordechai Behar served as a British clerk in Jerusalem and fell thereafter in the
Kastel battles. At this stage it remains unclear if his disappearance was voluntary or can be
attributed to a crime or to the War of Independence hostilities.
24
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notrim
69
Fig. 29: Baruch Behar.
Disappeared around January 01, 1948, age 22.
YAHRZEIT: 19 TEVET 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
70
Fig. 30: Baruch Behar’s old Pillow. NO Personal #, NO rank.
Age: 22
Born: Alexandria, Egypt
Parents: Donna and Isaac Behar.
Photos: blliongraves.com
71
Fig. 31: Baruch Behar new Pillow.
No IDF Personal Number, NO rank
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
72
6. January
1948
One
unidentified
MIA, Nablus.
73
Fig. 32: Private Ezra Nattal.
Estimated disappearance date: January 01, 1948.
His photo is missing.
His Pillow is missing at the Mount Herzl National Cemetery, Jerusalem.
NO IDF Personal Number, NO Rank
74
Fig. 33: Private Ezra Nattal.
Photo: Not available. Did his family reject showing his picture?
75
Private Ezra Nattal is the only Jewish MIA whose photo is missing.
Only known pieces of Information is that he was an Infantry soldier last seen in the West Bank
town of Nablus (Hebrew: Shchem) hospital by the end of 1947.
Seen by whom?
How did he get into the Arab town of Nablus?
Did he die in the Nablus hospital?
In the 1940s there were 4 hospitals in Nablus: Rafidia, Al Watani, St. Lukes and The National
Hospital.
The Nablus hospitals, like any other hospitals, surely were running records of the patients
hospitalized, the dead and the ones who recovered.
Jewish Kfar-Saba is mere 60 KM west of Nablus. Jewish Afula is mere 50 KM north of
Nablus. Which Jewish units were stationed by the end of 1947 near those towns?
76
Druze Kaid Naif Hason كايد نايف قويwas born in 1924 in the Druze village Dalyat-el-Carmel
on the Carmel Mountains. In 1947 together with his cousin they joined the HAGANAH
Minorities Platoon headed by Giora Zeid25.
In 1948 they were on a reconnaissance mission after Iraqi forces who parked in Wadi Ara26.
They were captured and put trough a pseudo trial in Nablus. Kaid Naif Hason was executed on
July 01, 1948.
He was buried in Nablus. His body was never recovered.
25
https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%92%D7%99%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%90_%D7%96%D7%99%D7%99%D7%93
26
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wadi_Ara
77
Fig. 34: Kaid Naif Hason كايد نايف قوي
Photo: Not available. Either no picture or family refusal to post one.
78
Fig. 35: No IDF Personal Number, NO rank, Kaid Nimer Hason’s old Pillow.
Photo: Billiongraves.com
79
Fig. 36: No IDF Personal Number, NO rank (!?) Kaid Nimer Hason’s new Pillow.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
Parents: Nayifa and Nimer Hason
80
7. January 13,
1948
The Etzion
Settlements
Battles. 1 MIA
81
Obadiah Zrubavel was born in 1929 in British Jerusalem. In 1945, at age 16 he enlisted to the
HAGANAH in Jerusalem. In 1948 he enlisted in the British Police Force – The NOTRIM27 a
force which escorted and guarded remote Jewish settlements. In the Police force he served as a
medic.
On January 13, 1948 at age 19, he was with a NOTRIM force which escorted a Jewish convoy
of food supplies from Jerusalem to the ETZION settlements, about 22 KM south to Jerusalem.
The onwards leg from Jerusalem to Etzion went well. On the return leg from Etzion back to
Jerusalem the convoy encountered a barricade across the road bend near the Solomon Pools
water reservoirs, just outside the Arab town of Bethlehem, about 12 KM south of Jerusalem.
One policeman was injured while dismantling a landmine at the barricade. Obadiah Zrubavel
jumped off his armored vehicle in order to bandage the injured policeman. The Arab forces
around the roadblock opened heavy fire. Both Obadiah Zrubavel and the injured policeman
were exposed and thus were hit dead. The convoy hastingly proceeded forward leaving behind
the two bodies.
I could not identify the second victim on the Fallen List, as the only one listed dead on January
13, 1948 is Obadiah Zrubavel.
At least four questions remain:
1. What is the identity of the second soldier killed on January 13, 1948 at the Solomon
Pools ambush? On the Fallen List, there appears no additional fallen on that day.
2. Why were the two bodies left behind?
3. Which efforts, if any, were made to recover the two bodies immediately following the
event?
4. Which efforts, if any, were made to find the whereabouts of the remains since June 1967
when the area became under Israeli control?
27
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notrim
82
Fig. 37: Obadiah Zrubavel.
Killed: January 13, 1948.
YAHRZEIT: 02 SHVAT 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
83
Fig. 38: IDF Personal #172573 Private Obadiah Zrubavel’s old Pillow.
Age: 19
Born: Jerusalem, Israel
Parents: Chana and Ezekiel Zrubavel
Photo: Blliongraves.com
84
Fig. 39: IDF #172573 Private Obadiah Zrubavel’s new Pillow.
Rank was added: Private.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
85
8. March 15,
1948. 1 MIA
Unknown
Venue
86
Chaim Moses Berman was born on July 16, 1930 in Krakow, Poland. In 1947 he made his
way to British Israel but en route he was incarcerated by the British in the Cyprus Detention
Camps. By the middle of March 1948 he was released and arrived in British Israel, enlisted and
received his IDF Personal Number.
Thereafter, nothing is known about his whereabouts. The assumptions can go few ways:
1. He perished in a battle where his body was not recovered.
2. He was assaulted and murdered either in Tel-Aviv or in the Sarfend Base (Sarafend was and
still is today (2021) one of the largest army bases in Israel), or en route.
3. He disappeared due to personal issues.
87
Fig. 40: Chaim Moses (Jezi Marian) Berman.
Killed: March 15, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 04 NISAN 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
88
Fig.41: IDF #174069 Private Chaim Moses (Jezi Marian) Berman’s old Pillow.
Age: 18
Born: Krakow, Poland
Parents: Helena and Hans Jan Berman.
Photo: Blliongraves.com
89
Fig. 42: IDF #174069 Private Chaim Moses (Jezi Marian) Berman’s new Pillow.
His rank was added: Private.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
90
9. The Battles
over the Kastel
April 07, 1948
Kastel MIA #1
91
Fig. 43: 1948. A Typical Arab roadblock at Bab el‐Wad (today: Shaar Haguy) on the main road
from Tel‐Aviv to Jerusalem. The battles evolved when the Jewish convoys had to stop and
clear such blockades while the Arabs were lurking on the hills on both sides of the road.
Photo: Wikipedia
The bottleneck of arriving to Jerusalem from the western Mediterranean Plato had cost the
Jewish forces many battles and many MIAs. The combination of stubborn Arab forces that
controlled the topographic heights on top of the mountains west of Jerusalem had produced
heavy battles and a high number of Israeli MIAs. One of the important tasks of the #6 ETZIONI
Brigade was to protect convoys in and out of Jerusalem. On January 1948 David Shaltiel28
became the commander of the Battalion. The battalion’s main enemy was the professional
Jordanian British well trained Arab Legion. Thus the Jews suffered heavy loses. Shaltiel was
replaced, practically dismissed, on July 1948. Moshe Dayan29 replaced him
28
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Shaltiel
29
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moshe_Dayan
92
Aaron ‘Aruna’ Ben-Saul was born February 11, 1930 in British Jerusalem. Come December
1947, at the age of 17 and following the hostilities initiated by United Nations Resolution #181,
Aaron Aruna Ben-Saul was drafted into the MORIYA battalion of the ETZIONI brigade. On
April 07, 1948 Aaron Ben-Saul was part of a MORIYA battalion which was alarmed from
Jerusalem to assist the re-occupation of the Kastel hill and village as part of Operation
Nachshon30. “al Kastel” was an Arab village which sat on a hill directly south and over the TelAviv-Jerusalem highway and disturbed the Jewish traffic in and from Jerusalem31.
The name of the village was derived from a 3rd Century CE Roman Castle and thereafter a 10th
Cen. CE Crusader Castle on the top of the village.
On April 1948 the Kastel hill exchanged hands few times. The Arab forces lost their commander
Abed al-Qadir al-Hoseyni32. At a point of KM #4 west of Jerusalem Ben-Saul platoon
engaged fire with an Arab unit. Aaron Ben-Saul was wounded and left behind to watch over
heavy machineguns left behind. No force was designated in an attempt to rescue him. Aaron
Ben-Saul was never heard from as of April 07, 1948 and is considered MIA to date (2021)
Leaving a wounded soldier to die in the battlefield was then (and is certainly to date) short
of the IDF elementary standards, notewistanding the then IDF incubation days and the
gravity of this specific convoy.
30
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Nachshon
31
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al‐Qastal,_Jerusalem
32
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abd_al‐Qadir_al‐Husayni
93
Fig. 44: Aaron ‘Aruna’ Ben‐Saul.
Killed: April 07, 1948
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
94
Fig. 45: IDF #173510 Private Aaron ‘Aruna’ Ben‐Saul old Pillow.
Age: 18
Born: Jerusalem, Israel
Parents: Sara and Joseph Ben‐Saul.
Photo: Blliongraves.org
95
.
Fig. 46: IDF #173510 Private Aaron ‘Aaruna’ Ben‐Saul new Pillow.
His rank was added: private.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
96
10. Kastel
MIA #2
97
Moses Bentov Treblinski was born in 1919 in Poltusk, Poland. He arrived in Israel in 1942
together with the Anders Army33. Moses Treblinski enlisted into the IDF #10 HAREL
Brigade. The brigade commander was Isaak Rabin34. Initially, the HAREL brigade consisted
upon three battalions: The FOURTH [HAPORTZIM] battalion headed by Joseph Tabenkin;
the FIFTH [SHAAR HAGUY] battalion headed by Menachem Rusak35 and the SIXTH
[Jerusalem] battalion headed by Zvi Zamir36.
Moses Treblinski was placed as a Jeep driver in the FOURTH – [HAPORTZIM] battalion.
This battalion main task was to secure free transportation in and out of Jerusalem.
Between April 05 and April 15, 1948 the IDF initiated the NACHSON Operation37 with a main
target: breakthrough the road to Jerusalem. Jewish loses up to April 12, 1948 on the west front
of this operation: 7 deaths, 38 wounded and 1 MIA.
This MIA in the NACHSON Operation was Moses Bentov Treblinski.
33
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anders'_Army
34
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yitzhak_Rabin
35
https://palmach.org.il/veterans/veteranpage/?itemId=85291
36
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zvi_Zamir
37
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Nachshon
98
Fig. 47: Moses BenTov Treblinski
Killed: April 12, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 03 NISAN 5708
Photo credit: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
99
Fig. 48: IDF #11992 Private Moses BenTov Treblinski’s old Pillow
Age: 29
Born: Pultusk, Poland
Parents: Rachel and Solomon Treblinski
Photo: Blliongraves.com
100
Fig. 49: IDF #11992 Private Moses BenTov Treblinski new Pillow
His rank was added: Private.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
101
11. Kastel
MIA #3
102
Jacob Zrihen was born in 1925 in Casablanca, Morocco. He made Aliyah38 in 1947. He
enlisted in the IDF and served as a driver during the Nachson Operation conducted April 05 to
April 15, 1948. On April 20, 1948 he was a member of the Fifth Battalion “SHAAR HAGUY”
of the HAREL Brigade. He was a driver of an armored truck in a convoy of supplies making its
way from Kibbutz Hulda to Jerusalem.
He died on April 20, 1948 of wounds sustained by Arab fire when the convoy passed the
KASTEL Arab village. On April 1948 the control over the 5 KM strip from the KASTEL to
Jerusalem had exchanged hands numerous times between the Jewish and the Arab forces.
His body was kidnapped and mutilated by Arab forces.
No effort was made to reach his truck in order to recover his body. No efforts were made
thereafter to recover his remains.
38
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aliyah
103
Fig. 50: Jacob Zrihen.
Killed: April 20, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 11 NISAN 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
104
Fig. 51: IDF #11938 Private Jacob Zrihen’s old Pillow
Age: 23
Born: Casablanca, Morocco
His parents’ names are missing on the stone.
Photo: Blliongraves.com
105
Fig. 52: IDF #11938 Private Jacob Zrihen’s new Pillow.
His rank was added: Private.
His parents’ given names are yet missing.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021.
106
12. The
MishmarHaemek
Battles
1 MIA
April 13, 1948
107
David Ginter Lowenstein Livingstone was born in Breslau, Germany on September 11, 1919.
At the rise of Adolf Hitler39 in Germany, the Lowenstein family managed to immigrate to the
United States in the early 1930s.
In 1947 at age 28 he arrived in British Israel. He was drafted into the FIRST [Jezrael Valley]
battalion, of the #11 YIFTAH brigade, under the command of Dan Laner (Ernst Liner)40
reporting later on to Isaac Sade (Landoberg)41. Kibbutz Mishmar Haemek sat on a strategic
alternate road from Tel-Aviv to Haifa. The Arabs in the area had almost brigade size forces
under the ALA – the Arab Liberation Army42 headed by Fawzi al-Qawuqji43.
39
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Hitler
40
https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%93%D7%9F_%D7%9C%D7%A0%D7%A8
41
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yitzhak_Sadeh
42
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_Liberation_Army
43
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fawzi_al‐Qawuqji
108
Fig. 53: 1948. The ALA ‐ Arab Liberation Army emblem
Photo: Wikipedia
On April 04, 1948 in the late afternoon, the ALA – Arab Liberation Army initiated heavy
cannon shelling of Kibbutz Mishmar Haemek. ALA infantry attacked the kibbutz from the
south. The wounded and the children were evacuated with British help on the following days.
The battle lasted to April 14, 1948. The IDF won. The Arab villages around the kibbutz were
dismantled.
109
A memorial erected for the Jewish victims lists 19 dead in Kibbutz Mishmar Haemek battles.
David Livingstone’s name is not carved on the memorial...
Fig. 54: The Mishmar Haemek Memorial44. 19 Jewish victims. David Livingstone is not among
the dead listed on this memorial, neither is he listed as an MIA…
Photo: Wikipedia
44
https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A7%D7%A8%D7%91_%D7%9E%D7%A9%D7%9E%D7%A8_%D7%94%D7%A2%
D7%9E%D7%A7
110
We could not corroborate the statement in Izkor.gov.il45 that David Ginter Livingstone fell
April 13, 1948 in the Mishmar-Haemek battle…
This MIA requires further investigation to establish his correct disappearance circumstances.
Fig. 55: David Ginter Livingstone.
Killed: April 13, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 04 NISAN 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
45
https://www.izkor.gov.il/%D7%93%D7%95%D7%99%D7%93%20%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%95%D7%99%D7%A0%D7%
92%D7%A1%D7%98%D7%95%D7%9F/en_887a3ad6c2bda483e4230d9e7d059399
111
Fig. 56: IDF Personal #174083 Private David Ginter Livingstone’s Pillow.
Age: 28
Born: Germany
Parents: Frieda and Joseph Lewinstein Livingstone
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
112
13. The Battles
over Jaffa
February 23,
1948
1 MIA
113
Jacob “Zaki” Goren was born in Tel Aviv on February 12, 1936. Hostilities between the Arabs
of Jaffa and the adjacent on the north, Tel-Aviv initiated as early as November 1947, the day
United Nation Resolution 181 awarded a Jewish state. Most all Israeli Jews accepted the
resolution, the Arabs did not.
Come 1948 Jacob Goren was 12 years old boy performing messaging errands between the
ETZEL (also called the IRGUN46) soldiers defending the south municipal border line of Tel
Aviv. An Iraqi Squad arrived in order to fortify the local Jaffa Arabs. In addition, the British
were committed to keep Jaffa Arab as it was the biggest Arab town inhabited with 70,000 Arab
residents and located in the center of the land to be divided between the Arabs and Jews as per
the November 29, 1947 United Nation Resolution #181.
As of December 1947 the Arab forces were shelling Tel Aviv from the Hasan Beck mosque on
the northern edge of Jaffa. 156 civilian Jews were killed by the shelling. 1,000 injured. Arab
mortars demolished entire Tel-Aviv neighborhoods. The Arabs in Jaffa received help from an
Iraqi squad47. Now they were waiting for additional help from the Egyptian Army and the
Jordanian Legion.
On February 23, 1948 two months before the IRGUN took over Jaffa, Jacob Goren was
running one of his numerous courier errands. He was apprehended by soldiers of the Iraqi squad
positioned on the north edge of Arab Jaffa. The papers he carried may have led them to the
conclusion that this child is actually an IDF soldier. They executed him. There is no way to
know whether they buried him and if they did, his remains were never recovered. His remains
location is certainly within the borders of 1948 Arab Jaffa.
Jacob Goren’s fall marks the beginning of the battle over Jaffa in which Jaffa became an
Israeli town, integrated into Tel-Aviv.
46
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irgun
47
Joseph Evron – Gidi. 2001. 444 pages. Page 311
114
Fig. 57: Jacob “Zaki” Goren.
Death Date: February 23, 1948.
YAHRZEIT: 12 SHVAT 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
115
Fig. 58: IDF #174064 Private Jacob “Zaki” Goren.
Age: 12 (Twelve). The youngest MIA. Enlisted Post Mortem.
Born: Tel Aviv, Israel
Parents: Mina and Mordechai Goren
Photo: Blliongraves.com
116
Fig. 59: IDF #174064 Private Jacob “Zaki” Goren new Pillow.
Rank was added: Private.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021.
117
14. The Battles
over Jaffa
March 22,
1948.
1 MIA
118
Judah Gotlieb was born in British Tel Aviv in April 10, 1921. On October 1947 he graduated
Summa Cum Laude48 from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. His Major was Chemistry.
Come 1948, at age 27 he was drafted into the #5 Brigade GIVATI. The emblem of this brigade
became a sword and two sabra branches. The Brigade first Commander was Colonel Symon
Avidan49.
Fig. 60: Colonel Symon Avidan (born in Germany as Siegbert Koch), Commander of the GIVATI
Brigade during the Jebelia battle.
Photo: Wikipedia
On March 22, 1948 he participated in the battle around the Pillbox of Jebelia.
Jebelia was an Arab village adjacent to Jaffa on the south. Jebelia was a fishermen village on a
48
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/summa‐cum‐laude.asp
49
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shimon_Avidan
119
hill just south of Jaffa. Jaffa’s richest kept there their summer houses in order to enjoy the
Mediterranean cool breeze and the sea view. During WWII the British strategically erected a
Pillbox overlooking the village and the sea. The Pillbox was situated on top of the village. Come
the hostilities of December 1947 the village local Arabs took control over the Pillbox.
Fig. 61: 1960s. View from the Jebelia Pillbox towards the Mediterranean.
Photo: http://www.daaton.co.il/Article.aspx?id=3768
120
Fig. 62: 1960s. The Jebelia Green House summer estate of sheikh Ben Ali.
Photo: http://www.daaton.co.il/Article.aspx?id=3768
Judah Gotlieb was part of the squad whose task was to attack and overtake the Jebelia Pillbox
from the Arabs on March 22, 1948. Judah Gotlieb did manage to reach the Pillbox and did
manage to activate a load of explosives at the wall of the Pillbox. Then he had 15 seconds
remained to run away and find refuge from the bombing. But he made the error for which he
paid with his life. He ran away from the Pillbox in the wrong direction, directly towards an Arab
post. The Arab unit defending the Pillbox shot him dead.
Due to the heavy fire from the Arab Jebelia unit, the GIVATI squad was forced to retreat,
deserting Judah Gotlieb’s body at the Pillbox.
121
His body was not recovered in the following days to come. GIVATI Commander Colonel
Symon Avidan issued no order to recover Gotlieb’s body. Those were the early IDF days when
the tradition of recovering comrades bodies from battlefields was not prioritized yet.
Fig. 63: 2021. On the right: British type 25 circular World War II era Pillbox (On the left stands
an Ottoman era building). This Pillbox is located in the former Arab village of Tel a‐Rish, today
the Tel‐Giborim quarter in the north part of the town of Holon, bordering south Tel‐Aviv.
The Jabelia village pillbox was situated on the Mediterranean beach 2 KM west of the Tel a
Rish pillbox.
Photo: Wikipedia
122
Fig. 64: Judah Gotlieb.
Fell: March 22, 1948.
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
123
Fig. 65: IDF Personal #3094 Corporal Judah Gotlieb’s old Pillow.
NO Rank mentioned.
Age: 28
Born: Tel Aviv, Israel
Parents: Bilha and Moses Gotlieb.
Photo: blliongraves.com
124
Fig. 66: IDF #3094 Corporal Judah Gotlieb’s new Pillow.
His rank Corporal was added: Corporal.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
125
15. The Battles
over Jaffa
April 25, 1948
1 MIA
126
Samuel Wachtfogel was born on March 15, 1929 in British Jerusalem. In 1946 he joined the
ETZEL (IRGUN)50 underground. In 1948 he was made responsible for the IRGUN’s
underground arms factory. On April 25, 1948 he was member of the forces to attack Jaffa under
the NACHSON Operation, conducted on cooperation with HAGANA brigades.
On April 28, 1948, few HAGANA brigades in cooperation with the IRGUN were conducting
Operation Hametz51 with the objective to capture Arab villages around Jaffa, so to isolate Jaffa
from its hinterland. The commander of the entire operation was Dan Epstein Even52,
commander of the Alexandroni Brigade53.
Wachtfogel was a soldier in the 52nd battalion of the GIVATI brigade. The battalion’s
commander was Jacob Prolov Peri. The target was the Arab village Tel-a-Rish. Canon shelling
on the village started on time but Peri’s battalion was lingering behind. The surprise attach
advantage was lost. Nevertheless, the 52nd battalion soldiers did overcome Tel-a-Rish. The
Arabs send reinforcements from nearby Jaffa, west of Tel-a-Rish. The Arab Liberation Army
- ALA54 AGNADIN battalion headed by Michel-al-Issa arrived from Jaffa. The Jewish forces
had no ample time to get fortified. The ALA forced the 52nd battalion Jewish forces to retreat
east to the Jewish village of MIKVE ISRAEL55 just 3 KM east of Tel-a-Rish.
Tel-a Rish remained in the hands of Arab forces for few more weeks. They surrendered only at
the Jaffa capitulation on May 13, 1948.
50
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irgun
51
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Hametz
52
https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%93%D7%9F_%D7%90%D7%91%D7%9F
53
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandroni_Brigade
54
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_Liberation_Army
55
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikveh_Israel
127
The Tel-a-Rish retreat was costly for Jacob Prolov Peri 52nd battalion: 36 dead, out of which 7
MIAs and 100 wounded. Obviously their arms were lost as well: 3 machineguns, 12 sub
machineguns and 20 rifles but this was secondary to the loss of lives and the conscious
abandonment of bodies in the battlefield.
The Arabs suffered 30 deaths and 62 wounded56. The 52nd battalion and any other Jewish help
force did not return in the days to come in search of the MIAs. It seems that bodies of the dead
were left to rot in the sunny fields between Tel-a-Rish and MIKVE ISRAEL.
Few MIAs from the Jaffa battles were identified in 2007, over 60 years post mortem.
Eight Jewish soldiers remain MIAs of the Jaffa battles to date: Jacob Goren, Chaim Moshe
Berman, Judah Gotlieb, Samuel Wachtfogel, Bert Wasserberg, Amos Danieli, Nehemia
Jacobi and Isaac Kendler.
56
https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%90‐%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%A9
128
Fig. 67: April 03, 1948, Cairo, Egypt. The al‐Mussawar daily newspaper reports about Arab
Liberation Army – ALA ‘success’ battles in Palestine.
Photo: Wikipedia
129
Fig. 68: Samuel Wachtfogel.
Killed: April 25, 1948
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
130
Fig. 69: IDF #173816 Private Samuel Wachtfogel’s old Pillow.
Age: 20
Born: Jerusalem, Israel
Parents: Bluma Rachel and Isaac Jacob Wachtfogel
Photo: blliongraves.com
131
Fig. 70: IDF #173816 Private Samuel Wachtfogel new Pillow.
His rank was added: Private.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
132
Bert Wasserberg was born October 22, 1919 in Berlin, Germany. Following the Holocaust he
made Aliyah to Israel in 1946. In 1948 he was drafted to the GIVATI brigade.
Bert Wasserberg fell in the Tel-a-Rish battles east of Jaffa, on or around April 28, 1948.
133
Fig.71: Bertold Bert Wasserberg.
Killed: April 28, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 19 NISAN 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
134
Fig. 72: IDF Personal #5400. Bertold Bert Wasserberg’s new Pillow.
Age: 20
Born: Berlin, Germany
Parents: Chana and Zigmond Waserberg
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
135
Amos Danieli was born May 11, 1929 in Rehovot, British Israel. On December 1947 at age
eighteen, he was enlisted and became a corporal. On April 28, 1948 he participated in the
Hametz Operation57.
He fell during the battles in and around the Arab village Tel-a-Rish.
Notewistanding numerous searches, his body was not recovered and he remains MIA to date.
57
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Hametz
136
Fig. 73: Amos Ami Danieli.
Killed: April 28, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 19 NISAN 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
137
Fig. 74: IDF Personal #172150 Corporal Amos Ami Danieli Pillow.
Age: 18
Born: Rehovot, Israel
Parents: Rebecca and Isaac Danieli.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021.
138
Judah Levi Kipur was born June 11, 1929 in Turkey. At age 16, in 1945 he made Aliyah. In
1948 he was drafted in the #5 GIVATI infantry brigade. The brigade first commander was
Symon Avidan58. The deputy commander was Meirke Davidson59.
Fig. 75: 1948. Left to right: Symon Avidan GIVATI brigade commander and his deputy Meirke
Davidson.
Photo: Wikipedia.
58
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shimon_Avidan
59
https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9E%D7%90%D7%99%D7%A8_%D7%93%D7%95%D7%93%D7%96%D7%95%D7
%9F
139
On April 30 to June 03, 1948 the GIVATI brigade in cooperation with an ETZEL battalion and
a battalion of the NEGEV brigade conducted Operation PLESHET. The operation carried two
targets: To take over the Arab village of Yavne and to attack Egyptian pioneer forces in the area
of today’s Ashdod. The first mission succeeded, the second mission failed.
Judah Levi Kipur fell on May31, 1048 in the battle over Ashdod as a result of heavy Egyptian
shelling.
His body was never recovered.
140
Fig.76: Judah Levi Kipur.
Killed: May 31, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 22 IYAR 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
141
Fig. 77: IDF Personal #173522 Private Judah Levi Kipur’s Pillow.
Age: 19
Born: Turkey
Parents: Shafika Shefia and Joshuah Levi Kipur.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021.
142
Martin Louis ‘Tom’ Katenburg was born on July 01, 1922 in Amsterdam, Holland. On April
1948 he made Aliyah to British Israel just before the Israel Declaration of Independence.
He was drafted into the GIVATI brigade. During the Ten Days Battles60 a GIVATI platoon
engaged with the Egyptian forces near today’s Ashdod.
Following this battle, he or his body was never recovered.
60
https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A7%D7%A8%D7%91%D7%95%D7%AA_%D7%A2%D7%A9%D7%A8%D7%AA_%
D7%94%D7%99%D7%9E%D7%99%D7%9D
143
Fig. 78: Martin Louis Katenburg.
Killed: July 07, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 30 SIVAN 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
144
Fig. 79: IDF Personal #16127, no rank, Martin Louis ‘Tom’ Katenburg’s old Pillow.
Photo: Billiongraves.com
145
Fig. 80: IDF Personal #16127 Private Martin Louis ‘Tom’ Katenburg’s Pillow.
Age: 26
Born: Holland
Parents: Helena and Levi Katenburg.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021.
146
Zalman Zigmond Rosenfeld was born on August 05, 1920 in Czestochowa, Poland. On
August 1947 he made Aliyah. On July 1948 he was drafted to the 53th Battalion of the #5
GIVATI Brigade under which he was employed in fortifications construction.
The record shows that he was shot by the Egyptian forces near the base of Beit Daras on July
08, 1948.
He is possibly interned in the Beer Tuvia Cemetery in an anonymous grave.
147
Fig. 81: Zalman Zigmond Rosenfeld.
Killed: July 08, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 01 TAMUZ 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
148
Fig. 82: NO IDF Personal #, NO rank. Zalman Zigmond Rosenfeld’s Pillow.
Age: 28
Born: Poland
Parents: Ida and Fajbish Rosenfeld.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021.
149
Joseph Hovshi [Kovshi] was born in 1920 in Yemen. The family made Aliyah in 1933. In 1948
he was drafted into a Fortification Squad. Fortification Squads were responsible for erecting
fortifications across the various battle fronts.
On January 01, 1949, Joseph Hovshi and his squad mate Zachary Yihiya Moses, wandered
over the Egyptian side of the front near the Arab village of Beit-Daras, south of today’s town of
Kiryat Malhaki.
The Red Cross confirmed in a later date that Joseph Hovshi and Zachary Yihiya Moses were
captured and executed by the Egyptian Army forces stationed near the vicinity of Beir Daras.
150
Fig. 83: Joseph Hovshi
Gone MIA: January 01, 1949
YAHRZEIT: 30 KISLEV 5709
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
151
Fig. 84: IDF Personal #172832 Private Joseph Hovshi’s Pillow.
Age: 28
Born: Yemen
Parents: Susana and David Hovshi Kovshi.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021.
152
Zachary Yihiya Moses was born in 1910 in the town of Jechzan in Yemen. His family made
Aliyah in 1934. In 1948 he was drafted into a Fortification Squad. Fortification Squads were
responsible for erecting fortifications across the various battle fronts.
On January 01, 1949, Joseph Hovshi [Kovshi] and his squad mate Zachary Yihiya Moses,
wandered over the Egyptian side of the front near the Arab village of Beit-Daras, south of
today’s town of Kiryat Malhaki.
The Red Cross confirmed in a later that Joseph Hovshi and Zachary Yihiya Moses were
captured and executed by the Egyptian Army forces stationed near the vicinity of Beir Daras.
153
Fig. 85: Zachary Yihiya Moses
Is he Zachary Yihiya Moses?
Gone MIA: January 01, 1949
The Pillow writes that he fell on: July 05, 1948, 28 SIVAN 5708.
YAHRZEIT: 30 KISLEV 5709
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
154
Fig. 86: NO IDF Personal # NO rank Yihiah Chaim Moses’s Pillow.
Is he Zachary Yihiya Moses?
Age: 38
Born: Yemen
Parents: Zohara and Chaim Moses.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021.
155
Robert Lester (Bob) Wikman was born on November 21, 1921 in Los-Angeles, CA. In 1943
he became a U.S. Air Force WWII pilot. At age 27, he was drafted to the IDF Air Force on
April 1948.
On July 07, 1848 he was in a reconnaissance flight over Gaza from which he never returned.
He remains MIA to date.
The remains of his plan and his body were either overlooked or not traced.
156
Fig. 87: Robert Lester (Bob) Wikman.
Killed: July 09, 1948
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
157
Fig. 88: IDF Personal #71641, Robert Lester (Bob) Wikman’s Pillow.
Age: 26
Born: Los‐Angeles, CA.
Parents: Elsa and Mordechai Wikman.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021.
158
David Mizrahi was born in 1924 in British Jerusalem. In 1940 at age 16 he joined the
PALMACH and latter on he was accepted into the PALMACH Arab Squad, responsible for
intelligence missions within the Arab population.
At age 24, on May 1948 he and his comrade Ezra Efgin were on an IDF intelligence mission
within Gaza city. They were captured and tortured. They were forced to falsely admit that their
mission was to poison Gaza water wells. They were executed in Gaza on August 22, 1948.
They were possibly interned in the Gaza Jewish Cemetery. The Gaza Jewish Cemetery remains
were under Israeli control in 1956 and since 1967 for long periods but this cemetery was
practically destroyed by Arab houses build over it.
159
Fig. 89: David Mizrahi.
Executed: August 22, 1948
Yahrzeit: 17 AV 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
160
Fig. 90: IDF Personal #80963, Lieutenant David Mizrahi’s old Pillow.
Photo: BillionGraves.com
161
Fig. 91: IDF Personal #80963, Lieutenant David Mizrahi’s Pillow.
Age: 24
Born: Jerusalem
Parents: Miriam and Nahum Mizrahi.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021.
162
Ezra Efgin Horin was born on September 15, 1925 in Asmara, Eritrea. His family made
Aliyah in 1927. He passed his schooling years in Kibbutz Afikim.
At age 23, on May 1948 he and his comrade David Mizrahi where on an IDF intelligence
reconnaissance mission within Gaza city. They were captured and tortured. They were forced to
falsely admit that their mission was to poison Gaza water wells. They were executed in Gaza on
August 22, 1948.
They were possibly interned in the Gaza Jewish Cemetery. The Gaza Jewish Cemetery remains
were under Israeli control in 1956 and thereafter since 1967 for long periods, but this cemetery
was practically destroyed by Arab houses build over it.
163
Fig. 92: Ezra Efgin Horin.
Executed: August 22, 1948
Yahrzeit: 17 AV 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
164
Fig. 93: IDF Personal #31609, Lieutenant Ezra Efgin (Horin)’s old Pillow.
Photo: BilionGraves.com
165
Fig. 94: IDF Personal #31609, Lieutenant Ezra Efgin Horin’s new Pillow.
Age: 22
Born: Asmara, Eritrea
Parents: Leah and Issachar Efgin Horin.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021.
166
Fig. 95: The Ezra Efgin Memorial at Kibbutz Afikim.
Photo: Wikipedia
167
Fig. 96: Circa 1942. Kibbutz Afikim. Ezra Efgin age 17, kneels on right.
Photo: Wikipedia
168
Fig. 97: August 1948, Gaza. David Mizrahi (left) and Ezra Efgin (middle) during their pseudo
trial in Gaza City.
Photo: Wikipedia
169
Fig. 98: August 1948, Gaza. David Mizrahi (left) and Ezra Efgin during their pseudo trial in
Gaza City.
Photo: Wikipedia
170
Fig. 99: May 22, 1958: The fabricated confession signed by Ezra Horin: “I, Ezra Horin from Tel
Aviv, was given a canteen with Typhoid and dysentery bacteria by my commander Moses,
and I was ordered to drop it into the water well so to kill the Egyptian Army. Ezra Horin”
Photo: Wikipedia
171
Nehemiah Jacobi was born on August 08, 1928 in British Tel Aviv. In 1948 he joined the
IRGUN ETZEL61 forces. In April 1948 he was part of the ETZEL forces in the battles over
Jaffa. While delivering ammunition to his post on April 29, 1948, during Operation Hametz62,
he fell as victim to a British bombardment.
His body remains were never recovered.
61
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irgun
62
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Hametz
172
Fig. 100: Nehemiah Jacobi.
Killed: April 29, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 20 NISAN 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
173
Fig. 101: IDF #173817 Private Nehemiah Jacobi’s old Pillow
Age: 20
Born: Tel Aviv, Israel
Parents: Susana and Mattie Jacobi
Photo: BllionGraves.com
174
Fig. 102: IDF #173817 Private Nehemiah Jacobi’s new Pillow.
His rank was added.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
175
16. The Battle
over Jaffa
April 30, 1948
1 MIA
176
Isaac “Isaacale” Kendler was born on October 12, 1926 in Ekron, Brit Israel. He joined the
HISH HAGANAH Corps63 which later on became the GIVATI brigade.
During Operation Hametz he was in the force retreating from Tel-a-Rish. He was the operator
of a Spandau Machinegun 4264. Isaac Kendler stayed behind covering the wounded left in the
fields between Tel-a-Rish and Mikve Israel. This is where he was hit again and killed..
His body was not recovered.
63
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hish_(Haganah_corps)
64
https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/MG42
177
Fig. 103: Isaac “Isaakale” Kendler.
Killed: April 29, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 21 NISAN 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
178
Fig. 104: IDF #6489 Private Isaac “Isaacale” Kendler’s Pillow.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
Age: 22
Born: Ekron, British Israel
Parents: Rebecca and Jacob Kendler
179
17. Operation
Medina.
May 1948
11 MIAs
180
Dov Golumb was born in 1927 in Poland. Surviving the Holocaust, he arrived in British Israel
in 1943 together with the Teheran Children65. In 1948 he served as a machine-gunned in the
33rd Battalion of the #3 Alexandroni Brigade66.
Eleven Israeli soldiers remain MIAs to date s as the result on Operation MEDINA which
initiated on April, 1948 and overtook merely one Arab village: Kafr Saba.
One of the MIAs in this operation was Dov Golumb. Such high number of MIAs in a single
battle did not make Operation Medina a success.
Obviously, many things went wrong. Medina means “State” in the Hebrew language. The
operation was conducted few weeks before May 14, 1948 the day David Ben Gurion67 declared
the independent Jewish State68.
Jewish Kfar Saba was attacked by forces from Arab Kafr-Saba on May 09, 1948. Both the
Arab and the Jewish village were adjacent with mere 2 KM distance between them. The
Alexandroni brigade was allotted the task of taking over Arab Kafr Saba.
65
https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%99%D7%9C%D7%93%D7%99_%D7%98%D7%94%D7%A8%D7%90%D7%9F
66
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandroni_Brigade
67
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Ben‐Gurion
68
https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%94%D7%9B%D7%A8%D7%96%D7%AA_%D7%94%D7%A2%D7%A6%D7%9E%D
7%90%D7%95%D7%AA
181
The Alexandroni brigade commander was Dan Even69.
Fig. 105: 1948. General Dan Even.
Photo: Wikipedia
69
https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%93%D7%9F_%D7%90%D7%91%D7%9F
182
The tactics of the battle called for three stages operating in harmony. Harmony there was not.
Aside from the success in stage 1, stages 2-4 failed70.
1. Taking over Arab Kafr Saba.
2. Blocking Arab enforcements at the OTZAR orchard.
3. Blocking Arab enforcements at the a-Nebi-Yamin (today’s Neve Yamin a Jewish village)
4. Taking over the Arab village of Tirah.
Stage 1: Two squads from the #33 and the #32 battalions of the Alexandroni Brigade attacked
Arab Kafr Saba at 13:00 on May 13, 1948. The Arabs escaped, they attempted to counter
attacked but failed.
Stage 2: The Jewish blockage at the OTZAR orchard and the nearby Brown Hill failed. Arab
soldiers of Arab Kafr Saba attacked the blockade from the back side. Wounded Jewish soldiers
in the OTZAR Orchard main building were killed.
Stage 3: The Jewish blockage at a-Nebi-Yamin Arab village on the Kfar Saba-Kalkilia road
failed. Arab armored vehicles arriving from Kalkilia attacked the blockade. The blockade Jewish
forces requested reinforcement from Kfar-Saba. The Arab armored vehicles eliminated Jewish
anti-tanks launchers. The explosives which this blockade planted under the road did not ignite. A
Jewish armored vehicle which came for help was neutralized by the Arab armored vehicles, its
occupants killed. The a-Nebi Yamin blockade had to retreat.
Stage 4: The Battle over Tirah initiated April 13, 1948. Approaching Tirah the village seemed
abandoned. Hence Jewish forces were ordered to take the village over. At this stage the Jewish
70
https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9E%D7%91%D7%A6%D7%A2_%D7%9E%D7%93%D7%99%D7%A0%D7%94
183
force was caught by heavy crossfire. Most men got killed, few managed to retreat. Jewish
casualties: 24 killed, 4 MIAs. A Jewish attack on Tirah the next day failed causing additional 5
deaths.
Total count of the Jewish side dead: Over 50. The main benefit of the Medina Operation: Arab
Kafr Saba remained in Jewish control and thus the green line border between Israel and the
West Bank was pushed back in 1948 few kilometers to the east.
184
Fig. 106: Dov Golumb.
Date gone MIA: May 13, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 04 IYAR 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
185
Fig. 107: IDF #173515 Private Dov Golumb’s Pillow.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
Age: 21
Born: 1927, Poland
Oddly his parents’ names are not mentioned on his Pillow
186
Fig. 108: Judah Singer.
Date gone MIA: May 13, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 04 IYAR 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
187
Judah Hacohen Singer was born in 1924 in the town of Vasloy, Rumania. At age 21, on 1947,
with his wife and daughter they made Aliyah. On May 1948 he was drafted for fortification
work in Arab Kafr-Saba. He died due to an Arab shelling on May 13, 1948.
188
Fig. 109: IDF #170043 Private Judah Singer’s Pillow.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
Age: 25
Born: 1924, Vasloy Rumania
Parents: Feiga and Eliezer Hacohen Singer.
189
Israel “Srulik” Frank was born on September 16, 1921 in Arciz, Bessarabia (then in
Rumania). Following the Holocaust the family made Aliyah in 1946. He was drafted in 1948,
trained as a sapper and stationed in the Alexandroni Brigade. On May 1948 he participated in
Operation Medina. When Iraqi forces under ALA – the Arab Liberation Army attempted to
recover Arab Kafr Saba, he was in the Alexandroni squad which dredged the road. A fellow
soldier got wounded and Israel Frank stalled too long in order to save him. Both got killed and
became MIAs.
Fig. 110: Israel Frank.
Date gone MIA: May 13, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 04 IYAR 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
190
Fig. 111: IDF #6741 Private Israel “Srulik” Frank’s Pillow.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
Age: 25
Born: 1924, Vasloy Rumania
Parents: Esther and Chaim Frank.
191
Abraham Presler was born on February 03, 1928 in Brunswig, Germany. At age 8, in 1936,
his family made Aliyah. In 1948 he was drafted in the Alexandroni Brigade. On May 13, 1948
he fell on Operation Medina. His body was never recovered and he was pronounced MIA.
Fig. 112: Abraham Presler.
MIA: May 13, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 04 IYAR 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
192
Fig. 113: IDF #1236 Private Abraham Presler’s Pillow.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
Age: 20
Born: 1928, Brunswig, Germany
Parents: Regina and Joseph Presler.
193
Hillel Reiner was born on February 20, 1926 in Berlin, Germany. As a result of Hitler’s rise in
Germany, Reiner’s family made Aliyah to Israel in 1933. For a while he was a member of the
bodyguard’s team who protected Chaim Weitzman71. He was stationed in the Alexandroni
brigade and went through the lucrative HAGANA Officers’ Course.
Lieutenant Hillel Reiner fell on May 13, 1948 during Operation Medina to overtake Arab Kfar
Saba. His body was never recovered from the battlefield.
Fig. 114: Hillel Reiner.
Date gone MIA: May 13, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 04 IYAR 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
71
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaim_Weizmann
194
Fig. 115: IDF #136459 Lieutenant Hillel Reiner’s Pillow.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
Age: 22
Born: 1928, Berlin, Germany
Parents: Pnina and Joshua Reiner.
195
Dan Stern was born in British Tel Aviv on June 26, 1929. He enlisted on December 1947 to the
Alexandroni Brigade where he went through Squad Commanders’ course. Corporal Dan Stern
fell on May 13, 1948 during Operation Medina to overtake the Arab village of Kafr Saba.
Fig. 116: Dan Stern.
Date gone MIA: May 13, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 04 IYAR 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
196
Fig. 117: IDF #8383 Corporal Dan Stern’s Pillow.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
Age: 19
Born: 1929, Tel‐Aviv
Parents: Frieda and David Stern.
197
Ruben ‘Debka’ Pitel was born in Kfar Hess, British Israel on June 13, 1928. On March 1948
he enlisted into the Alexandroni Battalion and defended his own Kfar Hess. Ruben Pitel fell
during Operation Medina on the attack on the village of Tirah. His body was never recovered.
Fig. 118: Ruben Pitel.
Date gone MIA: May 13, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 04 IYAR 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
198
Fig. 119: IDF #173528 Private Ruben Pitel’s Pillow.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
Age: 20
Born: 1929, Kfar‐Hess, British Israel
Parents: Chana and Michael Pitel.
199
Amiram Yagnatinski was born on August 09, 1928 in Haifa, British Israel. In 1948 he was
drafted and defended his village Kfar Hess. On May 13, 1948 he fell on Operation MEDINA,
near the Arab village of Tirah. His body was not recovered from the battlefield.
Fig. 120: Amiram Yagnatinski.
Date gone MIA: May 13, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 04 IYAR 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
200
Fig. 121: IDF #173517 Private Amiram Yagnatinski’s Pillow.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
Age: 20
Born: 1928, Haifa, British Israel
Parents: Tova and Moses Yagnatinski.
201
Pinkus Cohen was born on April 21, 1930 in Kibbutz Tel-Joseph in the Beit-Shean valley of
British Israel. In 1948 he enlisted into the Alexandroni Brigade. Pinkus Cohen fell in the
Tirah battle, Operation MEDINA, on May 13, 1948. His body was not recovered.
Fig. 122: Pinkus Cohen.
Date gone MIA: May 13, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 04 IYAR 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
202
Fig. 123: IDF #173521 Private Pinkus Cohen’s Pillow.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
Age: 18
Born: 1928, Haifa, British Israel
Parents: Rina and Zeb Cohen.
203
Jehiel Michael Karsel was born on May 29, 1926 in Zvlotow, Poland. His family made Aliyah
in 1932 and settled in Kfar Hess. He was drafted in 1947 and served with the Alexandroni
Brigade. Jehiel Michel Karsel fell on May 13, 1948 in the battle over the Arab village Tirah.
His body was never recovered from the battlefield.
Fig. 124: Jehiel Michael Karsel.
Date gone MIA: May 13, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 04 IYAR 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
204
Fig. 125: IDF #173519 Corporal Jehiel Michael Karsel’s Pillow.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
Age: 21
Born: 1926, Zvlotow, Poland
Parents: Leah and Abraham Karsel.
205
Dov “Berale” Broder was born in 1927 in Vilna (then in Poland). On 1934 his family made
Aliyah. In 1948 he enlisted in the Alexandroni Brigade. On May 13, 1948 his unit participated
in the battle over Arab Kafr Saba. He was in the staff of an armored vehicle hit by an Arab antitank shell. The vehicle caught fire. His body was never recovered from the battlefield.
Fig. 126: Dov Broder.
Date gone MIA: May 14, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 05 IYAR 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
206
Fig. 127: IDF #38136 Private Dov “Berale” Broder’s Pillow.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
Age: 20
Born: 1927, Vilna, then in Poland
Parents: Esther and Eliezer Broder.
207
Zvi Herman Stern was born in 1908 in Germany. He made Aliyah in 1935. In 1948 he enlisted
in the Alexandroni Brigade. The battle over Arab Kafr Saba72 was conducted between May 13,
1948 and May 14, 1948. Violent Patrol Squads consisting of the 33rd Battalion soldiers
enhanced with 2 Squads of the 32nd Battalion. The two battalions of the Alexandroni Brigade
attacked and took over Arab Kafr Saba, but the human toll was high: 24 dead soldiers and 4
MIAs73. Three months following this battle on August 11, 1948 Zvi Herman Stern manned an
IDF observation position on the northern outskirts of Arab Kafr Saba, now in Jewish hands.
The position was attacked by Iraqi forces and he was killed. His body was never recovered.
Fig. 128: Zvi Herman Stern.
Date gone MIA: August 11, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 01 AV 5708
72
https://www.alexandroni.org/medina/
73
https://www.alexandroni.org/tira/
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
208
Fig. 129: IDF #78083 Private Zvi Herman Stern’s old Pillow.
Photo: BilionGraves.com
209
Fig. 130: IDF #78083 Private Zvi Herman Stern’s Pillow.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
Age: 40
Born: 1908, Germany
Parents: Frieda and Hugo Herc Stern.
210
Shlomo Stoler was born in 1926 in Karelic, Poland. In 1941 his family was incarcerated in the
Novogrodek Ghetto. Shlomo and his brother Judah escaped the ghetto and joined the Bielski
partisans74. In 1946 he made Aliyah. In 1947 he was drafted into the #5 GIVATI Brigade. On
May 05, 1948 he was part of a force of armored vehicles attacking the Arab village of Latrun.
The force encountered heavy shelling by ALA – the Arab Liberation Army75. Shlomo Stoler
fell during the shelling. His body was left in enemy controlled territory and was never recovered.
Fig. 131: Shlomo Stoler.
Date gone MIA: May 05, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 26 NISAN 5708
74
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bielski_partisans
75
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_Liberation_Army
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
211
Fig. 132: IDF #10399 Private Shlomo Stoler’s Pillow.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
Age: 22
Born: 1926, Karelic, Poland
Parents: Tova Gitel and Zelig Stoler.
212
Fig. 133: May 14, 1948. Tel‐Aviv, Israel. David Ben Gurion proclaims the State of Israel.
Photo: Wikipedia
213
Judah Hiller was born in 1929 in Poland. His family made Aliyah in 1932 to British Israel. In
1948 he was drafted in the 54th Battalion of the GIVATI Brigade. On July 1948 his unit
participated in Operation Death to the Invaders 76מוות לפולש.
A squad of the 54th Battalion of the GIVATI Brigade attacked Egyptian forces stationed in the
Arab village Beit Afa77 in southern Israel. The Egyptian forces constituted of a infantry brigade
and support forces, some 500 soldiers. The village exchanged hands.
On July 17, 1948 the 54th Battalion squad and a NAVY Squad re-attacked Beit Afa. They were
stalled by a new fence erected by the Egyptians overnight and by heavy shelling. The Jewish
force had to withdraw to Kibbutz Negba78. The 54th Battalion suffered twelve dead and forty
wounded. Few of the wounded were left behind. The Egyptians killed them all. Total toll: 37
Jewish dead and MIAs.
The IZKOR website79 claims that Judah Hiller fell and became MIA in the 51st Battalion
attack in a July 17, 1948 attack on Stronghold 113 hill80. Alas, such attack occurred only 3
months later on October 17, 1948 under Operation YOAV81, not on July 17, 1948, the date the
IZKOR website attributes to Judah Hiller going MIA.
76
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Death_to_the_Invader
77
https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A7%D7%A8%D7%91%D7%95%D7%AA_%D7%91%D7%99%D7%AA_%D7%A2%
D7%A4%D7%94
78
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negba
79
https://www.izkor.gov.il/%D7%99%D7%94%D7%95%D7%93%D7%94%20%D7%94%D7%99%D7%9C%D7%A8/en_0
818b77e6b5504f3851cca6f96826c3f
80
https://www.mapah.co.il/%D7%A7%D7%A6%D7%A8‐
%D7%95%D7%9C%D7%A2%D7%A0%D7%99%D7%99%D7%9F/%D7%98%D7%99%D7%95%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%9
D‐%D7%95%D7%90%D7%AA%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%9D‐
%D7%9E%D7%A2%D7%A0%D7%99%D7%99%D7%A0%D7%99%D7%9D‐
%D7%91%D7%A9%D7%A4%D7%9C%D7%AA‐%D7%94%D7%97%D7%95%D7%A3‐
%D7%94%D7%93%D7%A8/%D7%92%D7%91%D7%A2%D7%AA‐%D7%90%D7%A8%D7%A0%D7%95%D7%9F‐
%D7%92%D7%91%D7%A2%D7%94‐113/
81
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Yoav
214
Fig. 134: The 2006 Yad Nathan82 memorial for the 37 killed in the Beit Afa battles.
Judah Hiller is not among them…
Photo: Wikipedia
82
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yad_Natan
215
Fig. 135: Judah Hiller’s photo is not available on the IZKOR.gov.il website
Date gone MIA: July 18, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 11 TAMUZ 5708
216
Fig. 136: IDF #5894 Private Judha Hiller’s Pillow.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
Age: 19
Born: 1929, Poland
Parents: Miriam and Abraham Hiller.
217
Israel Maykel was born in Warsaw, Poland on December 25, 1929. At age 5, in 1934 the family
made Aliyah. In 1947 he joined the ETZEL83 Underground. In 1948 he joined the #5 GIVATI
Brigade as a mortar operator.
The battle over the Arab village of al-Burj (today near the town of Modiin) occurred on July 15,
1948. YIFTAH brigade soldiers took over the village. On July 16, 1948, The Arab Legion84
under the British command of John Bagot Glubb85 attacked back with a force of 12 armored
vehicles and two infantry Squads. It was a close range battle. The Arab Legion had to retreat,
and left behind them two operational armored vehicles.
Fig. 137: al‐Burj battle, July 1948. IDF soldiers with one of the two captured Jordanian Arab
Legion armored vehicles. In the middle: possibly Abraham Sendik.
83
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irgun
84
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_Legion
85
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bagot_Glubb
Photo: Wikipedia
218
On September 16, 1948, a GIVATI brigade patrol was making its way in the vicinity of the alBurj village. The patrol was ambushed by an Arab Legion front reconnaissance unit. Four
GIVATI soldiers got killed: Israel Myikel, Abraham Sendik, Zvi Wolkostavski Cemri and
Zvi Rosenblum. The bodies of the four fallen where never recovered.
To date it would have been unheard-of to leave a single soldier’s body in the battlefield, certainly
not 4 bodies. In this case, the area was not under Arab control; the village of al-Burj was
captured and held two months before this incident by IDF forces.
Fig. 138: Israel Myikel.
Date gone MIA: September 16, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 12 ELUL 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
219
Fig. 139: IDF #87824 Private Israel Myikel’s Pillow.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
Age: 18
Born: 1929, Warsaw, Poland
Parents: Leah and Elimelech Chaim Myikel.
220
Abraham Sendik was born on 1927 in Lodz, Poland. In 1945 he was freed following
incarceration in three Concentration Camps. He made Aliyah in 1945. On September 16, 1948, a
GIVATI brigade patrol was making its way in the vicinity of the al-Burj village. The patrol was
ambushed by an Arab Legion front reconnaissance unit. Four GIVATI soldiers got killed:
Israel Myikel, Abraham Sendik, Zvi Wolkostavski Cemri and Zvi Rosenblum. The bodies of
the four fallen where never recovered.
To date it would have been unheard-of to leave a single soldier’s body in the battlefield, certainly
not 4 bodies. In this case, the area was not under Arab control; the village of al-Burj was
captured and held two months before this incident by IDF forces.
Fig. 140: Abraham Sendik.
Date gone MIA: September 16, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 12 ELUL 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
221
Fig. 141: IDF #95305 Private Abraham Sendik’s Pillow.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
Age: 21
Born: 1929, Lodz, Poland
Parents: Chana and Zvi Judah Sendik.
222
Zvi Wolkostavski Cemri was born on January 16, 1918 in the town of Orla, Poland. He made
Aliyah on 1935. On September 16, 1948, a GIVATI brigade patrol was making its way in the
vicinity of the al-Burj village. The patrol was ambushed by an Arab Legion front
reconnaissance unit. Four GIVATI soldiers got killed: Israel Myikel, Abraham Sendik, Zvi
Wolkostavski Cemri and Zvi Rosenblum. The bodies of the four fallen where never recovered.
To date it would have been unheard-of to leave a single soldier’s body in the battlefield, certainly
not 4 bodies. In this case, the area was not under Arab control; the village of al-Burj was
captured and held two months before this incident by IDF forces.
Fig. 142: Zvi Wolkostavski Cemri.
Date gone MIA: September 16, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 12 ELUL 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
223
Fig. 143: IDF #87909 Private Zvi Wolkostavski Cemri’s Pillow.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
Age: 30
Born: 1929, Orela, Poland
Parents: Rachel and Moses Wolkostavski.
224
Zvi Rosenblum was born on October 27, 1929 in Tel Aviv. In the 1940s he joined the ETZEL
Underground and then drafted in the IDF. On September 16, 1948, a GIVATI brigade patrol
was making its way in the vicinity of the al-Burj village. The patrol was ambushed by an Arab
Legion front reconnaissance unit. Four GIVATI soldiers got killed: Israel Myikel, Abraham
Sendik, Zvi Wolkostavski Cemri and Zvi Rosenblum. The bodies of the four fallen where
never recovered.
To date it would have been unheard-of to leave a single soldier’s body in the battlefield, certainly
not 4 bodies. In this case, the area was not under Arab control; the village of al-Burj was
captured and held two months before this incident by IDF forces.
Fig. 144: Zvi Rosenblum.
Date gone MIA: September 16, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 12 ELUL 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
225
Fig. 145: IDF #87909 Private Zvi Rosenblum’s Pillow.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
Age: 30
Born: 1929, Tel Aviv
Parents: Rina and Shlomo Zalman Rosenblum.
226
Jacob Ladislaw Betelheim was born on 1906 in the town of Shatorayla-Ohyl in Hungary. He
made Aliyah in 1933. In 1948 he was drafted in Squad A’, 142nd battalion of the infantry #4
Kiryati Brigade.
By July 1948, Stronghold #219 near today’s town of MODIIN was captured during Operation
Danny86 and held by the Squad A’ infantry soldiers. The 142nd battalion commander was
Shmaya Beckenstein Bareket.
Local Arabs from the Midia village with enhancements from the Arab Legion87 initiated a
surprise attack in the morning of September 24, 1948. To soften resistance, they initiated heavy
and accurate shelling. The small Squad A’, 142nd Battalion soldiers had to retreat, leaving
behind their dead. GIVATI brigade reinforcements arrived in the afternoon and Stronghold
#219 was reclaimed. The reinforcements found 23 bodies of fallen soldiers from the 142nd
battalion. The bodies were found barbarically mutilated by the local Midia village Arabs. The
bodies’ genitals were cut off by knives and put into the bodys’ mousses in a horrible posture of
animalistic humiliation.
Two soldiers were MIA as their bodies were not recovered. Either their bodies were mutilated
beyond recognition the barbaric Midia Arabs or the Arabs removed the two bodies from the
battlefield in an attempt to hide the atrocities. The two remain MIA to date.
Following the battle, grievances were raised as to low quality soldiership displayed by the 142nd
battalion soldiers defending Stronghold #219.
Jacob Ladislaw Betelheim is one of the two MIAs in the battle. The second MIA in the
Stronghold #219 battle is Israel Karl Glickzam.
86
87
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Danny
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_Legion
227
Fig. 146: The monument at Stronghold #219.
MIA’s Jacob Betelheim and Israel Karl Glickzam are on the list’s right side.
Local vandals destroy this monument often.
Photo: Wikipedia
228
Fig. 147: Jacob Ladislaw Betelheim.
Date gone MIA: September 24, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 20 ELUL 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
229
Fig. 148: IDF #150051 Private Jacob Ladislw Betelheim’s Pillow.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
Age: 42
Born: 1906, Shatorayla‐Ohyl, Hungary
Parents: Miriam and Alexander Betelheim.
230
Israel Karl Glikzam was born on June 09, 1909 in Vienna, Austria. He made Aliyah in 1939.
In 1948 he was drafted in Squad A’, the 142nd battalion of infantry #4 Kiryati Brigade.
By July 1948, Stronghold #219 near today’s town of MODIIN was captured during Operation
Danny88 and held by the Squad A’ infantry soldiers.
Local Arabs from the Midia village with enhancements from the Arab Legion89 initiated a
surprise attack in the morning of September 24, 1948. To soften resistance, they initiated with
heavy and accurate shelling. The small Squad A’, 142nd Battalion soldiers had to retreat, leaving
behind their dead. GIVATI brigade reinforcements arrived in the afternoon and Stronghold
#219 was reclaimed. The reinforcements found 23 bodies of fallen soldiers from the 142nd
battalion. The bodies were found barbarically mutilated by the local Midia village Arabs. The
bodies’ genitals were cut off by knives and put into the bodys’ mousses in a horrible posture of
animalistic humiliation.
Two soldiers were MIA as their bodies were not recovered. Either their bodies were mutilated
beyond recognition the barbaric Midia Arabs or the Arabs removed the two bodies from the
battlefield in an attempt to hide the atrocities. The two remain MIA to date.
Following the battle, grievances were as to low quality soldiership displayed by the 142nd
battalion soldiers defending Stronghold #219.
Jacob Ladislaw Betelheim is one of the two MIAs in the battle. The second MIA in the
Stronghold #219 battle is Israel Karl Glickzam.
88
89
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Danny
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_Legion
231
Fig. 149: Israel karl Glickzam.
Date gone MIA: September 24, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 20 ELUL 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
232
Fig. 150: IDF #150382 Private Israel Karl Glickzam’s Pillow.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
Age: 39
Born: 1906, Vienna, Austria
Parents: Mina and Jacob Glickzam.
233
18. May 16,
1948
st
1 NAVY MIA
234
Pinkus Sobol was born on August 28, 1928 in Poland. He arrived in British Israel on February
27, 1943 with the Teheran children90. In 1948 he enlisted to the PALMAH naval units.
On May 16, 1948, 2 days following Israel’s Independence, he was with a naval squad in a
mission to explode bridges in Ras Baida, Lebanon in order to cut off Arab supply traffic. The
mission failed. The unit was discovered at the bridge and had to retreat. Back on the boat which
waited to take them back home, it was discovered that Pinkus Sobol is MIA.
He either was left on the Lebanese beach near the Ras Baida Bridge, or was drowned in the
Mediterranean while swimming to the dinghies waiting to collect the force.
His body was never recovered.
His pillow says that he fell in a battle near the town of Akko. It would have been more
appropriate to write that he fell near Rosh Hanikra, British Israel or near Ras Baida, Lebanon.
90
https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%99%D7%9C%D7%93%D7%99_%D7%98%D7%94%D7%A8%D7%90%D7%9F
235
Fig. 151: Pinkus Sobol.
Date gone MIA: May 16, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 07 IYAR 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
236
Fig. 152: Pinkus Sobol’s old Pillow.
Photo: Billiongraves.com
237
Fig. 153: IDF #172977 Private Pinkus Sobol’s new Pillow.
His rank was added.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
Age: 19
Born: 1928, Poland
Parents: Gita and Israel Sobol.
238
19. Battle over
the NEGEV
239
Samuel Arava was born on 1931 in the town of Ajeb in Yemen. His family made Aliyah in
1935. They settled in the town of Hadera. In 1948 he enlisted in the HANEGEV Brigade.
HANEGEV brigade first commander was Nahum Weisfish Sarig91. May 15, 1948 was the date
on which the Egyptian Army invaded the NEGEV. The Egyptian Army initiated attacks on three
Jewish settlements: Kfar Darom, Nirim and Yad-Mordechai. Samuel Arava was in a force
driving for the help of Kfar Darom. The force was hit by the Egyptian Army and Arava fell.
His body was not recovered from the battlefield.
Fig. 154: Samuel Arava.
Date gone MIA: May 15, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 06 IYAR 5708
91
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A0%D7%97%D7%95%D7%9D_%D7%A9%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%92
240
Fig. 155: Samuel Arava’s old Pillow
Photo: Billiongraves.com
241
Fig. 156: Samuel Arava’s new Pillow
His rank was added.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
Age: 20
Born: 1931, Ajeb Yemen
Parents: Neomi and Chaim Arava.
242
Benjamin “Yurek” Eisenberg was born on June 16, 1926 in Sosnowiec, Poland. Following the
Holocaust he arrived in 1945 in British Israel. In 1948 he was drafted to the NEGEV brigade.
On May 24, 1948 he was among the defenders of Kibbutz Yad Mordechai. Benjamin
Eisenberg fell during the Egyptian attack on the kibbutz. One source said that his body was
burned.
Fig. 157: Benjamin Yurek Eisenberg.
Date gone MIA: May 24, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 15 IYAR 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
243
Fig. 158: Benjamin “Yurek” Eisenberg’s Pillow
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
Age: 20
Born: 1926 Sosnowiec, Poland
Parents: Chana and Elimelech Eisenberg.
244
Isaac Rubinstein was born on March 1913 in the town of Ilesco in Galicia. On April 1938 at
age 25, he made Aliyah. In the early 1940s he settled in Kibbutz Yad Mordechai. On May 24,
1948 he was making his way on an armored vehicle together with [Ms] Libka Sheffer,
evacuating a wounded PALMACH soldier from the kibbutz due to a heavy Egyptian artillery
shelling. They perished in the shelling. Isaac Rubinstein remains were not recovered neither
identified as of yet.
Fig. 159: Isaac Rubinstein.
MIA: May 24, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 15 IYAR 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
245
Fig. 160: IDF #172911 Private Isaac Rubinstein’s old Pillow
Photo: Billiongraves.com
246
Fig. 161: IDF #172911 Private Isaac Rubinstein’s new Pillow
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
Age: 35
Born: 1913 Ilesco, Poland
Parents: Rebecca and Herzl Rubinstein.
247
Samuel “Sammy” Gavrialidas was born on January 13, 1926 in Athens, Greece. On 1946 he
made Aliyah to British Israel.
On May 27, 1948 he was a part of three men platoon force of the 8th battalion of the #12
NEGEV Brigade which was tackled on the Chan-Juneis – Raffah road by a superior Egyptian
force. The force commander of the Jewish platoon ordered a retreat. Three soldiers, Sammy
Gavrialidis, Meir Mizrahi and Joseph Penso made a navigation error. As darkness settled
down, they turned up north instead of retreating down south to the nearby Jewish position of
Nirim-Dangur. Thus, they stumbled into the Arab village of Beit-Jara where the local mob
executed them and buried the three bodies in a nearby ravine. A next day reprisal party failed to
recover their bodies. The three are MIAs to date.
248
Fig. 162: Samuel “Sammy” Gavrialidas.
Date gone MIA: May 27, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 18 IYAR 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
249
Fig. 163: IDF #173514 Private Samuel “Sammy” Gavrielidas’s Pillow
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
Age: 22
Born: 1913 Athens, Greece
Parents: Fanny and Judah Leon Gavrielidas.
250
Meir Mizrahi was born in 1932 in Tel Aviv. At age 16 he enlisted in the PALMACH. On May
27, 1948 he was a part of three men platoon force of the 8th battalion of the #12 NEGEV
Brigade which was tackled on the Chan-Juneis – Raffah road by a superior Egyptian force. The
force commander of the Jewish platoon ordered a retreat. Three soldiers, Sammy Gavrialidis,
Meir Mizrahi and Joseph Penso made a navigation error. As darkness settled down, they turned
up north instead of retreating down south to the nearby Jewish position of Nirim-Dangur. Thus,
they stumbled into the Arab village of Beit-Jara where the local mob executed them and buried
the three bodies in a nearby ravine. A next day reprisal party failed to recover their bodies. The
three are MIAs to date.
Fig. 164: Meir Mizrahi.
Date gone MIA: May 27, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 18 IYAR 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
251
Fig. 165: IDF #173524 Private Meir Mizrahi’s Pillow
Age: 16
Born: 1932, Tel Aviv
Parents: Miriam and Zion Mizrahi.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
252
Joseph Penso was born on January 1932 in Jerusalem. In January 1948 he enlisted in the
PALMACH. On May 27, 1948 he was a part of three men platoon force of the 8th battalion of
the #12 NEGEV brigade, tackled on the Chan-Junes – Raffah road by a superior Egyptian
force. The force commander of the Jewish platoon ordered a retreat. Three soldiers, Sammy
Gavrialidis, Meir Mizrahi and Joseph Penso made a navigation error. As darkness settled
down, they turned up north instead of retreating down south to the nearby Jewish position of
Nirim-Dangur. Thus, they stumbled into the Arab village of Beit-Jara where the local mob
executed them and buried the three bodies in a nearby ravine. A next day reprisal party failed to
recover their bodies. The three are MIAs to date.
Fig. 166: Joseph Penso.
Date gone MIA: May 27, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 18 IYAR 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
253
Fig. 167: IDF #173529 Private Samuel Penso’s Pillow
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
Age: 16
Born: 1932, Tel Aviv
Parents: Perla and Benjamin Penso.
254
Joseph “Yosale” Shullerer was born on June 14, 1927 in Hamburg, Germany. He made
Aliyah on May 1947. In 1948 he enlisted into the NEGEV brigade. On June 09, 1948 his
patrolling squad hit an ambush near the Arab village Beit-Girga in the south of British Israel.
He was killed. His body was not recovered.
Fig. 168: Joseph Judah “Yosale” Shullerer.
Date gone MIA: June 09, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 02 SIVAN 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
255
Fig. 169: IDF #173380 Private Joseph “Yosale” Shullerer’s Pillow
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
Age: 20
Born: 1927, Hamburg, Germany
Parents: Berta and Joshua Shullerer.
256
Raymond “Lufti” Dodge is the only Christian person on the IDF MIA list. Obviously most
IDF’s MIAs were of the Jewish faith and few were of the Moslem-Sunnite faith. Only he is
known to be of the Christian faith. He was Australian; About 23% of Australians are Christian
Catholics; about 13% are Christian Anglicans92.
Raymond ”Lufti” Dodge was born in 1921 in Australia. During WWII he served in the British
6th Division. In 1945, following WWII his unit was stationed in British Israel.
On May 1948, four soldiers of the British 6th division decided to desert the British forces and
fight with IDF forces for the Jewish cause. Raymond Dodge served in the 9th battalion of the
HANEGEV battalion. The commander of the 9th battalion was Israel Weinman Carmi93. On
June 03, 1948 his unit participated in an attack on the Egyptian forces near today’s town of
Ashdod.
He fell in this battle. The dead were left behind. No attempts were made to recover their bodies
in the days to come. In 1948 there was no IDF tradition strong enough to recover the dead.
92
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia
93
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel_Carmi
257
Fig. 170: Raymond “Lofti” Dodge.
Date gone MIA: June 03, 1948
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
258
Fig. 171: IDF #90 Private Raymond “Lofti” Dodge’s old Pillow.
Photo: Billiongraves.com
259
Fig. 172: IDF #90 Private Raymond “Lofti” Dodge’s Pillow.
Note the added unique IDF Personal Number #90.
Age: 27
Born: 1921, England
His parents’ names are not mentioned.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
260
Jacob Brahms Braha was born in 1927 in Rusa, Bulgaria. He made Aliyah in 1944. He was
drafted in 1948 into the HANEGEV Brigade. The brigade commander was Nahum Sarig94
IDF’s Operation YOAV was conducted between October 15 and 22, 1948. The purpose of
which was to connect the roads between the southern and center parts of Israel.
Fig. 173: 1948. Nahum Sarig, the commander of the HANEGEV Brigade.
Photo: Wikipedia
On October 16, 1948 HANEGEV brigade and additional forces conducted battles along the train
line between Gaza and Raffah. The battle went for few days. Jacob Braha fell on October 19,
1948. Jacob Brahms Braha body was never recovered.
94
https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A0%D7%97%D7%95%D7%9D_%D7%A9%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%92
261
Fig. 174: Jacob Brahms Braha
Date gone MIA: October 19, 1948
Yahrzeit: 16 Tishrey 5709
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
262
Fig. 175: IDF #84964 Private Jacob Brahms Braha’s Pillow.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
Age: 21
Born: 1927, Rusa, Bulgaria
His parents: Johebed and David Brahms.
263
Stanley Andrius Enkstein was born on April 13, 1923 in the Bronx, NY. He was a WWII U.S.
Air Force pilot. On June 1948 he volunteered into the IDF young Air Force. He participated in
flight dashes during Operation YOAV95.
On October 20, 1948 he was in a bombing mission over the IRAQ-SUIDAN Police Fort96 held
by the Egyptian Army. His plane carried a crew of three: Picthet, Enkstein and Sugerman97.
The plan was hit by anti-air fire and had to make a forced landing in the sandy hills north of the
Arab village of Isdod (today’s town of Ashdod), in a territory controlled then by the Egyptian
Army. They three were murdered by the Egyptians. The Muchtar – head of the Isdod village was
caught with Pichet’s watch on his arm. Only Pitchet’s body was traced.
Fig. 176: 1948. The IRAQ‐SUIDAN Police fort in southern Israel, near Kibbutz Sde‐Yoav.
Photo: Wikipedia
The two bodies of pilot Stanley Andrius Enkstein and navigator Dov Sidney Sugerman were
never traced and remain MIA to date.
95
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Yoav
96
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Shmone
97
https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%94%D7%A4%D7%9C%D7%AA_%D7%9E%D7%98%D7%95%D7%A1_%D7%94%
D7%91%D7%95%D7%A4%D7%99%D7%99%D7%98%D7%A8_%D7%91%D7%A0%D7%92%D7%91
264
Fig. 177: October 1948. Operation YOAV. A Squad of 13 IDF soldiers (the photographer
included) enters in a single armored troop carrier the then Arab town of Beer‐Sheba in the
southern region of Israel. Note on the top left of the picture, the ‘fighter’ plane supporting
from above the ground forces. Beer‐Sheba today (2021) is a thriving Israeli city.
Photo: Wikipedia
265
Fig. 178: Stanley Andrius Enkstein
Date gone MIA: October 20, 1948
Yahrzeit: 17 Tishrey 5709
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
266
Fig. 179: IDF #71640 Lieutenant Stanley Andrius Enkstein’s Pillow.
Age: 25
Born: 1923, Bronx, NY.
His parents: Rebecca and Joseph Enkstein
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
267
Dov Sidney Sugerman was born on February 17, 1923 in London, Britain. During WWII He
served as a navigator in the Royal British Air Force. On July 1948 he made Aliyah with his
wife and joined as a navigator the freshly born Israeli Air Force.
On October 20, 1948 he was on a bombing mission over the IRAQ-SUIDAN Police Fort98 held
by the Egyptian Army. His plane carried a crew of three. The plan was hit by anti-air fire and
had to make a forced landing on the sandy hills near the Arab village Isdod, north of today’s
town of Ashdod, in a territory controlled then by the Egyptian Army. The three were murdered
by the Egyptians. Only one body, pilot Captain Leonard Elmer Pitchet was traced in later
days99.
Leonard Elmer Pitchet was interned in the British Military Haifa Cemetery100.
98
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Shmone
99
https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%94%D7%A4%D7%9C%D7%AA_%D7%9E%D7%98%D7%95%D7%A1_%D7%94%
D7%91%D7%95%D7%A4%D7%99%D7%99%D7%98%D7%A8_%D7%91%D7%A0%D7%92%D7%91
100
https://www.izkor.gov.il/%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%90%D7%95%D7%A0%D7%A8%D7%93‐
%D7%90%D7%9C%D7%9E%D7%A8%20%D7%9C%D7%90%D7%9F%20%D7%A4%D7%99%D7%A6%D7%98/en_aac5
7d0a2d3040b85a52cc87be17488b
268
Fig. 180: 1948. Royal Canadian Pilot Captain Leonard Elmer Pitchet; Interned in the Haifa
British Cemetery.
Photo: Izkor.gov.il
The two bodies of pilot Stanley Andrius Enkstein and navigator Dov Sidney Sugerman were
never traced and remain MIA to date.
269
Fig. 181: Dov Sidney Sugerman
Date gone MIA: October 20, 1948
Yahrzeit: 17 Tishrey 5709
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
270
Fig. 182: IDF #63667 Dov Sidney Sugerman’s Pillow.
Age: 25
Born: 1923, London, GB
His parents: Rachel and Abraham Sugerman
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
271
20. Battle of
Jerusalem
May 1948
272
Absalom Levi Yanay was born on May 1927 in Jerusalem, British Israel. In 1942 he joined
the ETZEL underground. On May 19, 1948 he fell in Jerusalem in the battles over the
positions in the Jerusalem Police Academy.
Fig. 183: Absalom Levi Yanay.
Date gone MIA: May 19, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 10 IYAR 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
273
Fig. 184: Absalom Levi Yanay’s Pillow
Age: 21
Born: 1927, Jerusalem
Parents: Mazal and David Levi.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
274
Moses “Mussa” Agi was born on March 28, 1930 in Jerusalem. In 1946 at age 16 he enlisted to
the battalion MORIYA of the Jerusalem Brigade. On May23, 1948 he was planning mines on a
roadblock in the Sheikh Garach quarter of Jerusalem. One of the mines exploded and ignited
two more mines. Moses “Mussa” Agi expired due to the heavy explosions. His remains were
never recovered.
Fig. 185: Moses Agi.
Date gone MIA: May 23, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 14 IYAR 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
275
Fig. 186: Absalom Moses Agi’s Pillow
Age: 22
Born: 1930, Jerusalem
Parents: Miriam and Abraham Chaim Agi.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
276
Shalom Amir was born January 05, 1927 in the town of Sanaa, Yemen. Three years later, his
family made Aliya and settled in Tel Aviv. He was drafted on December 1947 into the
MORIYA battalion of the #6 ETZIONI brigade101. On May 26, 1948 he was in the Jerusalem
quarter of Sheik Jarach in an armored vehicle attacking the Arab Legion102. He was killed. His
body was never recovered. The ETZIONI brigade headed then by David Shaltiel103, did not
internalize as of then the burden of recovering dead soldiers from the battlefield.
Fig. 187: Shalom Amir.
Date gone MIA: May 26, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 17 IYAR 5708
101
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etzioni_Brigade
102
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_Legion
103
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Shaltiel
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
277
Fig. 188: Shalom Amir’s old Pillow
Photo: Billiongraves.com
278
Fig. 189: Shalom Amir’s new Pillow
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
Age: 21
Born: 1927, Sanaa, Yeman
Parents: Haviva and Pinkus Amir.
279
Meir Shachmon was born on 1907 in Bagdad, Iraq. In 1944 he made Aliyah and settled in
Jerusalem. In 1948 he was drafted and served in and around Jerusalem. He was killed during a
shelling in Jerusalem on June 22, 1948. His remains were never recovered.
Fig. 190: Meir Shachmon.
Date gone MIA: June 22, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 15 SIVAN 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
280
Fig. 191: Meir Shachmon’s Pillow
Age: 21
Born: 1907, Bagdad, Iraq
Parents: Aziza and Shlomo Shachmon.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
281
Symon ‘Sam’ Samargad was born on November 01, 1924 in Vienna, Austria. He made Aliyah
in 1940 and enlisted in 1947. Due to his tenure as a Captain in the British Army he became a
Squad Division commander in the IDF #16 Jerusalem Brigade104. His stepbrother (same
mother) Arie Louis Bal, son of Leah and Julian fell on July 09, 1948, at age 26 during one of
the battles over the Irak-Suidan Police building in the south of British Israel. Symon ‘Sam’
Samargad fell on September 14, 1948, three months following the fall of his brother Arie
Louis, iin the Arab village of Malha, south west to Jerusalem (today a south-west suburb of
Jerusalem named Manhat). His body was never recovered.
Fig. 192: Symon Sam Samargad.
Date gone MIA: September 14, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 10 ELUL 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
104
https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%97%D7%98%D7%99%D7%91%D7%AA_%D7%99%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%A9%D
7%9C%D7%99%D7%9D
282
Fig. 193: IDF Personal #108922 Captain Symon Sam Samargad’s Pillow
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
Age: 23
Born: 1924, Vienna, Austria
Parents: Leah and Eiri Samargad.
283
Abraham Aroasti was born in 1930 in Jerusalem. In 1945 he joined the Haganah. In 1948, at
age 18, he became a sapper in the Beit-Horon Battalion of the #6 ETZIONI Brigade in
Jerusalem. On October 18, 1948 he disappeared in the south Jerusalem quarter of ARNONA
and was never heard from thereafter. He remains MIA to date.
Fig. 194: Abraham Aroasti.
MIA: October 18, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 15 TISHREY 5709
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
284
Fig. 195: IDF Personal #107228 Private Abraham Aroasti’s Pillow
The Pillow writes a wrong death date: May 14, 1949.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
Age: 19
Born: 1930, Jerusalem
Parents: Miriam Markeda and Isaac Aroasti.
285
21. Operation
Medina May
13, 1948.
Arab village
Tirah
286
Joseph Mekayton Bashari was born in 1922 in Yemen. His family made Aliyah to British
Israel in 1946. In 1947 he enlisted in the HAGANAH. On May 30, 1948 Joseph Edelstein and
Joseph Mekayton Bashari participated in Operation Simcha the latest stage of previous
Operation Medina, The mission was to take the Arab village of Tirah located in the center of
British Israel. An Iraqi force was stationed in Tirah staged multiple cannon shelling on Jewish
villages in central British Israel. Joseph Edelstein and Joseph Mekayton Bashari were with a
squad of the 32nd battalion of the Alexandroni brigade. The attack of the Arab village of Tirah
occurred on May 30, 1948. The attack failed. They both fell. Both their bodies were not
recovered. Both were pronounced and remain MIAs to date.
Fig. 196: Joseph Eidelstein.
Date gone MIA: May 30, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 21 IYAR 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
287
Fig. 197: Joseph Eidelstein’s old Pillow
Photo: Billiongraves.com
288
Fig. 198: Joseph Eidelstein’s new Pillow
Age: 20
Born: 1928, Zikron‐Jacob, British Israel
Parents: Sarah and Gershon Eidelstein.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
289
Joseph Mekayton Bashari was born in 1922 in Yemen. His family made Aliyah to British
Israel in 1946. In 1947 he enlisted in the HAGANAH. On May 30, 1948 Joseph Edelstein and
Joseph Mekayton Bashari participated in Operation Simcha the latest stage of previous
Operation Medina, The mission was to take the Arab village of Tirah located in the center of
British Israel. An Iraqi force was stationed in Tirah staged multiple cannon shelling on Jewish
villages in central British Israel. Joseph Edelstein and Joseph Mekayton Bashari were with a
squad of the 32nd battalion of the Alexandroni brigade. The attack of the Arab village of Tirah
occurred on May 30, 1948. The attack failed. They both fell. Both their bodies were not
recovered. Both were pronounced and remain MIAs to date.
Fig. 199: Joseph Mekayton Bashari.
Date gone MIA: May 30, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 21 IYAR 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
290
Fig. 200: Joseph Mekayton Bashari’s Pillow
Age: 26
Born: 1922, Yemen
Parents: Haviva Sayida and Shalom Mekayton Bashari.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
291
Meir ‘Mayorchik’ Fried was born on March 26, 1929 in Poland. At age 4, in 1933, his family
made Aliyah. In 1948 he was drafted in the Alexandroni Brigade as a machinegun shooter.
The brigade’s commander from November 1948 to November 1949 was Benc Friedman105.On
December 20, 1948 Fried’s squad was on a reconnaissance mission south of Beit-Govrin, near
the Arab village Hirbat Sika. The squad was discovered and attacked. Meir “Mayorchik”
Fried fell. For unclear reasons, possibly lack of tradition within in the Alexandroni Brigade in
its early days, Meir Mayorchik Fried’s body was never recovered.
Fig. 201: Meir ‘Mayorchik’ Fried.
Date gone MIA: December 20, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 18 HESHVAN 5709
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
105
https://www.alexandroni.org/
292
Fig. 202: Meir ‘Mayorchik’ Fried’s Pillow
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
Age: 19
Born: 1929, Poland
Parents: Chana and Zvi Fried.
293
Mattatyahu Matti Sukenik was born February 01, 1929 in Jerusalem. At age 18, he was drafted
on December 1947 to the pre-air force unit and became a pilot.
On June 04, 1948 pilot Matti Sukenik [Yadin] and pilot David Shpritcak were both on a
bombing mission of Egyptian frigates in the Mediterranean, approaching Tel Aviv from the
west. Their Fairchild plan was shot down. Both remain MIAs in high seas.
Fig.203: Fairchild FC‐2 at the Smithsonian.
Photo: Wikipedia
294
Fig. 204: Mattatyahu “Matti” Sukenik.
MIA: June 04, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 26 IYAR 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
295
Fig. 205: Mattatyahu “Matti” Sukenik’s old Pillow
Old rank: First Lieutenant.
Photo: BillionGraves.com
296
Fig.206: Mattatyahu “Matti” Sukenik’s Pillow
Upgraded rank: Lieutenant
Age: 19
Born: 1924, Jerusalem
Parents: Hasia and Eliezer Lipa Sukenik.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
297
Aaron David Shprincak was born on March 20, 1924 in British Jerusalem. At age 23 he was
drafted to the aviation unit of the PALMACH. On June 04, 1948 pilot Matti Sukenik [Yadin]
and pilot David Shpritcak were together on a bombing mission over Egyptian frigates in the
Mediterranean approaching Tel Aviv from the west. Their Fairchild plan was shot down. Both
remain MIAs in high seas.
Fig. 207: Aaron David Shprincak.
Date gone MIA: June 04, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 26 IYAR 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
298
Fig. 208: Aaron David Shprincak’s old Pillow
Photo: BillionGraves.com
299
Fig. 209: Aaron David Shprincak’s new Pillow
Age: 24
Born: 1924, Jerusalem
Parents: Chana and Joseph Shprincak. His father Joseph Shprincak106 was the first Knesset
Speaker.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
106
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yosef_Sprinzak
300
22. June 05,
1948
Upper Galilee
rd
3 MALKIA
Battle. 6 MIAs
301
Samuel Arie Bernstein was born on February 13, 1929 in Haifa, British Israel. He was
drafted in 1947 and thereafter graduated the HAGANAH Squad Course. On June 1948 he joined
the ODED brigade headed by Uri Jaffe107. Bernstein’s platoon was placed to protect the Nebi
Yosha Police fortress near Malkiya. Malkiya was an Arab Shiite village in the upper Galillee
on the border between British Israel and French Lebanon. The Arab village and the fortress
exchanged control few times during the battles. Bernstein and 5 more Jewish soldiers are
considered MIAs following the Third Malkiya Battle.
The Third Malkiya battle started on June 05, 1948. An ODED brigade platoon was controlling
Malkiya as a result of the victory in the Second Malkiya battle. The platoon attacked by
superior Arab forces. The Arab forces were a brigade size force consisting on a Lebanese
battalion, a Syrian battalion and an ALA – Arab Liberation Army battalion. 8 Syrian plans
and many Syrian armored vehicles were thrown into battle. In fact this was the one and only
operation supported by the Lebanese government. The Syrians were determined to show success
following their recent loss at the Kibbutz Degnia.
The battle lasted from 13:30 well into the night. At midnight the Jewish forces had to retreat.
Eight Jewish soldiers fell on the Third Malkiya batlle. Six of which are considered MIAs to
date.
107
https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%90%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%99_%D7%99%D7%A4%D7%94
302
Fig. 210: Samuel Arie Bernstein.
Date gone MIA: June 05, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 27 IYAR 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
303
Fig. 211: IDF # 36888 Lieutenant Samuel Arie Bernstein’s old Pillow
Photo: Billiongraves.com
304
Fig. 212: IDF # 36888 Lieutenant Samuel Arie Bernstein’s Pillow
Age: 19
Born: 1929, Haifa
Parents: Leah and Shraga Feibish Bernstein.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
305
Isaac Glick was born in 1930 in Budapest, Hungary. In 1946 he made Aliyah to British
Israel. In 1948 he enlisted to the ODED brigade. On June 05, 1948 he fell in the Third Malkiya
battle.
Fig. 213: Isaac Glick.
Date gone MIA: June 05, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 27 IYAR 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
306
Fig. 214: IDF # 172362 Private Isaac Glick’s old Pillow
Photo: Billiongraves.com
307
Fig. 215: IDF # 172362 Private Isaac Glick’s Pillow.
Rank added.
Age: 18
Born: 1930, Budapest, Hungary
Parents: Deborah and Baruch Glick.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
308
Dov Liebowitz was born June 10, 1927 in Chush, Rumania. At age 20, he made Aliyah on
September 1947. He was drafted into the ODED brigade and placed in Malkiya. Dov Liebowitz
fell on June 05, 1948 in Malkiya. His body was not recovered. As of today, he remains MIA.
Fig. 216: Dov Liebowitz.
Date gone MIA: June 05, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 27 IYAR 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
309
Fig. 217: IDF # 36917 Private Dov Liebowitz’s old Pillow.
Photo: Billiongraves.com
310
Fig. 218: IDF # 36917 Private Dov Liebowitz’s Pillow
Age: 20
Born: 1927, Rumania
Parents: Rosa and Alexander Liebowitz.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
311
Samuel Moldawski was born in the USSR in 1916. His family made Aliyah on 1921. In 1948
he was drafted into the ODED brigade and stationed in the Malkiya fortress. He fell on the third
Malkiya battle on July 05, 1948. His body was not recovered.
Fig. 219: Samuel Moldawski.
Date gone MIA: June 05, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 27 IYAR 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
312
Fig. 220: IDF # 38253 Private Samuel Moldwski’s old Pillow
Photo: Billiongraves.com
313
Fig. 221: IDF # 38253 Private Samuel Moldwski’s new Pillow
Rank was added.
Age: 30
Born: 1916, USSR
Parents: Esther and Jacob Moldawski.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
314
Dov “Duba” Fermet was born in February 10, 1931 in Haifa, British Israel. On 1948 he was
drafted in the ODED brigade. Dov Fermet fell on June 05, 1948 in the third Malkiya battle.
Fig. 222: Dov “Duba” Fermet.
Date gone MIA: June 05, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 27 IYAR 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
315
Fig. 223: IDF # 173159 Private Dov Fermet’s old Pillow
Photo: Billiongraves.com
316
Fig. 224: IDF # 173159 Private dov Fermet’s Pillow
Age: 17
Born: 1932, Haifa, British Israel
Parents: Bella and Isaac Fermet.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
317
Shlomo Kron was born on 1913 in Lodz, Poland. He made Aliyah in 1946. He was drafted in
1947 to a canons’ unit. He fell on the third Malkiya battle on June 05, 1948.
Fig. 225: Shlomo Kron.
Date gone MIA: June 05, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 27 IYAR 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
318
Fig. 226: IDF # 17462 Leutenant Shlomo Kron’s old Pillow
Photo: Billiongraves.com
319
Fig. 227: IDF # 17462 Leutenant Shlomo Kron’s new Pillow
Age: 35
Born: 1913, Lodz, Poland
Parents: Hersh Zvi Kron. Mother is not mentioned.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
320
Mordechai Chaim Hitter was born in 1929 in the town Gross-Warden in Hungary. At age 19,
in 1948 he made Aliyah. He was drafted into the 11th battalion of the ODED brigade.
The ODED brigade was headed by Uri Jaffe. The 11th Battalion was headed by Aviezer
Friedman. Mordechai Chaim Hitter fell near Kibbutz Mishmar Hayarden on June 14, 1948.
At that time the ODED brigade lacked the tradition of recovering fallen soldiers from the
battlefield. Mordechai Chaim Hitter’s body was never recovered.
Fig. 228: Mordechai Chaim Hitter.
Date gone MIA: June 14, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 07 SIVAN 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
321
Fig. 229: IDF # 25433 Private Mordechai Chaim Hitter’s old Pillow
Photo: Billiongraves.com
322
Fig. 230: IDF # 25433 Private Mordechai Chaim Hitter’s new Pillow
Age: 18
Born: 1929, Gross Varden, Hungary
Parents: Zehava and Samuel David Hitter.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
323
Jacob Gushcini was born on July 1928 in Jerusalem, British Israel. In 1948 he was drafted in
the ODED Brigade108. The first commander of the ODED brigade was Uri Jaffe109. Jaffe failed
to stop the Syrian forces invasion. The capitulation of Mishmar Hayarden (today Kibbutz
Gadot) occurred on his shift as the brigade commander responsible to defend the Upper Galile
region. Thus he was forced to resign and Isaac Pundak110 stepped into the position.
Syrian forces attacked Mishmar Hayarden numerous times on June 1948. The third attack on
June 10, 1948 caused the entire demolition of the Kibbutz. 15 settlers and soldiers died. 39
became Prisoners of War. Jacob Gushcini fell on June 14, 1948 in the battle over Mishmar
Hayarden111.
His body and the bodies of others were not recovered.
108
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oded_Brigade
109
https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%90%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%99_%D7%99%D7%A4%D7%94
110
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yitzhak_Pundak
111
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mishmar_HaYarden_(moshava)
324
Fig. 231: Jacob Gushcini.
Date gone MIA: June 14, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 07 SIVAN 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
325
Fig. 232: IDF # 26196 Private Jacob Gushcini’s old Pillow
Photo: Billiongraves.com
326
Fig. 233: IDF # 26196 Private Jacob Gushcini’s new Pillow
Age: 20
Born: 1928, Jerusalem
Parents: Malka and Abraham Gushcini.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
327
Joseph Margalit was born on October 26, 1917 in Bialystok, Poland. In 1941 he arrived in
British Israel. He became the vice manager of the Schweitzer Hospital in Tiberias.
On June 06, 1948 he was with a GOLANI brigade unit fighting near the Arab village of Lubia,
on the bulge near Karney-Hitin. He fell on June 09, 1948. His body was never recovered.
Fig. 234: Joseph Margalit.
Date gone MIA: June 09, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 02 SIVAN 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
328
Fig. 235: Joseph Margalit’s old Pillow
Photo: Billiongraves.com
329
Fig. 236: IDF # 173868 Private Joseph Margalit’s new Pillow
Rank was added.
Age: 30
Born: 1917, Bialystok, Poland
Parents: Keila and Moses Margalit.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
330
Saul Holcman was born on September 18, 1922 in Bucharest, Rumania. In 1948 he made
Aliyah. At age 26, on or around June 15, 1948, he was hospitalized in the Tel-Aviv SARONA
Hospital. He disappeared from the hospital. Some options are: He changed his name to avoid
redrafting; he died of his wounds as an anonymous man; He wandered behind enemy lines, got
caught and was executed…He remains MIA to date.
Fig. 237: Saul Holcman.
Date gone MIA: June 15, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 08 SIVAN 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
331
Fig. 238: IDF # 73493 Private Saul Holcman’s old Pillow
Photo: Billiongraves.com
332
Fig. 239: IDF # 73493 Private Saul Holcman’s new Pillow
Rank was added.
Age: 26
Born: 1922, Bucharest, Rumania
Parents: Chana and Jacob Holcman.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
333
23. July 10,
1948
Operation
Dekel
1 MIA
334
Zvi “Hershy” Ickowitz was born in 1929 in Teich-Teichova, Czechoslovakia. On WWII he
survived the Auschwitz Death Camp. In 1947 he made Aliyah on the Exodus. The British
deported the Exodus112 immigrants back to Europe. Zvi “Hershy” Ickowitz made his way back
to British Israel on 1948 and was drafted into the 21st battalion of the Carmeli Brigade113.
The Carmeli Brigade first commander was Moshe Zelicki Carmel114. As of March 28, 1948
The 21st Battalion second commander was Aaron Rabinowitz Yariv115.
Zvi “Hershy” Ickowitz participated in Operation Dekel on July 07, 1948. The 21st Battalion
and additional forces re-attack on the Arab village al-Birwa116, near today’s Achiood Junction.
The commander of Opertion Dekel was Chaim Laskov117. The village was held by ALA forces
– the Arab Liberation Army118. The attack failed. The Jewish forces retreated leaving behind 6
dead.
Five of the dead were retrieved but Zvi Ickowitz remains MIA to date.
112
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Exodus
113
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmeli_Brigade
114
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moshe_Carmel
115
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aharon_Yariv
116
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al‐Birwa
117
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haim_Laskov
118
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_Liberation_Army
335
Fig. 240: Zvi “Hershy” Ickowitz
Date gone MIA: July 10, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 03 TAMUZ 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
336
Fig. 241: IDF # 91369 Private Zvi “Hershy” Ickowitz’ Pillow
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
Age: 19
Born: 1929, Teich-Teichova, Czechoslovakia
Parents: Zisel and David Ickowitz.
337
Abraham “Bunia” Schwartz was born on April 19, 1922 in the town Morevska Ostrava in
Czechoslovakia. At age 16, in 1938 he made Aliyah. On 1946 he joined the Haganah. In 1948
he was drafted to the 12th Squad [Krayot] of the 21st battalion headed by Aaron Yariv119,
following the fall of Ban-Ami Pachter120 in the Yechiam Convoy121. The Carmeli Brigade122
headed by Moshe Carmel123.
On July 19, 1948 he was part of the 21st battalion attacking the Arab village of Tarshiha124 in
the Upper Galilee. Few soldiers fell. One of them was Abraham “Bunia” Schwartz.
His body was never recovered.
119
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aharon_Yariv
120
https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%91%D7%9F_%D7%A2%D7%9E%D7%99_%D7%A4%D7%9B%D7%98%D7%A8
121
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yehiam_convoy
122
https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%97%D7%98%D7%99%D7%91%D7%AA_%D7%9B%D7%A8%D7%9E%D7%9C%D
7%99
123
https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9E%D7%A9%D7%94_%D7%9B%D7%A8%D7%9E%D7%9C
124
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma%27alot‐Tarshiha
338
Fig. 242: Abraham “Bunia” Schwartz
Date gone MIA: July 19, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 12 TAMUZ 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
339
Fig. 243: IDF # 173542 Private Abraham “Bunia” Schwartz’ Pillow
Age: 26
Born: 1929, Morevska Ostrava, Czechoslovakia
Parents: Hermina and Judah Zvi Schwartz.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
340
Joseph Altman was born on 1925 in Warsaw, Poland. He made Aliyah in 1946. On June 1948
he was drafted in the 23rd Battalion of the Carmeli Brigade.
On October 1948, the 23rd Battalion held a position near Kibbutz Manara125 in north Israel.
The ALA – Arab Liberation Army attacked Manara on October 22, 1948 and captured from
the IDF the stronghold at Mt Shnan, the traditional burial grounds of Rabbi Asshi126, named by
the Arabs Sheik Abed. The mountain top had strategic qualities and the fight was fierce. The
small 23rd battalion squad had to retreat. A 22nd Battalion reinforcement force arrived on
October 23, 1948. The Arab forces won and held on to the mountain pick. IDF forces had to
abandon their armored vehicles. Few IDF soldiers fell in captivity. Two soldiers were
pronounced MIAs, One body was traced at a later date.
Joseph Altman was the second soldier and pronounced MIA in this battle. His body was never
located.
125
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manara,_Israel
126
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rav_Ashi
341
Fig. 244: Joseph Altman
Date gone MIA: October 23, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 20 TISHREY 5709
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
342
Fig. 245: IDF # 86746 Private Joseph Altman’s Pillow
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
Age: 23
Born: 1925, Warsaw, Poland
Parents: Luba Malca and Moses Altman.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
343
Itamar Golani was born on April 19, 1928 in the village of Beryozovo on the northern Ural
Mountains in the USSR. The family made Aliyah in 1930.
On November 1948 he participated in one of the first Paratroopers Courses in the IDF. His
parachute did not open up during a parachuting drill over the Mediterranean.
The IDF keeps the percentage of such parachuting accidents very low.
It is not clear if he carried a reserve parachute at those early years the Paratroopers Course.
Fig. 246: 2010. An IDF Paratroopers Squad going aboard the plane they will jump off from.
Photo: Wikipedia
344
Fig. 247: Itamar Golani
Date gone MIA: October 16, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 14 HESHVAN 5709
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
345
Fig. 248: IDF # 2167 Captain Itamar Golani’s Pillow
Age: 23
Born: 1928, Beryozovo, USSR.
Parents: Raya and Arie Golani.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
346
Michael “Mihik” Cohen was born on October 31, 1930 in Rehovot, British Israel. In 1948 he
volunteered into the 2nd PALMACH battalion in the #11 YIFTAH Brigade127 and participated
in Operation Danny128.
The Brigade’s commander was Mula Cohen129. Mula Cohen was the youngest brigade
commander in the IDF.
One July 11, 1948 the day following the capitulation of the town of Lod, he was killed by fire
shot from two Arab armored vehicles.
His body was not recovered.
127
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yiftach_Brigade
128
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Danny
129
https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9E%D7%95%D7%9C%D7%94_%D7%9B%D7%94%D7%9F
347
Fig. 249: Michael “Mihik” Cohen
Date gone MIA: July 11, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 04 TAMUZ 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
348
של
Fig. 250: IDF # 1538 Private Michael “Mihik” Cohen’ Pillow
Age: 17
Born: 1930, Rehovot, British Israel
Parents: Miriam and David Hacohen.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
349
Ernest Levi was born on July 18, 1912 in Vienna, Austria. On 1938 he made Aliyah to British
Israel. In 1948 He enlisted in the Carmeli Brigade130.
On July 18, 1948 he was driving an armored vehicle near the Arab village of Jeba (today’s Geva
near Zikron-Jacob) when the vehicle hit a landmine. He helped his two injured mates but then
succumbed to his own wounds. Two died, one of them was Ernest Levi
His body was never recovered.
Following his death, the IDF initiated Operation Shoter in which three Arab villages, Jeba
included, where taken and the highway Haifa – Tel Aviv was reopened.
130
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmeli_Brigade
350
Fig. 251: Ernest Levi
Date gone MIA: July 18, 1948
YAHRZEIT: 11 TAMUZ 5708
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
351
Fig. 252: IDF # 50408 Private Ernest Levi’ Pillow
Age: 36
Born: 1912, Vienna, Austria
Parents: Olga and Oscar Levi.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
352
Moses “Moniek” Hofman was born in 1927 in Lodz, Poland. He made Aliyah in 1948. He was
drafted into the PALMACH - HAREL Brigade headed by Isaac Rabin.
On December 1948 – January 1949 the HAREL Brigade131 participated in Operation Horev132
to free the NEGEV region from the invading Egyptian Army. The HAREL Brigade had the task
of encircling the Egyptian Army positioned in the Gaza – Raffah Strip attacking the Egyptians
on their back, i.e. in direction south to north.
Moses “Moniek” Hofman fell on the last leg of the operation on January 06, 1949. His death
occurred during the armored vehicles battle over the strategic Raffah-El-Arish road junction.
Four MIAs remain since this battle: Moses “Moniek” Hofman, Abraham Zimerman,
Solomon Schwitzer and Jacob Shafiq Shafir.
The question remains why in the HAREL Brigade, 4 soldiers remain MIAs to date, considering
that operation HOREV resumed in 1949, practically the last operation of the War of
Independence. Assuming that at that late time of the war, the IDF already embedded the
principle of not leaving behind in the battlefields bodies of comrades.
131
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harel_Brigade
132
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Horev
353
Fig. 253: Moses “Moniek” Hofman
Date gone MIA: January 06, 1949
YAHRZEIT: 05 TEVET 5709
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
354
Fig. 254: IDF # 74207 Private Moses “Moniek” Hofman’s old Pillow.
NO rank, NO mother’s name.
Photo: BillionGraves.com
355
Fig. 255: IDF # 74207 Private Moses “Moniek” Hofman’s new Pillow
Age: 21
Born: 1927, Lodz, Poland
Parents: Only the father Kopel Hofman is mentioned.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
356
Abraham Zimerman was born on June 18, 1928 in Parempol, Poland. He made Aliyah in
1948. He was drafted into the PALMACH - HAREL Brigade headed by Isaac Rabin.
On December 1948 – January 1949 the HAREL Brigade133 participated in Operation Horev134
to free the NEGEV region from the invading Egyptian Army. The HAREL Brigade had the task
of encircling the Egyptian Army positioned in the Gaza – Raffah Strip attacking the Egyptians
on their back, i.e. in direction south to north.
Abraham Zimerman fell on the last leg of the operation on January 06, 1949. His death
occurred during the armored vehicles battle over the strategic Raffah-El-Arish road junction.
Four MIAs remain on this battle: Moses “Moniek” Hofman, Abraham Zimerman, Solomon
Schwitzer and Jacob Shafiq Shafir.
The question remains why in the HAREL Brigade, 4 soldiers remain MIAs to date, considering
that operation HOREV resumed in 1949, practically the last operation of the War of
Independence. Assuming that at that late time of the war, the IDF already embedded the
principle of not leaving behind in the battlefields bodies of comrades.
133
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harel_Brigade
134
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Horev
357
Fig. 256: Abraham Zimerman
Date gone MIA: January 06, 1949
YAHRZEIT: 05 TEVET 5709
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
358
Fig. 257: IDF # 74285 Private Abraham Zimerman’s Pillow
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
Age: 20
Born: 1927, Perampol, Poland
Parents: Esther Feiga and Joshua Zimerman.
359
Solomon Schwitzer was born on December 31, 1929 in Warsaw, Poland. He made Aliyah in
1946. He was drafted into the PALMACH - HAREL Brigade headed by Isaac Rabin.
On December 1948 – January 1949 the HAREL Brigade135 participated in Operation Horev136
to free the NEGEV region from the invading Egyptian Army. The HAREL Brigade had the task
of encircling the Egyptian Army positioned in the Gaza – Raffah Strip attacking the Egyptians
on their back, i.e. in direction south to north.
Solomon Schwitzer fell on the last leg of the operation on January 06, 1949. His death occurred
during the armored vehicles battle over the strategic Raffah-El-Arish road junction.
Four MIAs remain since this battle: Moses “Moniek” Hofman, Abraham Zimerman,
Solomon Schwitzer and Jacob Shafiq Shafir.
The question remains why in the HAREL Brigade, 4 soldiers remain MIAs to date, considering
that operation HOREV resumed in 1949, practically the last operation of the War of
Independence. Assuming that at that late time of the war, the IDF already embedded the
principle of not leaving behind in the battlefields bodies of comrades.
135
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harel_Brigade
136
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Horev
360
Fig. 258: Solomon Schwitzer
Date gone MIA: January 06, 1949
YAHRZEIT: 05 TEVET 5709
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
361
Fig. 259: IDF # 51423 Private Solomon Schwitzer’s Pillow
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
Age: 19
Born: 1927, Warsaw, Poland
Parents: Batia and Zvi Schwitzer.
362
Jacob Shafiq Shafir was born in 1928 in Ostrowiec, Poland. He made Aliyah in 1945. He was
drafted into the PALMACH - HAREL Brigade as an Anti-tank launcher operator.
The HAREL Brigade was headed by Isaac Rabin137.
On December 1948 – January 1949 the HAREL Brigade138 participated in Operation Horev139
to free the NEGEV region from the invading Egyptian Army. The HAREL Brigade had the task
of encircling the Egyptian Army positioned in the Gaza – Raffah Strip attacking the Egyptians
on their back, i.e. in south to north direction.
Jacob Shafiq Shafir fell on the last leg of the operation on January 06, 1949. His death occurred
during the armored vehicles battle over the strategic Raffah-El-Arish road junction. While he
inspecting a parking lot of Egyptian armored vehicles which fell in IDF’s capacity, he was killed
by an Egyptian sniper.
Four MIAs remain on this battle: Moses “Moniek” Hofman, Abraham Zimerman, Solomon
Schwitzer and Jacob Shafiq Shafir.
The question remains why in the HAREL Brigade, 4 soldiers remain MIAs to date, considering
that operation HOREV resumed in 1949, practically the last operation of the War of
Independence. Assuming that at that late time of the war, the IDF already embedded the
principle of not leaving behind in the battlefields bodies of comrades.
137
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yitzhak_Rabin
138
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harel_Brigade
139
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Horev
363
Fig. 260: Jacob Shafiq Shafir
Date gone MIA: January 06, 1949
YAHRZEIT: 05 TEVET 5709
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
364
Fig. 261: IDF # 96742 Corporal Shafiq Shafir’s Pillow
Age: 19
Born: 1928, Ostrowiec, Poland
Parents: Rachel and Jeroham Shafir.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
365
Arthur Gisner was born circa 1925 in Czechoslovakia. In 1948 he was drafted in the 8th
“Southern NEGEV” battalion of the #12 HANEGEV Brigade.
On April 20, 1949 a 3 squad force of the 8th “Southern NEGEV” battalion was placed
ambushing between the Arab villages Idna and Dweima, west of the town of Hebron. The task
of the ambush was to stop Arabs from penetrating back into Israel. An Arab force coming out of
the village of Idna, attacked them. The ambush ran out of ammunition and had to retreat. Two of
the tree squads managed to retreat. The third squad was caught on cross fire. They suffered 12
dead. 11 of the dead were recovered the next day.
The last one, Arthur Gisner remains MIA. There is a 12th grave of an unknown soldier that may
be attributed to Arthur Gisner but apparently did not undergo a forensic operation.
Arthur Gisner was almost the last MIA of the War of Independence. The remains in the grave
of the unknown should be exhumed in order to confirm his identity.
366
Fig. 262: Arthur Gisner
Date gone MIA: April 20, 1949
YAHRZEIT: 21 NISAN 5709
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
367
Fig. 263: IDF # 139514 Private Arthur Gisner’s Pillow
Age: 24
Born: 1925 in Checkia.
Parents: Zehava and Isaac Isaiah Gisner.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
368
The LAST, #97 MIA of the WAR OF INDEPENDENCE
Jacob Bukay was born on October 26, 1930 in Damascus, Syria. He made Aliyah in 1946. He
was drafted in the IDF on February 1948 Due to his knowledge in Arabic he was placed in the
“Shahar” IDF Arab Squad.
In 1949 he was placed with a second fellow on a mission among a group of the Arab Jordanian
Legion140 POW group incarcerated in the Sarafend (Zrifin) base. The group was returned
eventually to Jordan. The Jordanians found out that he was never a soldier of the Jordanian
legion.
Jacob Bukay was judged and executed by the Jordanians as a Jewish spy on August 02, 1949.
He was interned in Amman. He is considered the last MIA in the War of Independence.
Jacob Bukay remains MIA to date. His fellow in a similar job apparently made it back home
safely as he is not on the MIA list.
Israel and Jordan maintain a peace treaty and thus peaceful relations. In fact, the Jordanian line
of kings knows well that their border on the west, the border with Israel, is their securest border
of them all. If some wrong may happen to the Hashemite line of kings, their fastest safest refuge
will be in… Tel Aviv.
I find it hard to grasp that the Jordanians will not able to locate the grave and remains of Jacob
Bukay in Amman…
140
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_Legion
369
Fig. 264: Jacob Bukay
Date gone MIA: August 02, 1949
YAHRZEIT: 07 AV 5709
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
370
Fig. 265: IDF # 7207 Lieutenant Jacob Bukay’s Pillow
Age: 18
Born: 1930, Damascus, Syria.
Parents: Adel and Mordechai Bechor Bukay.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
371
PART C:
IDF MIAs
1949 – 1957
372
24.
Fig. 266: Mt. Herzl Jerusalem. This chapter contains 1949 – 1957 MIAs.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021.
373
Joseph Egon Feldstein was born on September 29, 1929 in Vienna, Austria. At age 9, his
Family made Aliyah in 1938. He was drafted to the IDF NAVY on May 1948.
Ophir Shipping was an Israeli ship cooperative established 1949 by ex Israeli Navy sailors. In
1949 they purchased in Denmark an old boat named Mercure and changed its name to
Masada1.
On its first voyage under Israeli ownership the Masada delivered fish from Iceland to Italy.
Right after the Masada was intended to ship the Mediterranean route of Israel – Italy –
Portugal. Enroot from Italy for the first time to the Haifa port in Israel, the Masada sunk on
March 28, 1950 near Naples, Italy.
Seven crew members died. A Transportation Ministry investigative team blamed Masada’s First
Officer Enosh Stampper on charges of Causing Death by Negligence and he was sentenced to
one year imprisonment. Apparently the Masada ship cargo contained some military components
for the IDF. Private Joseph Egon Feldstein was on board the ship at the time it sunk.
He became MIA.
1
https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%90%D7%95%D7%A4%D7%99%D7%A8_(%D7%A7%D7%95%D7%90%D7%A4%
D7%A8%D7%98%D7%99%D7%91_%D7%A1%D7%A4%D7%A0%D7%95%D7%AA)
374
Fig. 267: March 30, 1950. Haaretz Daily, front page, top left corner.
Photo: Haaretz Daily Archive.
375
Fig. 268: Joseph Egon Feldstein
MIA: March 28, 1950, Mediterranean high seas near Naples, Italy
Yahrzeit: 10 Nisan 5710
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
376
Fig. 269: IDF #28236 Private Joseph Egon Feldstein’s Pillow.
Age: 20
Born: Vienna, Austria
Parents: Gizel and Arie Feldstein.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
377
Arie “Arik” Binnenfeld was born on August 24, 1932 in the town of Pekrac, Yugoslavia. The
family made Aliya circa 1949. He was drafted into the IDF Navy in 1950 and placed in the
Navy Atlit base.
On Saturday, April 01, 1950, Arie “Arik” Binnenfeld was on guard at the Atlit base. It was the
holiday of Passover, SEDER night2. Most all the other soldiers stationed in the base were at
their homes for the holiday. Apparently he used the dinghy – “Hasake”3 at the guards’ disposal
either to check something suspicious at sea around the base or for another reason. As he was
alone in his post, nobody can really know.
Arie “Arik” Binnenfeld disappeared in the Mediterranean, just west of the Atlit Base.
Searches at sea near Atlit following his disappearance produced nothing.
He remains MIA to date (2021).
2
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passover_Seder
3
https://www.supconnect.com/history/hasake‐the‐israeli‐and‐arabic‐sup‐board
378
Fig. 270: Arie “Arik” Binnenfeld
MIA: April 01, 1950
Yahrzeit: 14 Nisan 5710
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
379
Fig. 271: IDF #161208 Private Arie “Arik” Binnenfeld’s Pillow.
Age: 18
Born: Pekrac, Yugoslavia
Parents: Anna and Herman Binnenfeld.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
380
Jacob Abzac was born on July 07, 1929 in Lodz, Poland. At age 17, in 1946 he made Aliyah.
In 1949 he was drafted to the IDF in the paratrooper NAHAL unit.
A de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide4 Squadron 100 Air Force plane took off on December
18, 1950 from the Israeli airbase of TEL-NOF5. The Rapide was a British 8 passenger twinengine plane constructed from primitive plywood, used by the Royal Air-Force during WWII for
military service as well.
Fig. 272: de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide
Photo: Wikipedia
4
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Dragon_Rapide
5
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tel_Nof_Airbase
381
Onboard the Rapide were one pilot and seven paratrooper NAHAL soldiers. This was a
training and reconnaissance mission. The pilot was Lieutenant Meir Hofshy6, age 21. He
graduated Pilot School in Bakersfield, CA. on June 1948 and had ample 2.5 years of flying
experience. No second co-pilot neither a Navigator manned the plane.
The 7 NAHAL soldiers were: Sapper Captain Isaac Kibowitz age 21, Sergeant David
Rapoport 19, Sergeant Zvi Yatom 20, Sergeant Mordechai Arzi 24, sergeant Shlomo
Yaskolka 23, Sergeant Uzi Shanenski Shaanan 19, the son of vice-commander of the
PALMACH Giora Shaanan and Sergeant Jacob Abzac, 21.
The plane crashed into the Mediterranean west of Kibbutz Zikim, near the border with the
Egyptian controlled Gaza Strip. The plane flew close to the Gaza Strip northern border. The
Egyptians opened anti-aircraft fire. One possibility is that the slow speed plane was hit by
Egyptian shells another possibility is a technical malfunction. Six bodies were recovered by the
Egyptians one body was recovered at sea by the NAVY.
If this was a reconnaissance flight, than why the 7 paratroopers were on board?
If this was a training flight, than what were they training for?
The last NAHAL soldier, Sergeant Jacob Abzac remains MIA to date.
6
https://www.news1.co.il/Archive/0024‐D‐121978‐00.html
382
Fig. 273: Jacob Abzac
MIA: December 18, 1950
Yahrzeit: 09 TEVET 5711
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
383
Fig. 274: IDF #163074 Sergeant Jacob Abzac’s Pillow.
Age: 21
Born: Lodz, Poland
Parents: Malca and Alter Abzac
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
384
Joseph Batzri Evers was born in 1923 in Bagdad, Iraq7. He became an attorney
and member of the Zionist group Halutz in Bagdad. In 1949 he made Aliyah.
In Israel he was recruited by the Mossad8 and returned to Iraq in order to convince
the Iraqi Jewry to make Aliyah. In 1951 he was apprehended in Bagdad with his
partners Shalom Zalah Shalom and Ephraim Latif. They were charged with
treason and agitation of Iraqi citizens.
Joseph Batzri Evers and Shalom Zalah Shalom were convicted and hung in
Bagdad on January 19, 1952.
His remains are interned in Bagdad, possibly in the Jewish Cemetery.
7
https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%99%D7%95%D7%A1%D7%A3_%D7%91%D7%A6%D7%A8%D7%99
8
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mossad
385
Fig. 275: Joseph Batzri Evers
MIA: January 19, 1952
Yahrzeit: 21 TEVET 5712
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
386
Fig. 276: IDF Captain Joseph Batzri Evers’s Pillow.
Age: 26
Born: Bagdad, Iraq
Parents: Georgia and Ephraim Batzri .
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
387
Shalom Zalah Shalom9 was born in 1923 in Bagdad, Iraq. He became member
of the Zionist group Halutz. At age 28, in 1951 he was apprehended in Bagdad
together with Joseph Batzri Evers who returned to Bagdad from Israel in order
to encourage Aliyah.
They were tortured and admitted performing actions against the Iraqi regime. He
was hung on January 22, 1952.
His remains are interned in Bagdad, possibly in the Jewish Cemetery.
9
https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A9%D7%9C%D7%95%D7%9D_%D7%A6%D7%90%D7%9C%D7%97
388
Fig. 277: Shalom Zalah Shalom
MIA: January 22, 1952
Yahrzeit: 24 TEVET 5712
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
389
19
Fig. 278: Shalom Zalah Shalom’s Pillow.
Age: 22
Born: Bagdad, Iraq
Parents: Yafa Hasina and Zalah Shalom.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
390
25. 7 IDF
NAVY MIAs
November 23,
1952
West of Haifa
391
Jacob Broadstein was born January 08, 1932 in Tel Aviv. At age 20, in 1951, he was drafted in
the IDF NAVY.
The Israeli NAVY ran a course named Deck B’. At the end of the course, the apprentices would
end up in a boat trip from Haifa down south to Tel-Aviv and back.
Due to stormy weather the trip initiated on November 19, 1952 @ 17:30 PM instead of 08:00
AM. 15 NAVY soldiers on training in two boats left the port of Haifa westwards10. They were
supposed to navigate southwards to the Tel Aviv port and back, but they erred and navigated
northbound instead
Fig. 279: Circa 1952. Two IDF Navy boats.
Photo: Zultan Kluger, Israel’s Press agency.
10
https://www.news1.co.il/Archive/0024‐D‐122755‐00.html
392
The boat “Rebecca” under the command of First-Sergeant Ben-Ami Lewinhertz, with 8 NAVY
sailors aboard ended up in Junia, Lebanon and the 8 men went on captivity. Lewinhertz was
the commander of the entire drill. The boats had communication transmitters to communicate to
each other but could communicate with the shore only when in vicinity to the shore. Upon
leaving the Haifa port the boats encountered rough weather and never reached Tel-Aviv.
The second boat “Menahem”, under the command of Corporal Jacob Broadstein, was lost in
the Mediterranean and its crew of seven pronounced MIAs.
The seven MIAs aboard the “Menahem” were: Corporal Jacob Broadstein, Samuel Garber,
Abraham Alberson Ben-Porat, Isaac Proschowitz, Jacob Schahar, Amram Amos Sadwin
Saadon and Ruben Fishel Dgani.
The eight “Rebecca” boat captives were held in a Beirut prison and eventually exchanged for a
Lebanese boat held by Israel. The 8 were: Ben-Ami Lewinhertz the commander, Arie Hadas,
Joseph Machluf, Joseph Gerstein, Benjamin Strikowski, Nachman Spector, Jacob Cohen
and Mordechai Cohen.
393
Fig. 280: Jacob Broadstein
Gone MIA: November 23, 1952
Yahrzeit: 05 KISLEV 5713
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
394
Fig. 281: IDF # 203934 Corporal Jacob Broadstein ’s Pillow.
Age: 20
Born: Tel Aviv
Parents: Leah and Isaac Broadstein.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
395
Abraham Alberson Ben-Porat was born on March 05, 1934 in Tel Aviv. He was drafted into
the IDF on September 1951 and served in the NAVY.
Fig. 282: Abraham Alberson Ben-Porat
Gone MIA: November 23, 1952
Yahrzeit: 05 KISLEV 5713
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
396
Fig. 283: IDF #217819 Corporal Abraham Alberson Ben-Porat’s Pillow.
Age: 18
Born: Tel‐Aviv, British Israel
Parents: Malca and Joshua Alberson Ben‐Porat.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
397
Samuel Garber was born in 1927 in the town of Brezna, Poland. At age 21, in 1948 he made
Aliyah. He was drafted to the IDF NAVY.
Fig. 284: Samuel Garber
Gone MIA: November 23, 1952
Yahrzeit: 05 KISLEV 5713
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
398
Fig. 285: IDF #198190 Corporal Samuel Garber’s Pillow.
Age: 25
Born: Berzana, Poland
Parents: Rachel and Moshe Garber.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
399
Ruben Fishel Dgani was born on July 21, 1932 in Rostock, Germany. His family
made Aliyah in 1939. He was drafted in 1951 to the IDF NAVY.
Fig. 286: Ruben Fishel Dgani
Gone MIA: November 23, 1952
Yahrzeit: 05 KISLEV 5713
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
400
Fig. 287: IDF #213327 Corporal Ruben Fishel Dgani’s Pillow.
Age: 20
Born: Rostock, Germany
Parents: Nahama and Abraham Dgani
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
401
Amram Saadon was born on May 01, 1930 in the town of Fes, Morocco. At age
20, in 1950, he made Aliyah and was drafted to the IDF NAVY. His brother
Elijah Saadon fell on September 08, 1950.
Fig. 288: Amram Saadon
Gone MIA: November 23, 1952
Yahrzeit: 05 KISLEV 5713
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
402
Fig. 289: IDF #201686 Corporal Amram Saadon’s Pillow.
Age: 22
Born: Fes, Morocco
Parents: Tamar and Jacob Saadon
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
403
Isaac Proschowitz was born on October 22, 1927 in the town of Zamosc, Poland.
He made Aliyah in 1949. At age 24, on January 1951 he was drafted in the IDF
NAVY.
Fig. 290: Isaac Proschowitz
Gone MIA: November 23, 1952
Yahrzeit: 05 KISLEV 5713
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
404
Fig. 291: Isaac Proschowitz old Pillow.
Photo: Wikipedia
405
Fig. 292: IDF #202110 First Private Isaac Proschowitz’s Pillow.
Age: 25
Born: Zamosc, Poland
Parents: Chana and Pinkus Proschowitz
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
406
Jacob Schahar was born on December 02, 1933 in Jerusalem, British Israel. At
age 18, in 1951 he was drafted to the IDF NAVY.
Fig. 293: Jacob Schahar
Gone MIA: November 23, 1952
Yahrzeit: 05 KISLEV 5713
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
407
Fig. 294: Corporal Jacob Schahar’s old Pillow.
Photo: Wikipedia
408
Fig. 295: IDF #207825 Corporal Jacob Schahar’s Pillow.
Age: 19
Born: Jerusalem.
Parents: Miriam and Arie Schahar
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
409
Zvulon Tomy Brown was born on April 23, 1930 in Budapest, Hungary. In
1949, at age 19, he made Aliyah. He was drafted in 1950 and graduated Officers
Course within the IDF Artillery Corps.
On Friday, January 23, 1953 he left his base in Beit Govrin for the weekend and
was never seen since.
One possibility is that he was murdered by Arabs when he walked the road leading
to or from his base gate in Beit-Govrin either on Friday, January 23, 1953 or
possibly on Sunday January 25, 1953. The border territory around Beit Govrin
was considered no-men’s land in the 1950s.
410
Fig. 296: Zvulon Tomy Brown
Gone MIA: January 23, 1953
Yahrzeit: 07 SHVAT 5713
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
411
Fig. 297: IDF #195832 First Lieutenant Zvulon Tomy Brown’s Pillow.
Age: 23
Born: Budapest, Hungary.
Parents: Rene Miriam and Kalman Brown
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
412
Uriel Eshel was born on January 08, 1933 in Kibbutz MIZRAH in northern British Israel. On
October 1950 he was drafted to the IDF Air-Force and became a pilot.
On the night of August 06, 1953 he and his Navigator Oded Shtil were on a drill flight aboard a
Mosquito bomber over the Mediterranean, west of Haifa.
Fig. 298: 1941 British de Havilland Mosquito twin engine bomber. The frame
was constructed mostly of wood.
Photo: Wikipedia
The plane disappeared. Pilot Uriel Eshel and Navigator Oded Shtil were
pronounced MIAs
413
Fig. 299: Uriel Eshel
Gone MIA: August 06, 1953
Yahrzeit: 25 AV 5713
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
414
Fig. 300: IDF #195753 Lieutenant Uriel Eshel’s Pillow.
Age: 20
Born: Kibbutz Mizrah, near Afula.
Parents: Anda and Zvi Eshel.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
415
Oded Shtil was born on September 21, 1932 in Karkur, British Israel. In April
1950, at 18, he was drafted to the IDF Air-Force. First he served as a plane
technician thereafter as a Navigator.
On the night of August 06, 1953 he and pilot Uriel Eshel were on a drill flight
with a Mosquito bomber over the Mediterranean, west of Haifa.
The plane disappeared. Pilot Uriel Eshel and Navigator Oded Shtil were
pronounced MIAs
416
Fig. 301: Oded Shtil
Gone MIA: August 06, 1953
Yahrzeit: 25 AV 5713
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
417
Fig. 302: IDF #195753 Lieutenant Oded Shtil’s Pillow.
Age: 21
Born: Karkur, British Israel
Parents: Leah and Joseph Shtil.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
418
Bezalel Bachar was born in Iderna, Turkey on May 10, 1934. At age 15, in 1949 he made
Aliyah. He was drafted on April 1951 and served as a Medic.
On January 11, 1954 he was on guard in the NAVY base in Caesarea. It was a stormy night. A
fishing boat approached the small harbor and he went onboard to inspect it. As a result of the
storm and while onboard he slipped, drowned and disappeared.
His body was never recovered from the Mediterranean.
419
Fig. 303: Bezalel Bachar
Gone MIA: January 11, 1954
Yahrzeit: 07 SHVAT 5714
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
420
Fig. 303a: IDF #224310 Private Bezalel Bachar’s Pillow.
Age: 20
Born: Turkey
Parents: Mazal and Issachar Bachar.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
421
Jacob Migowski Meged was born on June 28, 1934 in Moisesville, Argentina.
At 19, in 1953 his family made Aliyah. He was drafted in 1954 in the IDF
NAHAL Brigade and stationed in Kibbutz Gonen in the Upper Galilee.
On October 18, 1955 he went hunting in the fields east of the Kibbutz. The Syrians
shot and injured him and then dragged him to Syrian territory and murdered him.
Then they denied knowing anything about him.
Following the Six Days War on June 1967, a Syrian Operations Diary was
discovered in the Syrian town Kuneitra on the Golan Heights. An entry in the
diary shed light on his kidnapping. According to the entry the Syrians buried him
near the Position which kidnapped and murdered him.
Jacob Migowski Meged remains were not recovered to date (2021).
422
Fig. 304: Jacob Migowski Meged
Gone MIA: October 18, 1955
Yahrzeit: 02 Heshvan 5716
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
423
Fig. 305: IDF #307975 Private Jacob Migowski Meged’s Pillow.
Age: 21
Born: Moisesville, Argentina
Parents: Rebecca and Ephraim Migowski.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
424
Shalom Attiya was born on October 05, 1937 in the town of Algiers in Algieria.
At age 12, in 1949 his family made Aliyah.
He was member in a NAHAL 906 Battalion adjacent during the 1956 Sinai
Operation – the Suez Crisis11to the #35 Paratroopers Brigade12 headed by Ariel
Sharon. On October 31, 1956 at 16:0013, following the parachuting near the Mitla
Pass14 in the Sinai Peninsula, Egyptian Meteor Bombers attacked the 4th Battalion
headed by Aaron Davidi15 while moving into the Mitla Pass. There was no
strategic need to overtake the pass. A small reconnaissance NAHAL force would
have sufficed but Paratroopers Brigade commander Ariel Sharon16 was eager
for battle.
A NAHAL 906 squad headed by Judah Mitelman17 was moving in the back. A
truck carrying mortar shells was driving slowly behind them. The truck exploded
in a huge explosion seen and heard by all the forces around.
Shalom Attiya18 was either driving the truck, in the cabin or hiding in its vicinity.
No remains were left of Shalom Attiya.
11
12
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suez_Crisis
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paratroopers_Brigade
13
https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A7%D7%A8%D7%91_%D7%94%D7%9E%D7%99%D7%AA%D7%9C%D7%94
14
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitla_Pass
15
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aharon_Davidi
16
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ariel_Sharon
17
http://www.202.org.il/Pages/kadesh/mitle/mitle13.php
18
https://www.mako.co.il/news‐israel/local‐q2_2016/Article‐95da41aac1e9451004.htm
425
Fig. 306: October 1956, Kuntila, the Sinai Peninsula. Just before the Mitla Pass
Operation. Left to right:
Zvika Dahab, Armored Vehicles Squad Commander;
Aaron Davidi, 4th Battalion Commander;
Micha Kaposta Ben‐Ari, Patrols Commander;
Chaim Nadal, Operations Officer;
Yair Tel‐Zur, Intelligence Officer.
Photo: Micha Kaposta Ben‐Ari’s Collection.
426
Fig. 307: Shalom Attiya
Gone MIA: October 31, 1956
Yahrzeit: 26 Heshvan 5717
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
427
Fig. 308: IDF #337466 Private Shalom Attiya’s Pillow.
Age: 19
Born: Algiers, Algeria
Parents: Sarah and Kalah Attyia.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
428
Abed Symon was born on January 01, 1931 in Kirkuk, Iraq. In 1951 he made
Aliyah. He was drafted to the IDF and served as a Signaler in the Armored Corps.
Come the Sinai Operation – the Suez Crisis in 1956, Abed Symon was on
reserve duty in the 37th Brigade headed by Samuel Galinka19. Colonel Samuel
Galinka was hit badly on October 31, 1956 during the campaign over the AbuAgeila Egyptian fortified Compound20. Samuel Galinka died from his wounds. He
was the highest ranking Israeli officer to die on this operation.
Private Abed Symon was there in a 37th Brigade Armored Vehicle Squad near the
brigade command. Although the 37th Brigade tanks were still behind, commander
Galinka saw opportunity to attack the Umm Kutoff fortified compound with
Armored Vehicles only. Abed Symon was with the staff of the Communications
Armored Vehicle which absorbed a direct Egyptian shell hit or was hit by a
landmine21.
His remains could not be retrieved.
19
https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A9%D7%9E%D7%95%D7%90%D7%9C_%D7%92%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%A0%D
7%A7%D7%90
20
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Ageila
21
https://www.mako.co.il/news‐israel/local‐q2_2016/Article‐95da41aac1e9451004.htm
429
Fig. 309: November 01, 1956, the MITLA Pass in the Sinai Peninsula. Israeli
paratroopers dig into their personal foxholes. This mass parachuting is
considered the one and only combat parachuting in the history of the IDF since
1948 to date (2021).
Photo: Wikipedia
430
Fig. 310: Abed Symon
Gone MIA: October 31, 1956
Yahrzeit: 15 Heshvan 5716
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
431
Fig. 311: IDF #233071 Private Abed Symon’s Pillow.
Age: 24
Born: Kirkuk, Iraq
Parents: Kazana and Hay Symon.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
432
Jacob Mizrahi was born in 1922 in British Jerusalem. At age 34, on October 1956 he was
drafted to the IDF Sinai Operation. He was an infantry soldier in the IDF 7th Brigade. During
the battle of ABU-AGEILA22 - UMM KUTOFF Fortified Compound he was hit in his chest by
a rifle bullet. The force had to withdraw due to heavy shelling. Jacob Mizrahi disappeared
during the withdrawal, possibly fell and died unnoticed by his comrades.
His body was not traced.
22
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Ageila
433
Fig. 312: Jacob Mizrahi
Gone MIA: November 01, 1956
Yahrzeit: 16 Heshvan 5716
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
434
Fig. 313: IDF #110604 Private Jacob Mizrahi’s Pillow.
Age: 34
Born: Jerusalem, British Israel
Parents: Mazal and Saul Mizrahi.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
435
Muhammad Kasem Seid Ahmed was born in 1920 in the town of Majdal Shams
in Syria to a Druze23 tribe. He moved in 1948 into Israel and was drafted to the
IDF. He was placed in the “SILON 10” Intelligence Squad24 and his cover name
was “Silon 3”. Their task was to collect intelligence in Syria.
On November 28, 1956, Muhammad Kasem Seid Ahmed climbed a telephone
pole near the village Masaade in the Syrian Golan Heights in order to connect to it
a listening device.
This mission became extra important due to the Sinai Operation conducted at the
time on the Israeli southern border. The device contained a “self exploding from
afar” mechanism. This mechanism failed and the devise blew up in Muhammad
Kasem Seid Ahmed hands while he was up on the pole attempting to install it. He
died instantly, Silon1 on the ground next to the pole was wounded, Silon3 was the
only squad member left unhurt. Silon1 made the decision to carry wounded Silon3
back to Israel and had to leave behind Silon3 - Muhammad Kasem Seid Ahmed
body remains right there and then within the Syrian territory.
Muhammad Kasem Seid Ahmed remains MIA to date (2021).
23
24
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Druze
https://www.gvura.org/a345224‐%D7%A1%D7%92‐%D7%9D‐%D7%9E%D7%95%D7%97%D7%9E%D7%93‐
%D7%A1%D7%99%D7%99%D7%93‐%D7%90%D7%97%D7%9E%D7%93‐%D7%96‐%D7%9C
436
Fig. 314: Muhammad Kasem Seid Ahmed
Gone MIA: November 28, 1956
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
437
Fig. 315: IDF #728934 First Lieutenant Muhammad Kasem Seid Ahmed’s
Pillow.
Age: 36
Born: Masaade , the Golan Heights.
Parents: Jamila and Kasem Seid Ahmed.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
438
Avihu “Avi” Moskowitz was born on December 09, 1936 in Tel Aviv. In 1954 he
was drafted in the IDF Air Force and became a pilot.
On February 08, 1957 he flew the British made Gloster METEOR25 jet fighter on
a drill flight over the Mediterranean west of Haifa.
Avihu “Avi” Moskowitz disappeared in the Mediterranean.
Fig. 316: 1946. British made Gloster Meteor jet fighter
Photo: Wikipedia
25
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloster_Meteor
439
Fig. 317: Avihu “Avi” Moskowitz
Gone MIA: February 08, 1957
Yahrzeit: 07 ADAR A’ 5717
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
440
Fig. 318: IDF #304707 First Lieutenant Avihu “Avi” Moskowitz’s Pillow.
Age: 20
Born: Tel‐Aviv, British Israel.
Parents: Matilde and Zvi Moskowitz .
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
441
442
PART D:
IDF MIAs
1960 – 1967
443
Yair “Irale” Hatiba was born on August 27, 1940 in Kfar-Vitkin, British Israel. He was
drafted in the IDF Air Force in 1958 and became a pilot.
On the evening of February 15, 1960, the apprentices in Flight Course #31 were conducting
solo navigation flights on an American made Harvard T-6 Texan plane1. The standard route
was Tel Nof-Orr Akiva-Kaduri school up north and back south to Atlit and Tel Nof. Over
each location, the apprentice had to report his location by radio. Yair Hatiba took off @
19:05PM. At 20:03 PM he reported his last report being over the Ramat-David Air-Force base
and going west. At 20:15 PM the guard in the Atlit base reported seeing a plane crash into the
Mediterranean, just west of the town of Atlit. Two helicopters and another HARVARD took
off from the Tel-Nof Air Force base on a search mission. The search went well into the next day
but all was in vein.
Yair “Irale” Hatiba and his Harvard were never discovered.
Fig. 319: 1960 Israeli Air‐Force. American made Harvard T-6 Texan.
Photo: Wikipedia
1
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_T‐6_Texan
444
Fig. 320: Yair “Irale” Hatiba
MIA: February 15, 1960
Yahrzeit: 18 SHVAT 5720
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
445
Fig. 321: IDF #430833 First Lieutenant Yair “Irale” Hatiba’s Pillow.
Age: 19
Born: Kfar‐Vitkin, British Israel.
Parents: Alice and Arie Hatiba.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
446
Chaim Zarfai was born on August 18, 1932, in the town of Fes, Morocco. On 1951 he and his
brother made Aliyah2 and he was drafted to the IDF as a Radio Transmitter. In 1956 he was
working for the Mossad3 for the cause of Aliyah of the Moroccan Jews.
On January 11, 1961 he was onboard the S.S. EGOZ4 delivering 43 immigrants from Morocco
to Israel via Marseilles, France. The EGOZ sunk into the Mediterranean, north of Morocco.
No one onboard survived.
Chaim Zarfai’s body was not recovered.
Fig. 322: Jerusalem, Mt. Herzl. The EGOZ Monument.
2
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aliyah
3
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mossad
4
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egoz_(ship)
Photo: Wikipedia
447
Fig. 323: Chaim Zarfai
MIA: January 11, 1961
Yahrzeit: 23 TEVET 5721
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
448
Fig. 324: Chaim Zarfati’s Pillow.
Age: 28
Born: Fes, Morocco
Parents: Jakot and Elisha Zarfati.
Photo: Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
449
Jacob Rivkind Dvir was born on August 02, 1943 in Petah-Tikva, British Israel. He was
drafted to the IDF on May 1961 into the GOLANI Brigade.
In the early 1960s the Syrians conducted regularly shootings against Israeli fishermen on the
north-eastern edge of the Lake of Galilee. The main Syrian fire source was the Syrian
stronghold of Nukeib on the north-eastern shores of the Lake of Galilee.
Along two days, March 16 and 17, 1962, the IDF conducted the Nukeib Operation in the Syrian
territory in and around the village of Nukeib. The operation failed.5 8 IDF soldiers were killed, 2
MIAs and 43 wounded. The Israeli Air Force had to bomb the Israeli Armored Vehicles left
behind in the Syrian territory. One MIA was found by the Syrians and exchanged for a Syrian
live captive. The second MIA Jacob Rivkind Dvir was not traced. One theory is that he was
accidently left behind wounded in one of the Israeli Armored Vehicles left behind and thereafter
accidently bombed by the Israeli bomber which bombed the Israeli Armored Vehicles left
behind.
Following the June 1967 Six Days War, the Golan Heights, including the Nukeib Syrian
stronghold east of the Lake of Galilee, was annexed to Israel. No Syrian records were found to
indicate that Jacob Rivkind Dvir was ever in Syrian capacity, dead or alive.
Following the Nukeib failed operation, a bunch of Israeli officers were awarded Citations. The
planning and execution of this operation was certainly defective. Were those citations justified?
Jacob Rivkind Dvir remains MIA to date.
5
https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9E%D7%91%D7%A6%D7%A2_%D7%A1%D7%A0%D7%95%D7%A0%D7%99%D
7%AA
450
Fig. 325: 1962 The Nukeib Operation. Few Armoured Vehicles were left behind in Nukeib and
bombed later on. Jacob Rivkind Dvir may have been left in one of them.
Photo: Wikipedia
451
Fig. 326: The Nukeib Syrian 1962 Operation Monument on the north‐east side of the Lake of
Galillee. The MIA is Jacob Rivkind Dvir.
Photo: Wikipedia
452
Fig. 327: Jacob Rivkind Dvir
MIA: March 16, 1962
Yahrzeit: 11 ADAR B’ 5722
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
453
Fig. 328: IDF #466772 Corporal Jacob Rivkind Dvir’s Pillow
Age: 19
Born: Petah-Tikva, British Israel.
Parents: Leah and Abraham Rivkind Dvir.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
454
Eli Eliyahu Cohen was born on December 06, 1924 in Alexandria, Egypt. At age 33in 1957,
his family made Aliyah. He was recruited into the Mossad while still in Egypt. In 1962 he was
stationed by the Mossad in Damascus, Syria. He was exposed by the Syrians in January 1965
and executed on May 18, 1965 In Damascus. His body is possibly interned in the Jewish
cemetery of Damascus. The Russians who practically control Syria (2021), attempt to locate his
remains on behalf of Israel.
Fig. 329: Eli Eliyahu Cohen
MIA: May 18, 1965
Yahrzeit: 16 IYAR 5725
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
455
Fig. 330: #745701 Colonel Eli Eliyahu Cohen’s old Pillow.
Photo: Wikipedia
456
Fig. 331: Eli Eliyahu Cohen
Age: 40
Born: Alexandria, Egypt.
Parents: Sofia and Saul Hacohen.
Photo: Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
457
Gershon Gelkopf Ben-Judah was born on October 31, 1947 in Germany. At age 2 in 1949 his
family made Aliyah. In 1965 he was drafted in the IDF NAVY.
In 1964 Israel purchased from Great-Britain an old WWII submarine and named it the
“Leviathan”.
Before delivery to Israel, the “Leviathan” was undergoing renovations in a British shipyard.
Due to the alert in Israel before the June 1967 Six Days War the journey of the “Leviathan” to
Israel was expedited.
On the night of May 26, 1967 the “Leviathan” was making its way above water in the Irish Sea
between Scotland and Ireland southbound to Israel. Gershon Gelkopf Ben-Judah and Jacob
Kiki Tamir were busy erasing the old submarine number on the external body of the submarine.
When erased, they dismantled the scaffolding and the security cable holding them on the outside.
A heavy ocean wave washed them off into the ocean and they both drowned.
Jacob Kiki Tamir’s body was thrown onto an Ireland beach few weeks later.
Gershon Gelkopf Ben-Judah body was never recovered.
458
Fig. 332: Gershon Gelkopf Ben-Judah
MIA: May 27, 1967
Yahrzeit: 17 IYAR 5727
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
459
Fig. 333: IDF #966266 Corporal Gershon Gelkopf Ben-Judah’s Pillow.
Age: 19
Born: Germany.
Parents: Regina and Judah Gelkopf Ben-Judah.
Photo: Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
460
Danny Engel Erel was born on February 14, 1945 in Tel-Aviv, British Israel. He enlisted to the IDF on
August 1962 and served as a pilot in the Air-Force. On the first day of the Six Days War, June 05, 1967
he was flying the Super Mister French made on a bombing mission over the Egyptian Inshas Air Base
in Ezbet Kamel, north-east of Cairo. The plane was hit with anti-aircraft fire and crushed. Pilot Danny
Engel Erel was never recovered.
Fig. 334: Danny Engel Erel
Gone MIA: June 05, 1967
Yahrzeit: 26 IYAR 5727
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
461
Fig. 335: IDF #484001 Captain Danny Engel Erel’s Pillow.
Age: 22
Born: Tel‐Aviv.
Parents: Sarah and Pesach Engel Erel.
Photo: Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
462
Alexander “Alex” Kestenbaum Armon was born on March 31, 1941 in Radom, Poland. In
1950, when he was 9 years old, his family made Aliyah. He was drafted on July 1959 to the IDF
Air force and became a pilot
On June 05, 1967 the first day of the Six Days War he flew a Super Mister fighter from the
Hatzor Airbase to a bombing mission of the Egyptian airbase KIBRIT6. He was leading 4
Super Misters with pilots Jacob Nevo Z”L, Zeva Umschwiff and Amiram Manor Z”L.
Following the bombing of an Egyptian airbase tracks they destroyed 8 to10 Egyptian planes on
the ground. While returning to base they intercepted a Transportation Illiushin 14. Then, in a
dogfight with 2 Egyptian MIG21 Armon, and Manor were intercepted. Nevo reported that he
saw Armon’s Super Mister crush 20-25 KM east of KANTARA in the Sinai.
A squadron Search party following the war, headed by Commander Aaron Yalowski Shavit7,
could not recover Alexander “Alex” Kestenbaum Armon remains. His body was not traced to
date (2021).
Fig. 336: 1958. French made Super Mister.
Photo: Wikipedia
6
http://www.lodz‐israel.co.il/soldiers/kastenbaum.html
7
https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%90%D7%94%D7%A8%D7%9F_%D7%A9%D7%91%D7%99%D7%98
463
Fig. 337: Alexander Alex Kestenbaum Armon
Gone MIA: June 05, 1967
Yahrzeit: 26 IYAR 5727
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
464
Fig. 338: IDF #441725 Captain Alexander “Alex” Kestenbaum Armon’s Pillow.
Age: 26
Born: Radom, Poland
Parents: Sima and Refael Kestenbaum Armon.
Photo: Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
465
Benjamun Arman Romah was born in Bizia, south France in October 27, 1942. His family
made Aliyah in 1949. He was drafted in the IDF Air Force on October 1960 and became a pilot.
On the fourth day of the Six Days War, June 08, 1967 he was on a bombing mission piloting
the French made Mirage3. The plane was intercepted by Egyptian fighters in a dogfight, 20 KM
west of Kantara in the Sinai. Benjamun Arman Romah remains were never recovered.
Fig. 339: 1961. French made Mirage3 of the Royal Australian Air force.
.
Photo: Wikipedia
466
Fig. 340: Benjamun Arman Romah
Gone MIA: June 08, 1967
Yahrzeit: 29 IYAR 5727
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
467
Fig. 341: IDF #458174 Major Benjamun Arman Romah’s Pillow.
Age: 24
Born: Bizia, south France
Parents: Sophy and Alexander Arman Romah.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
468
Abner Yehezkly was born on April 15, 1947 in Kvuzat Yavne, British Israel. On May 1965 at
age 18, he was drafted to the IDF #35 Paratroopers Brigade8.
On June 08, 1967, the 4th day of the Six Days War, a battalion of the Paratroopers Brigade
was preparing for a night park near the Egyptian airbase of Bir Gifgafa9 in the Sinai. Abner
Yehezkly disappeared right there, not to be found again.
Merely two weeks before, Egyptian president Gamal Abdel-Nasser10 bragged off in the same
location and in front of his Bir Gifgafa pilots about the Egyptian high capabilities against Israel.
.
Fig. 342: May 22, 1967. Egyptian president Nasser brags off with Egyptian pilots in the
Egyptian Bir‐Gifgafa Airbase. After 2 weeks, on the 3rd day of the Six Days War this very room
where this photo was taken, became Israeli controlled territory for the next 13 years.
Photo: Wikipedia
8
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paratroopers_Brigade
9
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bir_Gifgafa_Airfield
10
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamal_Abdel_Nasser
469
Fig. 343: Abner Yehezkly
Gone MIA: June 08, 1967
Yahrzeit: 29 IYAR 5727
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
470
Fig. 344: IDF #960604 Corporal Abner Yehezkly’s Pillow.
Age: 20
Born: Kvuzat Yavne, British Israel
Parents: Leah and Solomon Yehezkly.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
471
472
PART E:
IDF MIAs
1967 – 1973
473
26.
October 21, 1967
16 MIAs
The ‘Eilat’ Destroyer
Sinking
474
Fig. 345: General Solomon Erel, IDF NAVY Commander 1966‐1968. The “Eilat” destroyer sunk
by the Egyptians and the “Dakar” submarine sunk occurred on his shift.
Photo: Wikipedia
475
Fig. 346: Chief of Staff 1968‐1972 Chaim Barlev. The “Eilat” destroyer sunk by the Egyptians
and the “Dakar” submarine sunk occurred on his shift.
Photo: Wikipedia
476
Fig.347: Moses Dayan, Minister of Defense 1967‐1974. The “Eilat” destroyer sunk by the
Egyptians and the “Dakar” submarine sunk occurred on his shift.
Photo: Wikipedia
477
Fig. 348: Levi Shkolnik Eshkol, Prime Minister of the Israeli government 1963 to 1969. The
“Eilat” destroyer sunk by the Egyptians and the “Dakar” submarine sunk occurred on his shift.
Photo: Wikipedia
478
Fig. 349: 1961. Colonel Isaac Shushan, Commander of the “Eilat” Destroyer @ the time of the
Egyptian attack and sunk on 10/21/1967.
Photo: Wikipedia
479
On October 21, 1967 the Commander of the ‘Eilat’ Destroyer was Colonel Isaac Shushan1.
The crew consisted of 199 IDF NAVY sailors.
The “Eilat” Destroyer was attacked on October 21, 1967 by Egyptian P-15 Styx Soviet made
Sea to Sea missiles. Each Styx missile carried a high amount of 500 KG of TNT. The missiles
were shot from Egyptian Comar 112 Soviet made Torpedo Boats. On that date the Eilat was on
the Mediterranean, north of Romney, on the northern shores of the Sinai Peninsula north-east
of the Egyptian Port-Said port and out of Egyptian sovereign waters.
The Eilat had no defense against Styx missiles. Thus, it was gross negligence to put the slow
moving Eilat destroyer as a sitting duck and direct prey to the Egyptians.
Six months earlier on July 11, 1967 in a nearby location to Romney and immediately following
the Six Day War the IDF NAVY destroyed two torpedo Comar 112 Egyptian boats.
Now, with the Eilat sunk, six months following the great Israeli victory in the Six Days War,
the losing Egyptians vividly signaled to the triumphant Israelis their serious intent to reclaim
back their Sinai Peninsula.
The Eilat destroyer was fully sunk. Of the 199 sailor crew, 47 lost their lives (24%). 16 of the
dead (34%) remain MIAs to date. An unknown number of victims’ remains interned in a mass
grave in the Haifa IDF Cemetery.
1
https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%99%D7%A6%D7%97%D7%A7_%D7%A9%D7%95%D7%A9%D7%9F
480
Fig. 350: 1967. INS “Eilat” in better days. A former British Royal Navy Z Class destroyer. Sold
by the British to Israel in 1955.
Photo: Wikipedia
481
Fig. 351: Soviet made SS‐N‐2 STYX anti‐ship missile, each missile carries 500 KG of explosives.
4 such Egyptian missiles hit the Israeli “Eilat” destroyer on October 21, 1967, leaving it no
chance to survive.
Photo: Don S. Montgomery.
482
Judah Ben-Basat was born on June 19, 1938 in the town of Plovdiev, Bulgary. At age 11, in
1949, his family made Aliyah. He was drafted in the IDF NAVY on October 1957. He served
as head Machinery officer on the Eilat Destroyer.
The Eilat destroyer was sunk by the Egyptians on October 21, 1967.
Fig. 352: Judah Ben-Basat
MIA: October 21, 1967
Yahrzeit: 18 TISHREY 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
483
Fig. 353: IDF #417247 Judah Ben-Basat’s old Pillow.
Photo: BillionGraves.com
484
Fig. 354: IDF #417247 Major Judah Ben-Basat’s new Pillow.
Age: 29
Born: Plovdiev, Bulgary
Parents: Rachel and Oskar Ben‐Basat.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
485
Rafael Ben-Ami was born in 1936 in Morocco. At age 14, in 1950 he made Aliyah. In 1954 he
was drafted to the IDF NAVY and served on the Eilat destroyer.
The Eilat destroyer was sunk by the Egyptians on October 21, 1967.
Fig. 355: Rafael Ben-Ami
MIA: October 21, 1967
Yahrzeit: 18 TISHREY 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
486
Fig. 356: IDF #296206 Chief First Sergeant Rafael Ben-Ami’s old Pillow.
Photo: BillionGraves.com
487
Fig. 357: IDF #296206 Chief First Sergeant Rafael Ben-Ami’s new Pillow.
Age: 31
Born: Morocco
Parents: Rachel and Meir Ben‐Ami.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
488
Eliyahu “Eli” Naor was born in 1934 in Iraq. In 1935 the family made Aliyah. On July 1951
he was drafted to the IDF NAVY and served as head mechanic on the Eilat Destroyer.
The Eilat destroyer was sunk by the Egyptians on October 21, 1967.
Fig. 358: the family of Eliyahu “Eli” Naor permitted no picture of his on the Izkor.gov.il
government site.
MIA: October 21, 1967
Yahrzeit: 18 TISHREY 5728
489
Fig. 359 IDF #175747 First Major Sergeant Eliyahu Naor’s old Pillow.
Photo: BillionGraves.com
490
Fig. 360: IDF #175747 First Major Sergeant Eliyahu Naor’s new Pillow.
Age: 33
Born: Iraq
Parents: Rachel and Nissim Naor.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
491
Zvi “Zvika” Oren was born on August 08, 1947 in Petah-Tikva, British Israel. On November
1965 he was drafted into the IDF NAVY and served on the Eilat Destroyer.
Fig. 361: Zvi “Zvika” Oren
MIA: October 21, 1967
Yahrzeit: 18 TISHREY 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
492
Fig. 362: IDF #973668 Sergeant Zvi “Zvika” Oren’s old Pillow.
Photo: BillionGraves.com
493
Fig. 363: IDF #973668 Sergeant Zvi “Zvika” Oren’s new Pillow.
Age: 20
Born: Petah-Tikva, British Israel
Parents: Batia and Gershon Oren.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
494
Yigal Cohen was born on June 20, 1933 in Baku, Rumania. At age 18, he made Aliyah in
1951. He was drafted to the IDF NAVY on July 1952 and served on the Eilat destroyer.
The Eilat destroyer was sunk by the Egyptians on October 21, 1967.
Fig. 364: Yigal Cohen
MIA: October 21, 1967
Yahrzeit: 18 TISHREY 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
495
Fig. 365: IDF #243405 First Sergeant Yigal Cohen’s old Pillow.
Photo: BillionGraves.com
496
Fig. 366: IDF #243405 Major Sergeant Yigal Cohen’s Pillow.
Age: 34
Born: Baku, Rumania
Parents: Esther and Moshe HaCohen.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
497
Uri Menahem was born on November 26, 1946 in Rehovot, British Israel. He was drafted in October
1964 to the IDF NAVY and served on the Eilat destroyer.
The Eilat destroyer was sunk by the Egyptians on October 21, 1967.
Fig. 367: Uri Menahem
MIA: October 21, 1967
Yahrzeit: 18 TISHREY 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
498
Fig. 368: IDF #948838 Sergeant Uri Menahem’s old Pillow.
Photo: BillionGraves.com
499
Fig. 369: IDF #948838 Sergeant Uri Menahem’s new Pillow.
Age: 21
Born: Rehovot, British Israel
Parents: Simha and Moshe Menahem.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
500
Judah Markowitz was born on January 26, 1941 in the town of Botushani, Rumania. At age
7, in 1948, his family made Aliyah. He was drafted on April 1959 to the IDF NAVY and served
as a mechanic on the Eilat destroyer.
The Eilat destroyer was sunk by the Egyptians on October 21, 1967.
Fig. 370: Judah Markowitz
MIA: October 21, 1967
Yahrzeit: 18 TISHREY 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
501
Fig. 371: IDF #438990 Major Sergeant Judah Markowitz’s Pillow.
Age: 26
Born: Botushani, Rumania
Parents: Sarah and Mordechai Markowitz.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
502
Rami Raymond Navaro was born on May 21, 1947 in Cairo, Egypt. At age 10, in 1957 his
family made Aliyah. On November 1965 he was drafted in the IDF NAVY and served as a
mechanic on the Eilat destroyer.
The Eilat destroyer was sunk by the Egyptians on October 21, 1967.
Fig. 372: Rami Raymond Navaro
MIA: October 21, 1967
Yahrzeit: 18 TISHREY 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
503
Fig. 373: IDF #973613 Sergeant Rami Raymond Navaro’s old Pillow.
Photo: BillionGraves.com
504
Fig. 374: IDF #973613 Sergeant Rami Raymond Navaro’s new Pillow.
Age: 20
Born: Cairo, Egypt
Parents: Esther and Daniel Navaro.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
505
Rahamim Clement “Rami” Saban was born on August 30, 1945 in Alexandria, Egypt. At
age 12, in 1957 his family made Aliyah. He was drafted on April 1963 in the IDF NAVY and
served on the Eilat destroyer.
The Eilat destroyer was sunk by the Egyptians on October 21, 1967.
Fig. 375: Rahamim Clement “Rami” Saban
MIA: October 21, 1967
Yahrzeit: 18 TISHREY 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
506
Fig. 376: IDF #492750 Sergeant Rahamim Clement “Rami” Saban’s old Pillow.
Photo: BillionGraves.com
507
Fig. 377: IDF #492750 Sergeant Rahamim Clement “Rami” Saban’s new Pillow.
Age: 22
Born: Alexandria, Egypt
Parents: Rachel and Morris Saban.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
508
Chaim Segal was born on August 31, 1948 in Haifa, Israel. At age 18, On September 1966 he
was drafted in the IDF NAVY and served on the Eilat destroyer.
The Eilat destroyer was sunk by the Egyptians on October 21, 1967.
Fig. 378: Chaim Segal
MIA: October 21, 1967
Yahrzeit: 18 TISHREY 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
509
Fig. 379: IDF #988423 Private Chaim Segal’s old Pillow.
Photo: BillionGraves.com
510
Fig. 380: IDF #988423 Private Chaim Segal’s new Pillow.
Age: 19
Born: Haifa, Israel
Parents: Veta and Ruben Segal.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
511
Zadok Salah Orkabi was born in 1947 in Yeman. At age 2, in 1949 his family made Aliyah.
He was drafted in May 1965 and served on the Eilat destroyer.
The Eilat destroyer was sunk by the Egyptians on October 21, 1967.
Fig. 381: Zadok Salah Orkabi
MIA: October 21, 1967
Yahrzeit: 18 TISHREY 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
512
Fig. 382: IDF #960500 Corporal Zadok Salah Orkabi’s old Pillow.
Photo: BillionGraves.com
513
Fig. 383: IDF #960500 Corporal Zadok Salah Orkabi’s new Pillow.
Age: 20
Born: Yeman
Parents: Rachel and Manzur Orkabi.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
514
Abraham Friedman was born on February 27, 1949 in Szczecin, Poland. In 1950 his family
made Aliyah. On October 1966 he was drafted in the IDF NAVY and served as an anti aircraft
gunner aboard the Eilat Destroyer.
The Eilat destroyer was sunk by the Egyptians on October 21, 1967.
Fig. 384: Abraham Friedman
MIA: October 21, 1967
Yahrzeit: 18 TISHREY 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
515
Fig. 385: IDF #989677 Corporal Abraham Friedman old Pillow.
Photo: BillionGraves.com
516
Fig. 386: IDF #989677 Corporal Abraham Friedman’s new Pillow.
Age: 18
Born: Szczecin, Poland
Parents: Chava and Meir Friedman.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
517
Samuel “Schmulik” Celnik was born on February 21, 1947 in Germany. His family made
Aliyah in 1948. He was drafted to the IDF NAVY on May 1966 and served as an engine
technician aboard the Eilat destroyer.
The Eilat destroyer was sunk by the Egyptians on October 21, 1967.
Fig. 387: Samuel “Schmulik” Celnik
MIA: October 21, 1967
Yahrzeit: 18 TISHREY 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
518
Fig. 388: IDF #982160 Corporal Samuel “Schmulik” Celnik’s Pillow.
Photo: BillionGraves.com
519
Fig. 389: IDF #982160 Corporal Samuel “Schmulik” Celnik’s new Pillow.
Age: 20
Born: Germany
Parents: Susana and Avigdor Celnik.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
520
Nathan Klein was born on July 01, 1947 in the town of Mscice, Poland. At age 9, his family
made Aliyah in 1956. He was drafted on November 1965 to the IDF NAVY and served on the
Eilat destroyer.
The Eilat destroyer was sunk by the Egyptians on October 21, 1967.
Fig. 380: Nathan Klein
MIA: October 21, 1967
Yahrzeit: 18 TISHREY 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
521
Fig. 381: IDF #973673 Corporal Nathan Klein’s old Pillow.
Photo: BilionGraves.com
522
Fig. 382: IDF #973673 Corporal Nathan Klein’s new Pillow.
Age: 20
Born: Mscice, Poland
Parents: Rebecca and Abraham Klein.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
523
Arie Kalenberg was born in Kiryat-Haim, a suburb of Haifa, on April 13, 1942 in British
Israel. On September 1960 he enlisted in the IDF NAVY. On October 1967 he served as a
reservist aboard the Eilat destroyer in the capacity of a mechanic. Just on his 2nd day for reserve
duty on October 21, 1967, the Eilat destroyer was sunk by the Egyptians.
Fig. 383: Arie Kalenberg
MIA: October 21, 1967
Yahrzeit: 18 TISHREY 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
524
Fig. 384: IDF #4579770 Sergeant Arie Kalenberg’s old Pillow.
Photo: BillionGraves.com
525
Fig. 385: IDF #4579770 Sergeant Arie Kalenberg’s old Pillow.
Photo: BilionGraves.org
526
Fig. 386: IDF #4579770 Sergeant Arie Kalenberg’s new Pillow.
Age: 25
Born: Kiryat‐Haim, British Israel
Parents: Berta and Isaac Kalenberg.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
527
George Godel was born on August 30, 1948 in Kluj, Rumania. At 11 years old, in 1959 his
family made Aliyah. In September 1966 He was drafted in the IDF NAVY and served on the
“Jaffa” Destroyer.
He disappeared of the deck of the Jaffa destroyer deck on October 21, 1968, not to be found.
Fig. 387: George Godel
MIA: October 21, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TISHREY 5729
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
528
Fig. 388: IDF #988438 Sergeant George Godel’s Pillow.
Age: 20
Born: Kluj, Rumania
Parents: Erna and Carol Godel
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
529
Chaim Zvi Yeger was born on October 19, 1950 in Sigat, Rumania. His family made Aliyah
in 1964. He was drafted in the IDF NAVY on April 1969. He became missing under unclear
circumstances as of August 13, 1969.
Fig. 389: Chaim Zvi Yeger
MIA: August 13, 1969
Yahrzeit: 29 AV 5729
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
530
Fig. 390: IDF #2070325 Private Chaim Zvi Yeger’s Pillow.
Age: 19
Born: Sigat, Rumania
Parents: Rachel and Jacob Yeger
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
531
27.
AIR FORCE
532
Isaak “Aki” Artzi was born on January 24, 1939 in Kibbutz Degania A’. On August 1957 he
was drafted in the IDF Air-Force and became a pilot. On December 01, 1967 Isaak “Aki”
Artzi and navigator Elhanan Raz were operating reconnaissance flight over the Bitter Lake,
just south of the Suez Canal. They flew the French made Vautour IIB (nicknamed “Small
Brother”)2. The fighter was shot down by ground to air Egyptian missiles.
Both the pilot and the navigator remain MIAs to date.
Fig. 391: 1955. Vautour IIB in the French Air Force.
Photo: Jerry Gunner
2
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sud_Aviation_Vautour
533
Fig. 392: Isaak “Aki” Artzi
MIA: December 01, 1967
Yahrzeit: 28 Heshvan 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
534
Fig. 393: IDF #414296 Major Isaak “Aki” Artzi’s old Pillow.
Photo: BillionGraves.com
535
Fig. 394: IDF #414296 Major Isaak “Aki” Artzi’s new Pillow.
Age: 28
Born: Kibbutz Degania A’, British Israel
Parents: Fania and Joel Artzi.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
536
Elhanan Reisner Raz was born on December 11, 1943 in Kibbutz Beit-Shearim. He was
drafted in the IDF and became an Air-Force pilot.
On December 01, 1967 Isaak “Aki” Artzi and navigator Elhanan Raz were operating a
reconnaissance flight over the Bitter Lake, just south of the Suez Canal. They flew the French
made Vautour IIB (nicknamed “Small Brother”)3. The fighter was shot down by ground to air
Egyptian missiles. Both the pilot and navigator remain MIAs to date.
Fig. 395: Elhanan Reisner Raz
MIA: December 01, 1967
Yahrzeit: 28 Heshvan 5728
3
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sud_Aviation_Vautour
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
537
Fig. 396: IDF #484365 Captain Elhanan Reisner Raz’s old Pillow.
Photo: BillionGraves.com
538
Fig. 397: IDF #484365 Captain Elhanan Reisner Raz’s new Pillow.
Age: 24
Born: Kibbutz Beit‐Shearim, British Israel
Parents: Bluma and Ephraim Reisner Raz.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
539
Hagay Ronen was born on May19, 1938 in Kibbutz Naan, British Israel. He was drafted in
the IDF on July 1956 and became a pilot. On September 09, 1969 he was on a bombing mission
over Egypt. His Skyhawk fighter was hit by ground to air anti aircraft Egyptian fire and sunk
into the Suez Bay.
Fig. 398: Hagay Hacohen Ronen
MIA: September 09, 1969
Yahrzeit: 26 ELUL 5729
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
540
Fig. 399: IDF #344598 Major Hagay Hacohen Ronen’s Pillow.
Age: 31
Born: Kibbutz Naan, British Israel
Parents: Bilha and Ruben Hacohen Ronen
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
541
Aaron Noam “Ami” Arnon was born on October 10, 1950 in Haifa, Israel. He was drafted on
October 1968 in the IDF Air Force and served as a pilot.
On June 23, 1972 he was killed when two Phantom fighters collided during a drill flight over
the Mediterranean west of Ashdod. His Navigator ejected on time and survived.
Fig. 400: Aaron Noam “Ami” Arnon
MIA: June 23, 1972
Yahrzeit: 11 TAMUZ 5732
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
542
Fig. 401: IDF #2059622 Lieutenant Aaron Noam “Ami” Arnon’s Pillow.
Age: 22
Born: Haifa, Israel
Parents: Chava and Pinkus Arnon
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
543
PART F:
544
28. January
30, 1968
Sinking of the
DAKAR
Submarine.
69 Victims
545
January 25, 1968. The Dakar submarine was in the Mediterranean, enroot from England to
Israel. The submarine sunk 485 KM west of the Haifa port. The sunken body of the submarine
lies 3 KM in depth. All 69 Israeli NAVY sailors aboard perished4.
A year after the Dakar disappearance, on February 1969, the tail emergency Orange colored
buoy of the Dakar landed on the Han-Yunes beach. The full body remains of the Dakar were
located in 1999, 31 frustrating years after it sunk.
The Dakar was a British made submarine series T named HMS TOTEM. 55 submarines series
T were constructed by the British. Israel bought from Britain 3 Model T submarines: Dakar
(British name Totem), Leviathan (British name Turpin) and Dolphin (British name
Truncheon).
The Dakar carried onboard 11 officers (Medical Doctor included), 3 Major First Sergeants
and 55 non-commissioned sailors. That’s a ratio of 1 officer or Major First Sergeant for each
4 Sailors. Such high ratio of officers may have been caused due to the will of the NAVY
Commander at that time General Solomon Erel to bestow submarining experience hours on as
many officers as possible.
The Dakar sunk was investigated by the best world experts but a solid conclusion for the sinking
was not reached. The plausible established reason is: “A technical malfunction which caused
the loss of human control”. The technical malfunction may have been caused due to a sudden
need, possibly the appearance of a close by on water vessel, to fast transform the submarine from
over water float mode to underwater sinking mode. A human error caused by the sudden mode
shift may have been involved in the process. Puzzlements:
1. The name and nationality of such a possible overwater passing vessel was not disclosed.
2. The nature of the possible human error made by the Dakar staff was not disclosed.
3. The identity of the possible Dakar staffers, who might have erred, was not disclosed.
4. No organic remains were found for no one of the 69 victims. Was it due to the 3 KM depth?
4
https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%98%D7%91%D7%99%D7%A2%D7%AA_%D7%94%D7%A6%D7%95%D7%9C%D
7%9C%D7%AA_%D7%93%D7%A7%D7%A8
546
The last moments of each of the 69 men aboard the Dakar must have been harsh. Each one
either suffocated due to oxygen shortage or drowned of Mediterranean waters gushing
through the Dakar broken fuselage.
Two conclusions made by the IDF NAVY: NAVY vessels like submarines and destroyers had
too large quantities of staff concentrated onboard in such a single location. An effort must be
made to:
A. Reduce the number of staff members onboard each vessel.
B. Transform the IDF NAVY into small staff boats.
Fig. 402: January 09, 1968. The INS Dakar one of the last photos, leaving the British port of
Portsmouth enroot to Israel.
Photo: IDF Spokesman
547
Fig. 403: Circa January 20, 1968. On the western Mediterranean high Seas. A. U.S.
Reconnaissance plane took what seems to be the very last photo of the DAKAR Submarine
before it sunk.
Photo: Wikipedia
548
Fig. 404: Mt. Herzl, Jerusalem. The Dakar Z‐77 Submarine Memorial. 69 Israeli Navy sailors
lost their lives at high seas and remain MIAs.
Following is the list of the 69 Dakar victims:
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
549
39 years old reporter Eran Shorer (1929-1971) was aboard the Dakar submarine when it left
Portsmouth, England on January 09, 1968. He was a reporter working for Israel’s National
Radio “Kol Israel”. When the Dakar stopped in Gibraltar on January 15, 1968 for refueling
and for a short land vacation for the crew, reporter Eran Shorer left the Dakar and returned to
Israel via air. Being the only survivor from the Dakar trip he was grief stricken and pre-occupied
to his last day with the fact that only he survived. He wrote the Hebrew book “Six Days aboard
the Dakar” (Tel-Aviv, Am Hasefer, 1969). Three years following the sunk of the DAKAR, at
the age of 56, Eran Shorer died of Cancer, on May 30, 1971 while on a mission in Atlanta,
th
Georgia. Eran Shorer may as well be considered the 70 victim of the DAKAR.
Fig. 405: 1970. Reporter Eran Shorer.
Photo: Wikipedia
550
Jacob Raanan, the Commander of the Dakar when it sunk, was born on May 22, 1934 in
Vienna, Austria. At age 5, in 1939, his family made Aliyah to British Israel. He was drafted in
the IDF NAVY on July 1951 and went through Sailor Commanders and Diver Courses. On
January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, with 69 victims in all, of which 20%
were the 11 officers and the 3 Major First Sergeants.
Fig. 406: Jacob Raanan, the Dakar Submarine Commander
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il, Wikipedia
551
Fig. 407: IDF #175750 Major Jacob Raanan’s old Pillow.
Photo: Wikipedia.
552
Fig. 408: IDF #175750 Major Jacob Raanan’s new Pillow.
Age: 34
Born: Vienna, Austria
Parents: Stela and Avigdor Raanan.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
553
Abraham “Bumi” Barkay was born on January 06, 1937 in Rumania. At 11 years old in
1948, his family made Aliyah. He was drafted to the IDF on August 1957 and became a NAVY
officer. He was the sub-commander of the DAKAR.
On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in all.
Fig. 409: Abraham “Bumi” Barkay
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
554
Fig. 410: IDF #414672 Major Abraham “Bumi” Barkay’s Pillow.
Age: 31
Born: Rumania
Parents: Rachel and Moses Barkay
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
555
Fig. 411: January 09, 1968. Sub‐Commander of the DAKAR Abraham “Bumi” Barkay salutes
Commander Jacob Raanan coming officially aboard.
Photo: NAVY Museum, Haifa Israel.
556
Solomon “Chup” Opocinski Ofek was born on March 23, 1933 in Warsaw, Poland. His
family made Aliya to British Israel on the very same year, 1933. He was drafted in the IDF
NAVY on July 1952 and served as a radio technician and electrician officer.
On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in all.
Fig. 412: Solomon “Chup” Opocinski Ofek
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
557
Fig. 413: IDF #245729 Captain Solomon “Chup” Opocinski Ofek’s Pillow.
Age: 35
Born: Warsaw, Poland.
Parents: Batia and Zvi Opocinski Ofek.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
558
Zvi “Miki” Harivan Har-Even was born on June 29, 1946 in Bucharest, Rumania. At age 4,
in 1950 his family made Aliyah. On October 1964 he was drafted in the IDF NAVY and served
as a Diving officer. On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims.
Fig. 414: Zvi “Miki” Harivan Har-Even
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
559
Fig. 415: IDF #948534 Lieutenant Zvi “Miki” Harivan Har-Even’s Pillow.
Age: 22
Born: Bucharest, Rumania
Parents: Silvia and Aurel Harivan Har‐Even
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
560
Joseph “Joe” Sikorel Lahav was born on October 17, 1942 in Alexandria, Egypt. At age 15,
in 1957, his family made Aliyah. On August 1961 he was drafted to the IDF NAVY and served
as a Board Officer.
On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in all.
Fig. 416: Joseph “Joe” Sikorel Lahav
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
561
Fig. 417: IDF #470379 Lieutenant Joseph “Joe” Sikorel Lahav’s Pillow.
Age: 26
Born: Alexandria, Egypt
Parents: Leah and Albert Sikorel Lahav
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
562
Shabi Jacob Polarewitz Maor was born on April 25, 1939 in Kovna, Lithuania. On June
1965 his family managed to make Aliyah. He was drafted to the IDF on June 1966, went to
Medical School and served as the Medical Doctor for the submarine crew. Dr. Maor was not an
integral part of the staff and joined the trip as a guest. On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the
Dakar submarine, 69 victims in all.
Fig. 418: Shabi Jacob Polarewitz Maor
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
563
Fig. 419: IDF #982396 Lieutenant M.D. Shabi Jacob Polarewitz Maor’s Pillow.
Age: 29
Born: Kovna, Lithuania
Parents: Ella and Ezekiel Polarewitz Maor
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
564
Benjamin “Benny” Waserman Maymon was born on September 05, 1926 in Libau, Latvia.
At age 9, in 1935, his family made Aliyah. He was drafted in 1948 to the IDF NAVY and served
as a Radio & Radar Engineer officer following his graduation as an Electrical Engineer from
the Haifa Technion. He was not an integral part of the staff and merely joined the trip in order to
check a new Radar devise named “TAVLIT”.
On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in all.
Fig. 420: Benjamin “Benny” Waserman Maymon
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
565
Fig. 421: IDF #31466 Major Benjamin “Benny” Waserman Maymon’s Pillow.
Age: 42
Born: Libau, Latvia
Parents: Bella and Nathan Waserman Maymon
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
566
Gideon Halevi Segal was born on March 29, 1944 in Kibbutz Nir-Am. He was drafted in the
IDF NAVY on October 1961 and became a Torpedo Officer.
On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in all.
Fig. 422: Gideon Halevi Segal
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
567
Fig. 423: IDF #471246 Lieutenant Gideon Segal’s Pillow.
Age: 24
Born: Kibbutz Nir-Am
Parents: Chana and Elijah Halevi Segal
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
568
Ruben Shnaper Snapir was born on July 05, 1946 in Vienna, Austria. At age 3, in 1949, his
family made Aliyah. On October 1964 he was drafted in the IDF NAVY and served as a
Navigation Officer.
On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in all.
Fig. 424: Ruben Shnaper Snapir
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
569
Fig. 425: IDF #948557 Lieutenant Ruben Shnaper Snapir’s Pillow.
Age: 22
Born: Vienna, Austria
Parents: Tova and Samuel Shnaper Snapir
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
570
Arie Feingold Paz was born on December 17, 1945 in Novosibirsk in the USSR. At age 3, in
1948, his family made Aliyah. On August 1964 he was drafted in the IDF NAVY and served as
a Diving Officer. On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in all.
Fig. 426: Arie Feingold Paz
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
571
Fig. 427: IDF #947838 Lieutenant Arie Feingold Paz’s Pillow.
Age: 22
Born: Novosibirsk in the USSR
Parents: Zelda and Simha Feingold Paz
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
572
Ran Shimon was born on 1934 in Bulgaria. At age 14, his family made Aliyah. On August
1952 he was drafted in the IDF NAVY and served as a Diesel Mechanic Officer.
On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in all.
Fig. 428: Ran Shimon
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
573
Fig. 429: IDF #246533 Captain Ran Shimon’s Pillow.
Age: 34
Born: Bulgaria
Parents: Miriam and Symon Shimon
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
574
Azriel Dunios Dror was born in 1935 on the Mediterranean Isle of Rhodes, then under Italian
control. At age 4, in 1939 the family made Aliyah to British Israel. He was drafted on October
1952 in the IDF NAVY as a mechanic and later on as diver Major First Sergeant.
On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in all.
Fig. 430: Azriel Dunios Dror
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
575
Fig. 431: IDF #262838 Major First Sergeant Azriel Dunios Dror’s Pillow.
Age: 33
Born: Isle of Rhodes (then under Italian control).
Parents: Sarah and Elijah Dunios Dror
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
576
Zvi Teitler Tal was born on April 09, 1931 in Bukovina, Rumania. At age 13 in 1944 he made
Aliyah. He was drafted in the IDF in 1948. In 1957 he moved to the NAVY and served as Diver
Major First Sergeant. On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims.
Fig. 432: Zvi Teitler Tal
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
577
Fig. 433: IDF #91399 Major First Sergeant Zvi Teitler Tal’s Pillow.
Age: 37
Born: Bukovina, Rumania
Parents: Hinda and Symon Keler Zohar
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
578
Nissim Cohen was born on January 24, 1935 in Haifa, British Israel. He was drafted in the
IDF NAVY on January 1952 and served as a Machinist Major First Sergeant.
On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in all.
Fig. 434: Nissim Cohen
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
579
Fig. 435: IDF #229150 Major First Sergeant Nissim Cohen’s Pillow.
Age: 33
Born: Haifa, British Israel
Parents: Matilda and Judah Hacohen
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
580
Aaron “Duga” Aaron was born in 1946 in Bagdad, Iraq. At age 5 in 1951, his family made
Aliyah. He enlisted into the IDF NAVY on August 1966 and served as a submarine mechanic.
On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in all.
Fig. 436: Aaron “Duga” Aaron
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
581
Fig. 437: IDF #984702 Corporal Aaron “Duga” Aaron’s old Pillow.
Photo: BillionGraves.com
582
Fig. 438: IDF #984702 Corporal Aaron “Duga” Aaron’s new Pillow.
Age: 22
Born: Iraq
Parents: Tufha and Isaac Aaron.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
583
Moses Engel Erel was born on September 21, 1947 in Breslau, Poland. At age 3 in 1950, his
family made Aliyah. He was drafted on September 1965 to the IDF NAVY and served as a
diver. On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in all.
Fig. 439: Moses Engel Erel
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
584
Fig. 440: IDF #967825 Sereant Moses Engel Erel’s Pillow.
Age: 21
Born: Warsaw, Poland
Parents: Hela and Judah Engel Erel.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
585
Abraham Bozana Baz was born on May 25, 1947 in Tunis, Tunisia. At age 8, in 1955 his
family made Aliyah. On October 1964 he enlisted in the IDF NAVY and served as s radio
technician and diver. On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in
all.
Fig. 441: Abraham Bozana Baz
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
586
Fig. 442: IDF #948861 Sergeant Abraham Bozana Baz’s Pillow.
Age: 21
Born: Tunis, Tunisia
Parents: Gabi and Joseph Bozana Baz.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
587
Eliezer Brzezinski Ben-Zvi was born on 1949 in Tel-Aviv, Israel. At age 17, in September
1966 he was drafted to the IDF NAVY and served as a diver.
On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in all.
Fig. 443: Eliezer Brzezinski Ben-Zvi
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
588
Fig. 444: IDF #988372 Corporal Eliezer Brzezinski Ben-Zvi’s Pillow.
Age: 19
Born: Tel‐Aviv, Israel
Parents: Deborah and Zvi Ben‐Zvi.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
589
David Yadlowker Ben-Shalom was born on April 26, 1947 in Wilna then in the USSR. At age
13, in 1960, his family made Aliyah. On August 1965 he was drafted in the IDF NAVY and
served as a diver and mechanic. On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69
victims in all.
Fig. 445: David Yadlowker Ben-Shalom
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
590
Fig. 446: IDF #964755 Sergeant David Yadlowker Ben-Shalom’s old Pillow.
Wrong secular death date.
Photo: BillionGraves.com
591
Fig. 447: IDF #964755 Sergeant David Yadlowker Ben-Shalom’s new Pillow.
Age: 21
Born: Wilna, the USSR
Parents: Bluma and Ezekiel Ben‐Shalom.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
592
Joseph Haim Swissa Almog was born in Rabat, Morocco on August 20, 1948. At age 6, in
1954 his family made Aliyah. He was drafted to the IDF NAVY on August 1966 and served as
a mechanic and diver. On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in
all. In the year 20005 following the discovery of the Dakar main body in 3 KM depth in the
Mediterranean, 485 KM west of Haifa, a unique finding was discovered: the Ceremonial
Uniforms6 belonging to Corporal Joseph Haim Swissa Almog. The uniforms are displayed in
the NAVY museum in Haifa.
Fig. 448: Joseph Haim Swissa Almog
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
5
https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%98%D7%91%D7%99%D7%A2%D7%AA_%D7%94%D7%A6%D7%95%D7%9C%D
7%9C%D7%AA_%D7%93%D7%A7%D7%A8
6
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel_Defense_Forces_insignia#Uniforms
593
Fig. 449: 2000. Joseph Haim Swissa Almog’s IDF Ceremonial Uniforms found in a mint
condition preserved bag 32 years after the DAKAR sunk.
Photo: Wikipedia
594
Fig. 450: IDF #9867965 Corporal Joseph Haim Swissa Almog’s Pillow.
Age: 20
Born: Rabat, Morocco
Parents: Dalia and Abraham Swissa Almog.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
595
Chaim Reichberger Bar-Zeb was born on February 06, 1947 in Germany. When he was one
year old, in 1948, his family made Aliyah. On November 1965 he was drafted in the IDF
NAVY and served as a diver. On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69
victims in all.
Fig. 451: Chaim Reichberger Bar-Zeb
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
596
Fig. 452: IDF #969709 Sergeant Chaim Reichberger Bar-Zeb’s Pillow.
Age: 21
Born: Germany
Parents: Rachel and Moses Reichberger Bar-Zeb
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
597
Joseph “Yossi” Barnea was born on October 23, 1947 in Kiryat-Bialik, British Israel. On
November 1965 he was drafted in the IDF NAVY and served as a diver. On January 30, 1968
he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in all.
Fig. 453: Joseph “Yossi” Barnea
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
598
Fig. 454: IDF #971769 Sergeant Joseph “Yossi” Barnea’s Pillow.
Age: 21
Born: Kiryat-Bialik, British Israel
Parents: Hadasa and Moses Barnea
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
599
Michael “Miki” Hefner Gal was born on July 01, 1948 in Jerusalem, Israel. He was drafted in
the IDF on July 1966. He served as a submarine diver and electrician.
On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in all.
Fig. 455: Michael “Miki” Hefner Gal
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
600
Fig. 456: IDF #982902 Corporal Michael “Miki” Hefner Gal’s Pillow.
Age: 20
Born: Jerusalem, Israel
Parents: Judith and Jacob Hefner Gal
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
601
Ruben Gelman Gal was born in 1946 in Argentina. At age 17, in 1963 he made Aliyah. In
August 1964 he was drafted in the IDF NAVY and served as a diver.
On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in all.
Fig. 457: Ruben Gelman Gal
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
602
Fig. 458: IDF #946073 Sergeant Ruben Gelman Gal’s Pillow.
Age: 22
Born: Argentina
Parents: Chana Fani and Abraham Isaac Gelman Gal
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
603
Moses Gadish was born on April 13, 1948 in Kibbutz Yagur. On August 1966 he was drafted
in the IDF NAVY and served as a submarine diver.
On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in all.
Fig. 459: Moses Gadish
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
604
Fig. 460: IDF #985478 Corporal Moses Gadish’s Pillow.
Age: 20
Born: Kibbutz Yagur
Parents: Tirza and Joseph Gadish
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
605
Judah Gilula Galili was born on March 09, 1947 in the town of Sues in Tunisia. At age 9, in
1956, his family made Aliyah. In August 1966 he was drafted in the IDF NAVY and served as a
cook and diver. On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in all.
Fig. 461: Judah Gilula Galili
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
606
Fig. 462: IDF #986753 Corporal Judah Gilula Galili’s Pillow.
Age: 21
Born: Sues, Tunisia
Parents: Hnina Ninet and Symon Gilula Galili
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
607
Joseph Debi was born January 04, 1948 in Bagdad, Iraq. At age 3, in 1951 his family made
Aliyah. He was drafted on November 1965 and served as a Submarine Diver.
On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in all.
Fig. 463: Joseph Debi
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
608
Fig. 464: IDF #969947 Sergeant Joseph Debi’s Pillow.
Age: 20
Born: Bagdad, Iraq
Parents: Gladis and David Debi
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
609
Menachem Dgani was born on December 09, 1947 in Budapest, Hungary. At age 10, in 1957
his family made Aliyah. On November 1966 he was drafted in the IDF NAVY and served as a
diver. On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in all.
Fig. 465: Menachem Dgani
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
610
Fig. 466: IDF #2012769 Corporal Menachem Dgani’s Pillow.
Age: 21
Born: Budapest, Hungary.
Parents: Ilana and Shraga Dgani
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
611
Nimrod Drori was born on September 10, 1948 in Kibbutz Hulata. On July 1966 he was
drafted to the IDF NAVY and served as a Diver.
On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in all.
Fig. 467: Nimrod Drori
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
612
Fig. 468: IDF #982837 Corporal Nimrod Drori’s Pillow.
Age: 20
Born: Kibbutz Hulata
Parents: Dina and Bezalel Drori
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
613
Michael Dahan Hadar was born in 1944 in Safi, Morocco. At age 6, in 1950 the family made
Aliyah. He was drafted on May 1962 in the IDF NAVY and served as a Diver.
On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in all.
Fig. 469: Michael Dahan Hadar
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
614
Fig. 470: IDF #479022 Major Sergeant Michael Dahan Hadar’s Pillow.
Age: 24
Born: Safi, Morocco
Parents: Esther and Joseph Dahan Hadar
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
615
Solomon Viderman Vardi was born on October 17, 1947 in Rumania. At age 11, in 1958 his
family made Aliyah. On November 1965 he was drafted in the IDF NAVY and served as a
Diver. On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in all.
Fig. 471: Solomon Viderman Vardi
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
616
Fig. 472: IDF #969768 Corporal Solomon Viderman Vardi’s Pillow.
Age: 21
Born: Rumania
Parents: Zanet and Mordechai Viderman Vardi
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
617
Zvi Goldstein Zehavi was born on May 11, 1947 in the town of Torkomoresce, Rumania. At
age 13, on 1960 his family made Aliyah. On August 1966 he was drafted in the IDF NAVY and
served as a Diver. On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in all.
Fig. 473: Zvi Goldstein Zehavi
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
618
Fig. 474: IDF #986960 Corporal Zvi Goldstein Zehavi’s Pillow.
Age: 21
Born: Torkomoresce, Rumania
Parents: Rozelia and Alexander Goldstein Zehavi
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
619
Joseph Keler Zohar was born on May 14, 1946 in the USSR. At age 2, in 1948 his family made
Aliyah. On August 1966, he was drafted to the IDF NAVY and served as a Diver.
On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in all.
Fig. 475: Joseph Keler Zohar
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
620
Fig. 476: IDF #985453 Corporal Joseph Keler Zohar’s Pillow.
Age: 22
Born: USSR
Parents: Genia and Eliezer Keler Zohar
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
621
Mordechai Tarashi was born on April 26, 1947 in Amra, Iraq. At age 4, in 1951 his family
made Aliyah. He was drafted to the IDF NAVY on September 1965 and served as a Diver.
On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in all.
Fig. 477: Mordechai Tarashi
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
622
Fig. 478: IDF #967844 First Sergeant Mordechai Tarashi’s Pillow.
Age: 21
Born: Amra, Iraq
Parents: Julet and Abraham Tarashi
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
623
Isaiah Yohay was born in 1949 in Istanbul, Turkey. His family made Aliyah on the same year.
He was drafted to the IDF NAVY on November 1965 and served as a Diver and Signalman.
On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in all.
Fig. 479: Isaiah Yohay
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
624
Fig. 460: IDF #972033 Corporal Isaiah Yohay’s Pillow.
Age: 20
Born: Istanbul, Turkey
Parents: Clara and Solomon Yohay
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
625
David Yana Yanay was born on November 29, 1949 on the immigrant ship “Pan York”7 just
west of Haifa. He was drafted to the IDF NAVY in October 1966 and served as a Radioman
and Diver. On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in all.
Fig. 461: David Yana Yanay
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
7
https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%94%D7%A4%D7%90%D7%A0%D7%99%D7%9D
626
Fig. 462: IDF #989664 Corporal David Yana Yanay’s Pillow.
Age: 20
Born: West of Haifa, Israel
Parents: Esther and Moses Yana Yanay
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
627
Meir Yarom was born on October 18, 1948 in the Jewish Refugee-Camps near Nicosia,
Cyprus. He was drafted to the IDF NAVY on August 1966 and served as a Diver.
On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in all.
Fig. 463: Meir Yarom
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
628
Fig. 464: IDF #986618 Corporal Meir Yarom’s Pillow.
Age: 20
Born: Nicosia, Cyprus
Parents: Rachel and Moses Yana Yarom
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
629
Israel Weinstein Carmi was born on July 20, 1946 in Cairo, Egypt. At age 11, in 1957 his
family made Aliyah. He was drafted to the IDF NAVY on August 1965 and served as a Diver.
On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in all.
Fig. 465: Israel Weinstein Carmi
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
630
Fig. 466: IDF #965246 Corporal Israel Weinstein Carmi’s Pillow.
Age: 22
Born: Egypt
Parents: Silvia and David Weinstein Carmi
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
631
Oded Madmon was born in 1947 in Zikron-Jacob, British Israel. He enlisted in the IDF
NAVY on November 1964 and served as a Diver and Machinist.
On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in all.
Fig. 467: Oded Madmon
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
632
Fig. 468: IDF #952219 Sergeant Oded Madmon’s Pillow.
Age: 21
Born: Zikron-Jacob, British Israel
Parents: Zipora and Jacob Madmon
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
633
Ezekiel Mizrahi was born on December 31, 1942 in Petah-Tikva, British Israel. He was
drafted on October 1960 to the IDF NAVY and served as a Diver. He was not aboard the
Dakar when it left Portsmouth, England. He stayed behind as his wife who needed medical
treatment. He joined the Dakar when the Dakar stopped briefly in Gibraltar. This sealed his
faith together with the rest of the Dakar crew. On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar
submarine, 69 victims in all.
Fig. 469: Ezekiel Mizrahi
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
634
Fig. 470: IDF #458241 First Sergeant Ezekiel Mizrahi’s Pillow.
Age: 25
Born: Petah-Tikva, British Israel
Parents: Simha and David Mizrahi
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
635
Jacob Mizrahi was born on 1947 in Egypt. At age 10, his family made Aliya. He was drafted in
the IDF NAVY on August 1966.
On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in all.
Fig. 471: Jacob Mizrahi
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
636
Fig. 472: IDF #987322 Corporal Jacob Mizrahi’s Pillow.
Age: 21
Born: Egypt
Parents: Miriam and Meir Mizrahi
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
637
Dan Manes Manor was born on February 24, 1944 in Bucharest, Rumania. At 6 years old, in
1950, his family made Aliyah. He was drafted in the IDF NAVY on August 1962 and served as
a diver. On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in all.
Fig. 473: Dan Manes Manor
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
638
Fig. 474: IDF #483809 Major Lieutenant Dan Manes Manor’s Pillow.
Age: 24
Born: Bucharest, Rumania
Parents: Tova and Berale Manes Manor
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
639
Joseph “Yossi” Wolberg Netzer was born on March 28, 1947 in Riga, then part of the USSR.
At age 10, in 1957 his family made Aliyah. He was drafted on January 1967 in the IDF NAVY
and served as a diver. On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in
all.
Fig. 475: Joseph “Yossi” Wolberg Netzer
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
640
Fig. 476: IDF #973358 Corporal Dan Joseph “Yossi” Wolberg Netzer’s Pillow.
Age: 21
Born: Riga, then part of the USSR
Parents: Genia and Haim Wolberg Netze
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
641
Menachem Nargos Narkis was born on 1948 in Iraq. His family made Aliyah on the same
year. He was drafted in the IDF NAVY on August 1966 and served as a diver.
On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in all.
Fig. 477: Menachem Nargos Narkis
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
642
Fig. 478: IDF #986480 Corporal Menachem Nargos Narkis’s Pillow.
Age: 20
Born: Iraq
Parents: Simha and Judah Nargos Narkis
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
643
Meir Safran was born on September 28, 1948 in The Jewish Refugee Camps erected by the
Brits near Nicosia, Cyprus. His family arrived in Israel on the same year. He was drafted on
August 1966 in the IDF NAVY and served as a Diver.
On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in all.
Fig. 479: Meir Safran
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
644
Fig. 480: IDF #978608 Corporal Meir Safran’s Pillow.
Age: 20
Born: Cyprus
Parents: Ethy and Joseph Safran
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
645
Isaac Markowitz Ogen was born on March 12, 1948 in France. At age 3, in 1951 his family
made Aliyah. On August 1966 he was drafted in the IDF NAVY and served as a Diver.
On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in all.
Fig. 481: Isaac Markowitz Ogen
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
646
Fig. 482: IDF #985100 Corporal Isaac Markowitz Ogen’s Pillow.
Age: 20
Born: France
Parents: Anna and Carol Markowitz Ogen
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
647
Bezalel Ozeri was born on January 03, 1948 in Raanana, British Israel, half a year before
Israel’s independance. He was drafted in the IDF NAVY on November 1965 and served as a
diver. On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in all.
Fig. 483: Bezalel Ozeri
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
648
Fig. 484: IDF #972382 Corporal Bezalel Ozeri’s Pillow.
Age: 20
Born: Raanana,British Israel
Parents: Esther and Abraham Ozeri
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
649
Abraham Atari was born in 1939 in the town of Amran, Yemen. At age 10, in 1949 his family
made Aliyah. He was drafted on August 1958 in the IDF NAVY and served as a cook diver.
On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in all.
Fig. 485: Abraham Atari
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
650
Fig. 486: IDF #430047 Major Sergeant Abraham Atari’s Pillow.
Age: 29
Born: Amran, Yemen
Parents: Orah and Shalom Atari
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
651
Amnon Paz was born on February 23, 1948 in Tel Aviv’ 3 months before Israel’s
independance. He was drafted on January 1967 in the IDF NAVY and served as a diver and
radar technician. On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in all.
Fig. 487: Amnon Paz
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
652
Fig. 488: IDF #2014619 Corporal Amnon Paz’s Pillow.
Age: 20
Born: Tel‐Aviv
Parents: Ruth and Gad Paz
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
653
Zvi Dov Pomeranc Paz was born on November 11, 1947 in Waldenburg, Poland. At age 3, in
1950, his family made Aliyah. On August 1966 he was drafted in the IDF NAVY and served as
a diver. On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in all.
Fig. 489: Zvi Dov Pomeranc Paz
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
It seems that Izkor.gov.il carries by error the surname Pomera instead of Pomeranc.
654
Fig. 490: IDF #985534 Corporal Zvi Dov Pomeranc Paz’s Pillow.
Age: 21
Born: Waldenburg, Poland
Parents: Tova and Zeb Pomeranc Paz
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
655
Zvi Pereg was born on September 05, 1944 in Kibbutz Ein-Harod. On August 1963 he was
drafted in the IDF NAVY and served as a diver.
On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in all.
Fig. 491: Zvi Pereg
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
656
Fig. 492: IDF #498229 Major Sergeant Zvi Pereg’s Pillow.
Age: 24
Born: Kibbutz Ein-Harod.
Parents: Atara and Nahman Pereg
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
657
Joseph “Jojo” Farhi was born on November 14, 1947 in Cairo, Egypt. At age 2, in 1949, his
family made Aliyah. He was drafted in the IDF on November 1965 NAVY and served as a
Diver. On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in all.
Fig. 493: Joseph “Jojo” Farhi
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
658
Fig. 494: IDF #971693 Sergeant Joseph “Jojo” Farhi’s Pillow.
Age: 21
Born: Cairo, Egypt
Parents: Lucie and Elijah Farhi
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
659
Eli Kadosh was born on 1948 in Morocco. At age 7, in 1955, his family made Aliyah. He was
drafted on June 1967 in the IDF NAVY and served as a mechanic diver.
On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in all.
Fig. 495: Eli Kadosh
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
660
Fig. 496: IDF #986067 Corporal Eli Kadosh’s Pillow.
Age: 21
Born: Morocco
Parents: Simha and Isaac Kadosh
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
661
Benjamin Zeb Kalvari Kol was born on August 04, 1945 in Haifa, British Israel. He was
drafted on October 1963 to the Nahal Bridage and then in the IDF NAVY and served as an
electrician. On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in all.
Fig. 497: Benjamin Zeb Kalvari Kol
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
662
Fig. 498: IDF #931049 Major Sergeant Benjamin Zeb Kalvari Kol’s Pillow.
Age: 23
Born: Haifa, British Israel
Parents: Miriam and Samuel Kalvari Kol
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
663
Abraham “Avi” Ron was born on August 15, 1948 in Bayreuth, Germany. When one year
old, in 1949, his family made Aliyah. He was drafted to the IDF NAVY on August 1966 and
served as a diver. On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in all.
Fig. 499: Abraham “Avi” Ron
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
664
Fig. 500: IDF #986641 Corporal Benjamin Abraham “Avi” Ron’s Pillow.
Age: 20
Born: Bayreuth, Germany
Parents: Leah and Chaim Ron
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
665
Amnon Hacohen Ringwald Ron was born January 07, 1943 in Kibbutz Kfar-Rupin, British
Israel. He was drafted in the IDF NAVY on August 1961and served as a radio operator.
On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in all.
Fig. 501: Amnon Hacohen Ringwald Ron
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
666
Fig. 502: IDF #470074 Major Sergeant Amnon Hacohen Ringwald Ron’s Pillow.
Age: 25
Born: Kibbutz Kfar-Rupin, British Israel
Parents: Ruth and David Hacohen Ringwald Ron
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
667
Jacob Shukron Ron was born on July 24, 1941 in the town of Specs, Tunisia. At age 15, in
1956, his family made Aliyah. He was drafted in the IDF NAVY on August 1962 and served as
a mechanic diver. On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in all.
Fig. 503: Jacob Shukron Ron
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
668
Fig. 504: IDF #482415 Major Sergeant Jacob Shukron Ron’s Pillow.
Age: 27
Born: Specs, Tunisia
Parents: Regina and Moses Shukron Ron
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
669
Judah “Yidel” Stein Ronen was born on October 10, 1946 in Bostrica, Rumania. At age 12,
in 1958, his family made Aliyah. He was drafted in 1964 in the IDF NAVY and served as a
diver. On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in all.
Fig. 505: Judah “Yidel” Stein Ronen
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
670
Fig. 506: IDF #938833 First Sergeant Judah “Yidel” Stein Ronen’s Pillow.
Age: 22
Born: Bostroca, Rumania
Parents: Hilda and Baruch Stein Ronen
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
671
Jacob Waknin Ronen was born on 1948 in Marrakesh, Morocco. At age 8, in 1956, his family
made Aliyah. He was drafted in the IDF NAVY on August 1966 and served as a diver.
On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in all.
Fig. 507: Jacob Waknin Ronen
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
672
Fig. 508: IDF #983904 Corporal Jacob Waknin Ronen’s Pillow.
Age: 20
Born: Marrakesh, Morocco
Parents: Leah and Moses Hilda Waknin Ronen
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
673
Refael Fadida Refaeli was born on September 1938 in Meknes, Morocco. At age 8, in 1946,
his family made Aliyah. He was drafted to the IDF NAVY on February 1957.
On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in all.
Fig. 509: Refael Fadida Refaeli
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
674
Fig. 510: IDF #407654 Major Sergeant Refael Fadida Refaeli’s Pillow.
Age: 29
Born: Meknes, Morocco
Parents: Simha and Isaac Refaeli
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
675
Abraham Shachar was born on June 20, 1945 in Haifa, British Israel. He was drafted to the
IDF NAVY in August 1963 and served as a locksmith.
On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in all.
Fig. 511: Abraham Shachar
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
676
Fig. 512: IDF #498111 First Sergeant Abraham Shachar’s Pillow.
Age: 23
Born: Haifa, British Israel
Parents: Ilana and Jacob Shachar
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
677
Joseph “Yossi” Friedman Shalev was born on January 28, 1948 in Tel-Aviv, British Israel.
He was drafted on November 1965 in the IDF NAVY as a diver.
On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in all.
Fig. 513: Joseph “Yossi” Friedman Shalev
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
678
Fig. 514: IDF #972872 Sergeant Joseph “Yossi” Friedman Shalev’s Pillow.
Age: 20
Born: Tel‐Aviv, British Israel
Parents: Ziporah and Chaim Friedman Shalev
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
679
Chaim Shneorson Shani was born on April 08, 1949 in Kiryat-Ata, Israel. In 1967 he was
drafted in the IDF NAVY and served as a diver electrician.
On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in all.
Fig. 515: Chaim Shneorson Shani
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
680
Fig. 516: IDF #2014646 Corporal Chaim Shneorson Shani’s Pillow.
Age: 19
Born: Kiryat-Ata, British Israel
Parents: Bella and Pinkus Shneorson Shan
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
681
Yuval Samueli was born on April 20, 1948 in Tel-Aviv, British Israel. He was drafted in the
IDF NAVY on July 1966 and served as a diver.
On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in all.
Fig. 517: Yuval Samueli
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
682
Fig. 518: IDF #982773 Corporal Yuval Samueli’s Pillow.
Age: 20
Born: Tel‐Aviv, British Israel
Parents: Esther and Abraham Samueli
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
683
Alexander Kendel Sharoni was born on July 19, 1948 in Regin, Rumania. At age 3, on 1951
his family made Aliyah. He was drafted on August 1966 to the IDF NAVY.
On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in all.
Fig. 519: Alexander Kendel Sharoni
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
684
Fig. 520: IDF #984977 Corporal Alexander Kendel Sharoni’s Pillow.
Age: 20
Born: Regin, Rumania
Parents: Clara and Chaim Armon Kendel Sharoni
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
685
Eliezer “Luzi” Sharoni was born on September 19, 1947 in Moshav Beit-Shearim, British
Israel. He was drafted in the IDF NAVY on August 1966 and served as a diver.
On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in all.
Fig. 521: Eliezer “Luzi” Sharoni
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
686
Fig. 522: IDF #985821 Corporal Eliezer “Luzi” Sharoni’s Pillow.
Age: 21
Born: Moshav Beit-Shearim, British Israel
Parents: Judith and Michael Sharoni
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
687
Ezikiel Sason was born on February 22, 1946 in Bagdad, Iraq. At age 8, in 1954, his family
made Aliyah. He was drafted on August 1964 in the IDF NAVY and served as a diver.
On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in all.
Fig. 523: Ezikiel Sason
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
688
Fig. 524: IDF #964883 Corporal Ezikiel Sason’s Pillow.
Age: 22
Born: Bagdad, Iraq
Parents: Selma and Nuri Sason
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
689
Benjamin Menahem Zvi Mendel Shaked was born on January 05, 1947 in Maria, Rumania.
On November 1964 he was drafted in the IDF NAVY as a diver and electrician.
On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in all.
Fig. 525: Benjamin Menahem Zvi Mendel Shaked
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
690
Fig. 526: IDF #952811 Corporal Benjamin Menahem Zvi Mendel Shaked’s Pillow.
Age: 21
Born: Maria, Rumania
Parents: Henia and Ephraim Mendel Shaked
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
691
Amnon Kaplan Tamir was born on July 19, 1944 in Atlit, British Israel. He was drafted to the
IDF NAVY on August 1962 as a diver.
On January 30, 1968 he sunk aboard the Dakar submarine, 69 victims in all.
Fig. 527: Amnon Kaplan Tamir
MIA: January 30, 1968
Yahrzeit: 29 TEVET 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
692
Fig. 528: IDF #481994 First Sergeant Amnon Kaplan Tamir’s Pillow.
Age: 24
Born: Atlit, British Israel
Parents: Susana and Moses Kaplan Tamir
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
693
PART G:
1968-1973
694
29. March 21, 1968
The Karameh
Operation
Fig. 529: March 21, 1968. The Karameh Operation. Front left to right:
Chief of Staff General Chaim Barlev, PM Levi Eshkol and Chief of Central Command General
Uzi Narkis. The Karameh Operation failed.
Photo: Wikipedia
695
Israel Erlichman was born on May 01, 1948 in Rio-de-Janero, Brazil. At age 10, in 1958, his
family made Aliyah. He was drafted in the IDF Armored Vehicles Corps in August 1966 and
served as a Tank Commander in the 7th Brigade8.
On March 21, 1968, The IDF conducted the Karameh Operation9 against Palestinian
organizations bases in Jordan, north of the Dead Sea. The operation conducted by the 7th
Brigade headed by Samuel Gorodish Gonen10 was a failure: 34 dead soldiers, 161 wounded, 2
MIAs. 4 tanks, 2 Armored Vehicles and 3 tracks were left behind in Jordan. 2 planes: Oragan
and Mirage 3 were lost. The body of Israel Erlichman remained in one of the Israeli tanks left
behind.
The two 7th Brigade battalions participating were headed by Abraham Rotem11 and Aaron
Peled12. An additional armored battalion was the #268th Battalion of the 60th Brigade, headed
by Tuvia Raviv13. Although the Karameh Operation was a failure, Abraham Rotem, Aaron
Peled and others were awarded citations for it.
Israel learned the hard way that such operations do not weaken the Palestinian organizations,
under contrary, it strengthens them.
8
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7th_Armored_Brigade_(Israel)
9
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Karameh
10
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shmuel_Gonen
11
https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%90%D7%91%D7%A8%D7%94%D7%9D_%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%AA%D7%9D
12
https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%90%D7%94%D7%A8%D7%9F_%D7%A4%D7%9C%D7%93
13
https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%98%D7%95%D7%91%D7%99%D7%94_%D7%A8%D7%91%D7%99%D7%91
696
Fig. 530: Israel Erlichman
MIA: March 21, 1968
Yahrzeit: 21 ADAR 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
697
Fig. 531: IDF #987166 Sergeant Israel Erlichman’s Pillow.
Age: 19
Born: Rio-de-Janero, Brazil
Parents: Sima and Jonah Erlichman
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
698
Moses Takac was born on May 17, 1947 in Haifa, British Israel. On May 1967 he was drafted
in the IDF Armored Corps and served as a Tank Commander. On March 21, 1968 he fell east
of the River Jordan in the Karameh Operation. His body remained within an Israeli tank left
behind in Jordan. His body was never recovered from the Jordanians.
Fig. 532: Moses Takac
MIA: March 21, 1968
Yahrzeit: 21 ADAR 5728
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
699
Fig. 533: IDF #2026913 Sergeant Moses Takac’s old Pillow.
Photo: BillionGraves.org
700
Fig. 534: IDF #2026913 Sergeant Moses Takac’s new Pillow.
Age: 20
Born: Haifa, British Israel
Parents: Chaia and Lipa Takac
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
701
702
PART H:
1973 – 2014
703
30.
The YomKippur War
Fig. 535: October 1973. A Bridge over the Suez Canal built by the IDF. An Israeli tank
crosses east to west into Africa.
Photo: Wikipedia
704
Fig. 536: October 1973 Yom‐Kippur War MIAs. Kiryat‐Saul Military Cemetery, Tel‐Aviv.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
705
Fig.537: October 1973 Yom‐Kippur War MIAs. Mt. Herzl Military Cemetery, Jerusalem.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
706
Fig. 538: Mt. Herzl, Jerusalem. Yom‐Kippur War Plots
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
Fig. 539: Mt. Herzl, Jerusalem. Yom‐Kippur War Plots Section
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
707
31. The
Eltagar Tank
Enigma
708
Fig. 540: Kiryat‐Ono, Israel. The Eltagar Tank Memorial
Photo: Wikipedia
709
Meiron Eltagar was born on August 21, 1951 in Ramat-Gan, son to the writer Zeb Eltagar.
He was the commander of Company L of the 9th Battalion, 14th Brigade. On Saturday
October 06, 1973, the first day of the Yom-Kippur War he was on the ‘Meiron Eltagar’
Tank. 4 men staffed the tank: Captain Meiron Eltagar, Private Dan Gilat, Corporal Chaim
Muzafi and First Sergeant Janku Keler. The 4 men disappeared while rushing to help
strongholds attacked by the invading Egyptian Army in the northern Suez Canal front, south of
Kantara, 3 KM south of Stronghold Lachzanit and 3 KM north of Stronghold Drora.
The four men remain MIAs to date. He received post mortem the Chief of Staff Citation.
Fig. 541: Meiron Eltagar
MIA: October 06, 1973
Yahrzeit: 10 TISHREY 5734
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
710
Fig. 542: IDF #2119993 Captain Meiron Eltagar’s Memorial, Mt. Herzl, Jerusalem.
(I could not trace his “Pillow”)
Age: 22
Born: Ramat‐Gan, Israel
Parents: Tehila and Zeb Eltagar.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
711
Dan Gilat was born on July 08, 1954 in New-York, NY. On October 1972 he was drafted to
the IDF Armored Corps and served as a tank gunner in Company L of the 9th Battalion, 14th
Brigade. On Saturday October 06, 1973, the first day of the Yom-Kippur War he was on the
Meiron Eltagar Tank. 4 men staffed the tank: Captain Meiron Eltagar, Private Dan Gilat,
Corporal Chaim Muzafi and First Sergeant Janku Keler. The tank men disappeared while
rushing to help strongholds attacked by the invading Egyptian Army in the northern Suez
Canal front, south of Kantara, 3 KM south of Stronghold Lachzanit and 3 KM north of
Stronghold Drora. All four men remain MIAs to date.
Fig. 543: Dan Gilat
MIA: October 06, 1973
Yahrzeit: 10 TISHREY 5734
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
712
Fig.544: IDF Corporal Dan Gilat’s Pillow Mt. Herzl, Jerusalem.
Age: 19
Born: New‐York, NY.
Parents: Ada and Samuel Gilat.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
713
Chaim Muzafi was born on October 05, 1954 in Tel Aviv. He was drafted to the IDF on
October 1972 and served as a Patton tank driver in Company L of the 9th Battalion, 14th
Brigade. On Saturday October 06, 1973, the first day of the Yom-Kippur War he was on the
Meiron Eltagar Tank. 4 men staffed the tank: Captain Meiron Eltagar, Private Dan Gilat,
Corporal Chaim Muzafi and First Sergeant Janku Keler. The tank men disappeared while
rushing to help strongholds attacked by the invading Egyptian Army in the northern Suez
Canal front, south of Kantara, 3 KM south of Stronghold Lachzanit and 3 KM north of
Stronghold Drora. All four men remain MIAs to date.
Fig. 545: Chaim Muzafi
MIA: October 06, 1973
Yahrzeit: 10 TISHREY 5734
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
714
Fig. 546: Haim Muzafi’s old pillow
Age: 19
Born: Tel‐Aviv.
Parents: Clara and Nissim Muzafi.
Photo: Billiongraves.com
715
Fig. 547: IDF #2169704 Corporal Chaim Muzafi’s new Pillow. Mt. Herzl, Jerusalem.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021.
716
Janku Keler was born in April 02, 1953 in Rumania. At age 9, in 1962, his family made
Aliyah. He was drafted to the IDF on May 1971 to the Armed Forces and served as a Loader/
Radio Operator on a Patton tank in Company L of the 9th Battalion, 14th Brigade. On
Saturday October 06, 1973, the first day of the Yom-Kippur War he was on the Meiron
Eltagar Tank. 4 men staffed the tank: Captain Meiron Eltagar, Private Dan Gilat, Corporal
Chaim Muzafi and First Sergeant Janku Keler. The tank men disappeared while rushing to
help strongholds attacked by the invading Egyptian Army in the northern Suez Canal front,
south of Kantara, 3 KM south of Stronghold Lachzanit and 3 KM north of Stronghold Drora.
All four men remain MIAs to date.
Fig. 548: Janku Keler
MIA: October 06, 1973
Yahrzeit: 10 TISHREY 5734
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
717
Fig. 549: IDF #2133229 First Sergeant Janku Keler’s Pillow. Mt. Herzl, Jerusalem
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021.
718
Fig. 550: IDF #2133229 First Sergeant Janku Keler’s Pillow. Kiryat‐Saul Military Cemetery.
Tel Aviv
Age: 21
Born: Rumania
Parents: Rebecca and Hershko Keler.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
719
32.
The Ben-Dror
Tank Enigma
720
Symon Ben-Dror was born on May 30, 1951 in Sde-Nehemia, Israel. On October 1971 He
was drafted to the IDF Armored Corps and went through Officers Course. On October 06,
1973 he was commanding a tank in the southern Suez Canal front, in the Bitter Lake Region
between the strongholds Botzer and Lituf. Symon Ben-Dror was killed as reason of a direct hit.
Two of the four men on the tank remain MIAs; First Lieutenant Symon Ben-Dror and hand
wounded Corporal Zeb Peer. The third soldier made it back eastwards into IDF lines and the
fourth soldier body was retrieved.
Fig. 551: Symon Ben-Dror
MIA: October 06, 1973
Yahrzeit: 10 TISHREY 5734
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
721
Fig. 552: IDF First Lieutenant Symon Ben-Dror’s Pillow, Mt. Herzl, Jerusalem.
Age: 22
Born: Sde-Nehemia, Israel
Parents: Shulamit and Aaron Ben‐Dror.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
722
Zeb “Zevile” Peer was born on March 15, 1954 in Givataim, Israel. On February 1973 he
was drafted in the IDF Armored corps and served as a Tank Gunner. On October 06, 1973 he
was on a tank in the southern Suez Canal front, in the Bitter Lake Region between the
strongholds Botzer and Lituf. Two of the four men on the tank remain MIAs; First Lieutenant
Symon Ben-Dror and hand wounded Corporal Zeb Peer. The third soldier made it back
eastwards into IDF lines and the fourth soldier body was retrieved.
Fig. 553: Zeb “Zevile” Peer
MIA: October 06, 1973
Yahrzeit: 10 TISHREY 5734
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
723
Fig. 554: IDF #2179497 Corporal Zeb “Zevile” Peer’s Pillow. Mt. Herzl, Jerusalem.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
724
Fig. 555: IDF #2179497 Corporal Zeb “Zevile” Peer’s Pillow. Kiryat‐Saul Cemetery. Tel‐Aviv
Age: 19
Born: Givataim, Israel
Parents: Rebecca and Mordechai Peer.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
725
33.
Air-Force
726
Simon Asch was born on May 05, 1930 in Shànghǎi, China. At age 20, in 1959, his family
made Aliyah. On April 1951 he was drafted in the IDF Air Force and became a pilot.
On October 07, 1973, the second day of the Yom-Kippur War he flew a Skyhawk fighter over
the central front of the Suez Canal about 10 KM north of the Tasah-Ismailia road. His
Skyhawk was hit by a Soviet made SAM missile and crushed. His body was never recovered.
Fig. 557: Simon Asch
MIA: October 07, 1973
Yahrzeit: 11 TISHREY 5734
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
727
Fig. 558: IDF #205562 Major Simon Asch’s old Pillow.
Photo: Wikipedia
728
Fig. 559: IDF #205562 Major Simon Asch’s new Pillow.
Age: 43
Born: Shànghǎi, China
Parents: Gutia and Hirsh Asch.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover ©2021
729
Arlozor “Zorik” Lev was born on September 17, 1933 in Kfar Bilu, British Israel. He was
named after Zionist leader Chaim Arlozorov1 who was murdered on the same year. He was
drafted in the IDF on September 1951 and became a pilot and the Ramat-David Base2
Commander. On the 4th day of the Yom-Kippur War he was on a bombing mission over the
Port-Said area in four 110 Squadron Skyhawk fighters headed by Abraham Vilan. Upon
resuming his mission, his Skyhawk was hit by a SAM missile and crushed in the
Mediterranean north of the Budapest Stronghold3.
Arlozor “Zorik” Lev and Armored corps General Albert Mendler4 were the two highest
ranking Israeli generals to fall in the Yom-Kippur War. Arlozor “Zorik” Lev remains were
not recovered.
1
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haim_Arlosoroff
2
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramat_David_Airbase
3
4
https://www.mako.co.il/pzm‐magazine/Article‐2982755922ed931006.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Mandler
730
Fig. 560: Arlozor “Zorik” Lev
MIA: October 09, 1973
Yahrzeit: 13 TISHREY 5734
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
731
Fig. 561: IDF #216916 General Arlozor “Zorik” Lev’s old Pillow.
Photo: Wikipedia
732
Fig. 562: IDF #216916 General Arlozor “Zorik” Lev’s new Pillow.
Age: 40
Born: Kfar Bilu, British Israel
Parents: Leah and Nehemiah Lev.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover ©2021
733
Gad Samok was born on April 04, 1942 in Limerick, Czechoslovakia. He made Aliyah in
1956. On August 1962 he was drafted in the IDF Air-force and became a pilot.
On October 17, 1973, the 11th day of the Yom-Kippur War, pilot Gad Samok and navigator
Baruch “Ari” Golan were in their Phantom fighter on a bombing mission over an Egyptian
SAM missiles battery south to Crocodile Lake – Lake Timsah5 east to the Nile River Delta. A
SAM missile hit their Phantom and they crushed.
Gad Samok and Baruch “Ari” Golan were seen parachuting but their bodies were never
recovered. Gad Samok received post mortem the Chief of Staff Citation.
5
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Timsah
734
Fig. 563: Gad Samok
MIA: October 17, 1973
Yahrzeit: 21 TISHREY 5734
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
735
Fig. 564: IDF #483072 Major Gad Samok’s Pillow.
Age: 32
Born: Limerick, Czechoslovakia
Parents: Frieda and Heinrich Chaim Samok.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover ©2021
736
Baruch “Ari” Golan was born on July 11, 1951 in Rehovot, Israel. Two years earlier, in 1949,
the family made Aliyah from Argentina. He was drafted to the IDF Air-Force on November
1969 and served as a Navigator. On October 17, 1973, the 11th day of the Yom-Kippur War,
Pilot Gad Samok and Navigator Baruch “Ari” Golan were in their Phantom fighter on a
bombing mission over an Egyptian SAM missiles battery south to Crocodile Lake – Lake
Timsah6 east to the Nile River Delta. A SAM missile hit their Phantom and they crushed.
They were seen parachuting but their bodies were never recovered.
Fig. 564: Baruch “Ari” Golan
MIA: October 17, 1973
Yahrzeit: 21 TISHREY 5734
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
6
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Timsah
737
Fig. 566: IDF #2084477 Captain Baruch “Ari” Golan’s Pillow.
Age: 22
Born: Rehovot, Israel
Parents: Susana and Dov Golan.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover ©2021
738
Ury Parnas was born on December 10, 1948 in Tel Aviv, Israel. He was drafted to the IDF
Air-Force on April 1968 and served as a combat pilot. On November 06, 1973 he was piloting
a NESHER fighter7 on a drill flight over the Mediterranean, west of Ashkelon. The jet went
out of control and Ury Parnas had to eject over the Mediterranean. He could not be traced.
Fig. 567: 1970s. Israeli made NESHER fighter.
Photo: Wikipedia
7
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IAI_Nesher
739
Fig. 568: Ury Parnas
MIA: October 29, 1973
Yahrzeit: 03 HESHVAN 5734
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
740
Fig.569: IDF #2046448 Captain Ury Parnas’s old Pillow.
Photo: Wikipedia
741
Fig. 570: IDF #2046448 Captain Ury Parnas’s new Pillow.
Age: 25
Born: Tel Aviv
Parents: Esther and Abraham Parnas.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover ©2021
742
33.
NAVY
743
Oded Amir was born on May 01, 1950 in Kibbutz Gesher Haziv. He was drafted in November
1968 to the IDF NAVY COMMANDO Flotilla 138. On October 17, 1973 The NAVY Flotilla
13 divers headed by Colonel Saul Ziv9 raided the Egyptian port of the town Port Said,
(Operation LADY10). They attached Leech Mines to Egyptian Navy vessels. 4 Egyptian Navy
vessels were sunk. The squad of Oded Amir and Eli Kimhy did not return to the meeting point,
possibly hit by the many Depth Bombs thrown in by the Egyptian forces11. Efforts to recover
them were made under fire, but to no avail. Both were pronounced MIAs.
They both were awarded Post Mortem the Bravery Citation.
8
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shayetet_13
9
https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A9%D7%90%D7%95%D7%9C_%D7%96%D7%99%D7%95
10
https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9E%D7%91%D7%A6%D7%A2_%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%99%D7%93%D7%99
11
https://www.mako.co.il/pzm‐magazine/Article‐2982755922ed931006.htm
744
Fig. 571: Oded Amir
MIA: October 17, 1973
Yahrzeit: 21 TISHREY 5734
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
745
Fig. 572: IDF #2062331 Captain Oded Amir’s old Pillow.
Photo: Wikipedia
746
Fig. 573: IDF #2062331 Captain Oded Amir’s new Pillow.
Age: 23
Born: Kibbutz Gesher Haziv
Parents: Geula and Samuel Amir.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover ©2021
747
Eli Kimhy was born on December 08, 1951, in Acre, Israel. He was drafted to the IDF NAVY
on April 1970 and served in the IDF NAVY COMMANDO Flotilla 13. On October 17, 1973
The NAVY Flotilla 13 divers headed by Colonel Saul Ziv12 raided the Egyptian port of the
town Port Said, (Operation LADY13). They attached Leech Mines to Egyptian Navy vessels. 4
Egyptian Navy vessels were sunk. The squad of Oded Amir and Eli Kimhy did not return to the
meeting point, possibly hit by the many Depth Bombs thrown in by the Egyptian forces14.
Efforts to recover them were made under fire, but to no avail. Both were pronounced MIAs.
They both were awarded Post Mortem the Bravery Citation.
Fig. 574: Eli Kimhy
MIA: October 17, 1973
Yahrzeit: 21 TISHREY 5734
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
12
https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A9%D7%90%D7%95%D7%9C_%D7%96%D7%99%D7%95
13
https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9E%D7%91%D7%A6%D7%A2_%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%99%D7%93%D7%99
14
https://www.mako.co.il/pzm‐magazine/Article‐2982755922ed931006.htm
748
Fig. 575: IDF Major Sergeant Eli Kimhy’s Pillow. Mt. Herzl, Jerusalem.
Age: 22
Born: Acre, Israel
Parents: Victoria and Dov Kimhy.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021.
749
34.
Armored
Corps
750
Zeb Rotchik was born in 1945 in the USSR. At age 12, in 1957, his family made Aliyah and
lived in Netania. He was drafted to the IDF Armored Corps in 1963. On the 5th day of the
Yom-Kippur War, October 10, 1973, he disappeared enroot to his reserve unit on the Golan
Heights, possibly captured and killed by Syrian front units.
Fig. 576: No picture available for Zeb Rotchik
MIA: October 10, 1973
Yahrzeit: 14 TISHREY 5734
751
Fig. 577: IDF #497621 Private Zeb Rotchik’s Pillow.
Age: 28
Born: USSR
Parents: Ilana and Elijah Rotchik
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover ©2021
752
Joseph Ben-Ezra was born on 1941 in Bagdad, Iraq. At age 9, in 1950, his mother and him made
Aliyah. On August 1959 he was drafted in the IDF Engineering Corps and served as a sapper.
On October 29, 1973 9 Israeli soldiers were killed by a sea mine which exploded when being dismantled
in the Small Bitter Lake, west of the Suez Canal. 7 of the victims were identified, 2 of the victims
reservists Joseph Ben-Ezra and Joseph Hazan could not be traced. They were pronounced MIAs.
Fig. 578: Joseph Ben-Ezra
MIA: October 29, 1973
Yahrzeit: 03 HESHVAN 5734
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
753
Fig. 579: IDF #443720 First Sergeant Joseph Ben-Ezra’s Pillow.
Age: 32
Born: Bagdad, Iraq.
Parents: Mazal and Ezra Ben‐Ezra.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover ©2021
754
Joseph Hazan was born on 1936 in Tamarshat, Morocco. He was drafted to the IDF Canonry on
February 1959 and served as a trailer driver. On October 29, 1973 9 Israeli soldiers were killed by a
sea mine which exploded when being dismantled in the Small Bitter Lake, west of the Suez Canal. 7 of
the victims were identified, 2 of the victims reservists Joseph Ben-Ezra and Joseph Hazan could not be
traced. They were pronounced MIAs.
Fig. 580: Joseph Hazan
MIA: October 29, 1973
Yahrzeit: 03 HESHVAN 5734
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
755
Fig. 581: IDF #437881 First Sergeant Joseph Hazan’s old Pillow.
Photo: Wikipedia
756
Fig. 582: IDF #437881 First Sergeant Joseph Hazan’s new Pillow.
Age: 37
Born: Tamarshat, Morocco.
Parents: Mima and Isaac Hazan.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover ©2021
757
PART I:
1975 – 2014
758
35. NAVY
759
Jedidiah Isaac was born on 1957 in India. At age 5, in 1962, his family made Aliyah. In 1975
he was drafted in the IDF NAVY and served on the Landing Craft “Bat Sheba”, the only ever
landing craft in the Israeli NAVY, which was in service during the years 1969 – 1995. On the
night of August 18, 1976, when crossing the Straights of Tiran15, Jedidiah Isaac ALONE was
ordered to check on the “Bat Sheba” engines. He disappeared off board the “Bat Sheba” not to
be found again, presumably fell off board and lost at high seas.
As a twist of faith that Jedidiah Isaac’s mother name was… “Bat-Sheba”.
The “Bat-Sheba” went out of service in 1995. The Israeli NAVY had no other Landing Crafts
since (2021).
Fig. 583: IDF NAVY only Landing Aircraft “Bat‐Sheba”. Served between the years 1969‐1995
Photo: Wikipedia
15
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straits_of_Tiran
760
Fig. 584: Jedidiah Isaac
MIA: August 18, 1976
Yahrzeit: 22 AV 5736
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
761
Fig. 585: IDF #2263440 Corporal Jedidiah Isaac’s Pillow.
Age: 19
Born: India
Parents: Bat‐Sheba and Menahem Isaac.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover ©2021
762
Amiel “Ami” Shenon was born on March 24, 1955 in Haifa. He was drafted in the IDF NAVY on
October 1973 and served as a diver in Commando Flotilla 13. On October 04, 1975 he vacationed in the
Marsa Barka Bay in the Sinai. He disappeared while diving in the bay waters. His body was not traced.
Fig.586: Amiel “Ami” Shenon
MIA: October 04, 1975
Yahrzeit: 29 TISHREY 5736
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
763
Fig. 587: IDF #2194289 First Sergeant Amiel “Ami” Shenon’s old Pillow.
Photo: Wikipedia
764
Fig. 588: IDF #2194289 First Sergeant Amiel “Ami” Shenon’s new Pillow.
Age: 20
Born: Haifa
Parents: Ruth and Walther Shenon.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021.
765
36.
Air-Force
766
Dan “Danny” Weiss was born on May 09, 1958 in Kibbutz Mishmar Haemek. On October
1976 he was drafted in the IDF Air-Force and served as a pilot. On January 20, 1981, while in
drill flights over the Mediterranean west of the Haifa bay, two Phantom fighters collided. Dan
“Danny” Weiss vanished in high seas.
Fig. 589: Dan “Danny” Weiss
MIA: January 20, 1981
Yahrzeit: 15 SHVAT 5741
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
767
Fig. 590: Unique IDF #2300000 Major Dan “Danny” Weiss’s old Pillow.
Photo: Wikipedia
768
Fig. 591: Unique IDF #2300000 Major Dan “Danny” Weiss’s new Pillow.
Age: 22
Born: Kibbutz Mishmar-Haemek
Parents: Carla and Otto Weiss.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021.
769
Amiram Klachman Kal was born on September 20, 1947 in Tel-Aviv, British Israel. He was
drafted in the IDF Air-Force in 1965. In 1969 he became a pilot. He worked for the Israeli
Aircraft Industries in the capacity of Experiment Pilot for new models.
On July 10, 1981 he was on reserve duty flying the experimental KFIR fighter over the
Mediterranean west of Ashdod. The KFIR engine went dead and Amiram Klachman Kal had
to abandon the plane. His parachute did not open and he remained adjacent to the plane sit. He
sunk into the sea. His body was not traced.
Fig. 592: Amiram Klachman Kal
MIA: July 10, 1981
Yahrzeit: 08 TAMUZ 5741
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
770
Fig. 593: IDF #220028 Major Amiram Klachman Kal’s old Pillow.
Photo: Wikipedia
771
Fig.594: Unique IDF #220028 Major Amiram Klachman Kal’s new Pillow.
Age: 34
Born: Tel-Aviv, British Israel
Parents: Miriam and Joshua Klachman Kal
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021.
772
37.
June 11, 1982
The Sultan
Yacoub Battle
773
Fig. 595: First Lebanon War June 06 – September 29, 1982
Photo: Wikipedia
774
Zvi “Zvika” Feldman was born on December 29, 1956 in Tel-Aviv. He was drafted in 1974 to
the IDF Armored Corps. On the First Lebanon War16 he was on reserve duty with the 362nd
Battalion of the 90th Division and served as an artillery loader in the tank in which Hezi Shay
served as the Commander and Zachariah Baumel served as the driver. On June 11, 1982
their tank participated in the Sultan Yacoub battle17 against the Syrian Army. The battle is
considered an failure. Zvi “Zvika” Feldman was pronounced dead18 but later changed to MIA.
Fig. 596: Zvi “Zvika” Feldman
MIA: June 11, 1982
Yahrzeit: 20 SIVAN 5742
Photo: Wikipedia
16
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1982_Lebanon_War
17
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Sultan_Yacoub
18
https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A6%D7%91%D7%99_%D7%A4%D7%9C%D7%93%D7%9E%D7%9F
775
IDF Major Sergeant Zvi “Zvika” Feldman.
Age: 25
Born: Tel-Aviv
Parents: Pnina and Abraham Feldman
776
Judah Jekutiel Katz was born on July 18, 1959 in Ramat-Gan. He was drafted in the IDF
Armored Corps in 1977 and served as a tank gunner. On the First Lebanon War19 he was on
reserve duty with the 362nd Battalion of the 90th Division in a tank commanded by Lieutenant
Zohar Lifchitz. On June 11, 1982 their tank participated in the Sultan Yacoub battle20 against
the Syrian Army. The battle is considered an IDF loss. Judah Jekutiel Katz was pronounced
dead21 but later on his status changed to MIA.
Fig. 597: Judah Jekutiel Katz
MIA: June 11, 1982
Yahrzeit: 20 SIVAN 5742
Photo: Wikipedia
19
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1982_Lebanon_War
20
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Sultan_Yacoub
21
https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A6%D7%91%D7%99_%D7%A4%D7%9C%D7%93%D7%9E%D7%9F
777
IDF Major Sergeant Judah Jekutiel Katz
Age: 23
Born: Ramat‐Gan, Israel
Parents: Sarah and Joseph Katz
778
38. NAVY
Ofer Solomon was born on December 03, 1964 in Kiryat-Shmona, Israel. He was drafted in
the IDF on August 1983 and served in the NAVY as a gunsmith on a DABUR class patrol
boat22. On January 05, 1984 the DABUR was in the Mediterranean west of Gaza. A drill was
conducted lowering a rubber dinghy from the DABUR into the water. A fun game race was
then conducted between the boat and the dinghy23. Ofer Solomon fell off the dinghy into the
Mediterranean. The dinghy operator jumped after him for rescue but could not locate him.
Seems like a case of death by negligence.
22
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dabur‐class_patrol_boat
23
https://www.mako.co.il/pzm‐magazine/Article‐2982755922ed931006.htm
779
Fig. 598: 1970s Israeli Dabur Class Patrol boat. American/ Israeli made.
Photo: Wikipedia
780
Fig. 599: Ofer Solomon
MIA: January 05, 1984
Yahrzeit: 01 SHVAT 5744
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
781
Fig. 600: IDF #3773216 Private Ofer Solomon’s old Pillow.
Photo: Wikipedia
782
Fig. 601: IDF #3773216 Private Ofer Solomon’s new Pillow.
Age: 19
Born: Kiryat-Shmona, Israel
Parents: Diana and Nissim Solomon.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
783
39. Air-Force
Ron Arad was born on May 05, 1958 in Magdiel-Hod Hasharon, Israel. He was drafted in
1976 to the IDF Air-Force and served as a navigator of the 69th Squadron of Phantom
fighters. On October 16, 1986 he flew his Phantom on a bombing mission over the town of
Sidon in Lebanon. One of the bombs onboard exploded in the vicinity of the plane. The two
pilots had to abandon. Pilot Yishay Aviram was rescued. Navigator Ron Arad fell captive with
the Amal Shiite Organization. One intelligence report claims he died circa 1996 in Lebanon of
a stub he sustained in his shoulder. Other reports claim he remains captive in Iran or Lebanon.
An opportunity to exchange him with terrorists was missed. A Syrian general was abducted and
interrogated in 2021 but with no results.
784
Fig. 602: Ron Arad
MIA: October 16, 1986
Yahrzeit: 13 TISHREY 5747
Photo: Wikipedia
IDF Colonel Ron Arad
Age: 28 when gone MIA
Born: Magdiel-Hod Hasharon, Israel.
Parents: Batia and Dov Arad.
785
Eran Grabia was born on February 20, 1973 in Kibbutz Gan-Shmuel. On March 1992 he
was drafted in the IDF NAVY, underwent Officers Sailor Course and served as a Navy
Reconnaissance flying Officer. On September 16, 1996 a DOLPHIN helicopter was on a drill
flight over the Mediterranean west of the town of Naharia delivering men between two boats.
The Dolphine helicopter fell in the water. The bodies of the pilots Colonel Ben-Zion Bahar and
Captain Sela Shahak were recovered. The body of Eran Grabia was not recovered24.
The Dolphin helicopter line went out of service few years thereafter.
Fig. 603: Eran Grabia
MIA: September 16, 1996
Yahrzeit: 13 TISHREY 5747
24
Photo: MIA families, Izkor.gov.il
https://www.mako.co.il/pzm‐magazine/Article‐2982755922ed931006.htm
786
Fig. 604: IDF #5076733 Captain Eran Grabia
Age: 23
Born: Kibbutz Gan-Shmuel
Parents: Ilana and Gabriel Grabia.
Photo: Meir Halevi Gover © 2021
787
PART H:
POST
LEBANON
WARs
788
Guy Hever25 was born on May 30, 1977 in Tel Aviv. On 1995 he was drafted in the IDF
Gunnery Corps Thunder (Haraam) Battalion. He left his base on the Golan Heights on
August 17, 1977 and disappeared.
On disappearance day he carried his personal weapon, a GALIL Assault rifle26. His black beret
was discovered in 2005. There were assumptions that he is kept in Syria or that he committed
suicide due to a conflict with his commanding officer27. He remains MIA to date.
Fig. 605: Guy Hever
MIA: August 17, 1977
Yahrzeit: 14 AV 5757
Photo: Wikipedia
25
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Hever
26
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IMI_Galil
27
https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%92%D7%99%D7%90_%D7%97%D7%91%D7%A8
789
IDF Private Guy Hever
Age: 20
Born: Tel Aviv
Parents: Rina and Ethan Hever.
790
40. Operation
‘Protective
Edge’
‘TZUK-EITAN’
791
Oron Saul28 was born on December 27, 1993 in Poriya, near Tiberius, Israel. He was drafted
in 2013 to the IDF GOLANI Brigade29, 13th Battalion Reconnaissance Platoon. On July 20,
2014 during Operation Protective Edge [TZUK-EITAN]30 conducted in the Gaza Strip, and
after he was seriously wounded in his M-113 Armored Vehicle in the Sajaiya quarter of Gaza
City, he was abducted and killed by the HAMAS31. He is presumed dead at high certainty. The
HAMAS holds his remains (2021). His M-113 Armored Vehicle was not installed with the
available then Trophy Active protection System32. The operation failed.
Fig. 606: Oron Saul
MIA: July 20, 2014
Yahrzeit: 22 TAMUZ 5784
Photo: Wikipedia
28
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_and_ransoming_of_Oron_Shaul
29
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golani_Brigade
30
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Gaza_War
31
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamas
32
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trophy_(countermeasure)
792
IDF First Sergeant Oron Saul
Age: 21
Born: Poriya, near Tiberius
Parents: Zehava and Herzl Saul.
793
Hadar Goldin was born on February 18, 1991 in Ashchar, south of Carmiel in the Galilee,
Northern Israel. He was drafted 2011 in the IDF and served in the Reconnaissance Squad of
the GIVATI brigade. He was possibly killed by the HAMAS on August 01, 2014 during
Operation Protective Edge [TZUK-EITAN]33 conducted in the Gaza Strip. The HAMAS
abducted him possibly while he was still alive. Hadar Goldin remains MIA to date (2021).
Fig. 607: Hadar Goldin
MIA: August 01, 2014
Yahrzeit: 05 AV 5784
33
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Gaza_War
Photo: Wikipedia
794
Fig. 608: IDF #7497098 Lieutenant Hadar Goldin’s Pillow in the Kfar‐Saba Military Cemetery.
Age: 23
Born: Ashchar, Israel
Parents: Leah Hedva and Simha Goldin.
Photo: Adiral
795
796
INDEX
A
Aaron,
Abigdor,
Afgin Horin,
Aaron "Duga"
Isaiah
Ezra
Agi,
Al‐Abdala,
Al‐Abdala,
Al‐Abdala,
Albogen,
Almog Swissa,
Altman,
Amir,
Amir,
Arad,
Arava,
Argov,
Arman Romach,
Armon Kestenbaum,
Arnon,
Aroasti,
Artzi,
Arzi,
Asch,
Asshi,
Atari,
Attyia,
Attyia,
Attyiya,
Attyiya,
Avidan,
Aviram,
Avzac,
Moses "Mussa"
Ahmed Nimer
Matra
Nimer
Fajwel Paul
Joseph Chaim
Joseph
Oded
Shalom
Ron
Samuel
Sasha
Benjamin "Benny"
Alexander "Alex"
Aaron Noam "Ami"
Abraham
Isaac "Aki"
Mordechai
Symon
(Rabbi)
Abraham
Isaac
Jamila
Nissim Moses
Shalom
Symon
Yishay
Jacob
14
214
14
169
14
14
52
52
227
14
14
14
14
14
14
32
14
14
14
14
14
381
14
339
14
66
66
14
14
118
783
14
580 581 582
64 158 162 163 164 165 166 167 168
170
273 274
50
592
339
743
275
783
239
593
340
744
276
784
240
594
341
745 746 747
277
465
462
541
282
532
466 467
463 464
542
283
533 534 535 536
241
726 727 728
649 650
62 64 65
424 426 427
121 138
66
380 381 382 383
797
B
Bahar,
Bal,
Baram,
Barkay,
Barlev,
Barnea,
Bar‐Zeb Reichberger,
Baumel,
Baz Bazana,
Bazri Avers,
Bechar,
Beck,
Behar,
Behar,
Beker,
Ben Ali,
Ben‐Ami,
Ben‐Basat,
Ben‐David,
Ben‐Dror,
Ben‐Ezra,
Ben‐Gurion,
Benjamin Rabinowitz,
Ben‐Judah Gelkopf,
Ben‐Porat Alberson,
Ben‐Saul,
Ben‐Shalom
Yadlovker,
Benziman,
Ben‐Zvi Bzezinsky,
Beret,
Berman,
Bernstein,
Betelheim,
Bielski,
Binnenfeld,
Bozana Baz,
Brachman,
Brahms Braha,
Braun,
Braun,
Ben‐Zion
Arie Louis
Abraham
Abraham "Bumi"
Chaim
Joseph "Yossi"
Chaim
Zachariah
Abraham
Joseph
Bezalel
Hasan
Baruch
Mordechai "Max"
Abraham
(sheik)
Refael
Judah
Gideon
Symon
Joseph
David
Elhanan
Gershon
Abraham
Aaron "Aruna"
785
280
62
15
475
15
15
774
585
15
15
113
15
68
227
120
15
15
64
15
15
180
214
15
15
15
David
Moses
Eliezer
Eliezer
Moses Jezi Marian
Samuel Arie
Jacob Ladislav
(Partizans)
Arie Arik
Abraham
Moses
Jacob
Joshua
Zvulon Tomi
15
214
15
109
15
15
15
210
15
15
36
15
109
16
553 554 555
694
597 598
595 596
586
384 385 386
418 419 420
68
69
70
71
485 486
482 483 484 487
720 721 722
752 753 754
212
457 458 459
392 395 396
92 93 94
95
589 590 591
587 588
86 87 88 89 127
300 301 302 303
226 227 228 229
377 378 379
260 261 262
409 410 411
798
Braverman,
Broder,
Brodstein,
Bukay,
Buta,
Joseph
Dov 'Berale'
Jacob
Jacob
Shalom
109
16 205 206 234
16 391 392 393 394
16 367 368 369
214
Moses
Solomon
Israel
Samuel 'Shmulik'
Jacob
Moedechai
Eliyahu "Eli"
Igal
Michael 'Michik'
Mula
Nissim
Pinkus
Allan Gordon
333
37
16
16
392
392
16
16
16
345
16
16
63
Zvika
Amos "Ami"
Aaron
Meirke
Moses
Joseph
Menachem
Ruben Fishel
Raymond "Lofti"
Azriel
Nimrod
Jacob
425
16
424
138
91
16
16
16
16
16
16
16
C
Carmel Zelicki,
Carmel,
Carmi Weinman,
Celnik,
Cohen,
Cohen,
Cohen,
Cohen,
Cohen,
Cohen,
Cohen,
Cohen,
Cunningham,
336
256 629 630
517 518 519
454 455 456
494 495 496
345 346 347
578 579
201 202
D
Dahab,
Danieli,
Davidi,
Davidson,
Dayan,
Debi,
Dgani,
Dgani,
Dodge,
Dror Dunios,
Drori,
Dvir Rivkind,
127 135 136 137
425
476
607
609
392
256
574
611
449
608
610
399 400
257 258 259
575
612
450 451 452 453
799
E
Edelstein
Efrati Rosenkranc,
Eftati,
Eisenberg,
El‐Heib,
El‐Heib,
El‐Heib,
Eltagar,
Eltagar,
Engel Erel,
Engel Erel,
Enkstein Andrius,
Erel,
Erlichman,
Eshel,
Eshkol Shkolnik
Even Epstein,
Joseph
Ruth
Ilana
Benjamin "Yurek"
Chader
Dib
Maryam
Meiron
Zeb
Dan "Danny"
Moses
Stanley
Solomon
Israel
Uriel
Levi
Dan
16
109
109
16
56
17
56
17
709
17
583
17
474
17
17
477
126
Abraham
Joseph "Jojo"
Zvi "Zvika"
Joseph Egon
Dov "Duba"
Moses
Israel 'Srulik'
Joel
Meir "Mayorchik"
Ury
Abraham
Aviezer
Benc
Pesach Arie
214
20
17
17
17
109
17
214
17
64
17
319
290
227
285 286 287
242 243
53
54
55
708 709 710 711 713 716
460 461
584
263 265 266 268
695 696 697
412 413 414 415
694
181
F
Falk,
Farhi,
Feldman,
Feldstein,
Fermat,
Formanski,
Frank,
Frieber,
Fried,
Fried,
Friedman,
Friedman,
Friedman,
Fux,
56
657
774
373
313
658
775
375 376
314 315
189 190
290 291
514 515 516
800
G
Gadish,
Gal Gelman,
Gal Hefner,
Galbish,
Galili Gilula,
Galinka,
Gaon,
Garber,
Gavish,
Gavrialidas,
Gaybook,
Gerstein,
Gilat,
Gisner,
Glick,
Glickzam,
Glubb,
Godel,
Golan,
Golani,
Goldberg,
Goldin,
Golumb,
Gonen Gorodish,
Goren,
Gotlieb,
Gouri,
Gover Halevi
Moses
Ruben
Michael "Miki"
Elhanan
Judah
Samuel
Joseph
Samuel
Joseph
Samuel "Sammy"
Jacob
Joseph
Dan
Arthur
Isaac "Aki"
Israel Karl
John Bagot
George
Baruch "Ari"
Itamar
Meir
Hadar
Dov
Samuel
Jacob "Zaki"
Judah
Haim
Meir
17
17
17
227
17
428
109
17
214
17
214
392
17
17
17
17
217
18
18
18
227
18
18
695
18
18
32
41
111
154
194
219
251
281
312
344
389
453
496
526
561
603 604
601 602
599 600
605 606
392 397 392 398
247 248 249 250
709
364
304
227
711
365
305
230
712 713 716
366
306
231 232
527 528
733 736 737
342 343 344
793 794
180 184 185
113 114 115 116 127
118 120 121 122 123 124 127
44
116
157
196
221
253
283
315
347
405
456
499
528
563
49
124
161
200
225
255
287
318
350
408
459
501
530
565
52
131
165
202
229
259
289
321
354
414
461
504
535
567
56
134
174
204
230
262
291
325
357
417
464
507
538
571
60
137
178
206
237
266
295
328
360
423
470
510
540
573
66
141
185
209
241
269
297
331
366
427
484
513
542
575
95
145
188
211
243
272
303
335
369
431
487
516
552
577
100
148
190
211
246
274
306
338
372
445
490
519
557
582
105
151
192
216
249
279
309
341
386
447
491
522
559
594
801
Grabia,
Grabowitz,
Grienberg,
Gushcini,
Eran
Fajwel
Abraham
Jacob
598
721
753
18
227
214
18
600
723
756
785
602 704 705 706 710 712 714 717
728 732 735 737 741 746 748 751
761 764 768 771 782 786
786
Michael
Arie
Joseph
Solomon
Aaron David
Gideon
Zvi "Miki"
Kaid Naif
Yair Irale
Joseph
Guy
Samuel
Judah
Adolf
Mordechai Chaim
Joseph
Moses "Moniek"
Meir
Saul
Leah
Menachem
Samuel
Chaim
Abed al‐Qadir al‐
18
392
214
214
214
109
18
18
18
18
18
109
18
107
18
18
18
381
18
41
18
41
214
92
613 614
Zvi "Hershi"
Jedidiah
Gad
Michel al‐
Edward
18 333 334 335
18 759 760 761
227
126
214
322 323 324 325
H
Hadar Dahan,
Hadas,
Haimoff,
Hakim,
Halperin,
Hamer,
Har‐Even Harivan,
Hason,
Hatiba,
Hazan,
Hever,
Hildesheim,
Hiller,
Hitler,
Hitter,
Hobashi,
Hofman,
Hofshy,
Holcman,
Honen,
Honen,
Honen,
Hoover,
Hoseyni,
558
76
443
752
788
559
77 78 79
444 445
754 755 756
789
213
193
319
149
351
214 215 216
320 321
151 152
352 353 354 355 358 361
329 330 331
36
39
40
I
Ickowitz,
Isaac,
Isoler,
Issa,
Izak,
41
802
J
Jacobi,
Jaffe,
Nehemiah
Ury
18 127 171 172 173 174
319 322
Eli
Arie
Chaim
Mordechai 'Motke'
Rachel
Simha
Micha
Jehiel Michael
Martin Louis 'Tom'
Judah
Ephraim
Meir
Yanku
Isaac "Isaacale"
Isaac
Elay
Judah Levi
Amiram
Israel Meir
Nathan
Zultan
Arie
joseph
Zeb Benjamin
Bentz Amos
Solomon
Symon
Asher
18
19
43
19
3
214
425
19
19
19
214
214
19
19
381
19
19
19
227
19
391
214
109
19
37
19
214
227
K
Kadosh,
Kalenberg,
Kalman,
Kalman,
Kalman,
Kaminer,
Kaposta Ben‐Ari,
Karsel,
Katenburg,
Katz,
Kazaz,
Kazaz,
Keler,
Kendler,
Kibowitz,
Kimhy,
Kipur,
Klachman Kal
Klein,
Klein,
Kluger,
Kocer,
Kohan,
Kol Kalvari,
Krasnocki,
Kron,
Kuchman,
Kurc,
659 660
523 524 525 526
44
36 42 43 44
44
203 204
142 143 144 145
776 777
709 711 713 716 717 718
127 176 177 178
743 747 748
138 139 140 141
769 770 771
520 521 522
661 662
316 317 318
803
L
Lahav Sikorel,
Laner,
Laskov,
Latif,
Leizer,
Lev,
Levi Yanay,
Levi,
Levi,
Levi,
Levinger,
Lewinhertz,
Liebowitz,
Lifschitz,
Lifschitz,
Livingstone,
Joseph "Joe"
Dan Ernest
Chaim
Ephraim
Naftali
Arlozor "Zorik"
Absalom
Eliyahu
Ernest
Ezikiel
Menachem
Ben‐Ami
Dov
Mordechai
Zohar
David Ginter
19
107
333
384
227
19
19
227
19
214
109
392
19
227
776
19
Joseph
Oded
Solomon
Dan
Amiram
Zeb
Shabi Jacob
Joseph
Judah
Israel
Golda
Joseph
Uri
Albert
Israel
Jacob
Alexander
Ezra
Judah
David
392
19
227
19
462
214
19
20
20
217
63
20
20
729
20
20
214
109
424
20
560 561
729 730 731 732
271 272
348 349 350
307 308 309
107 108 109 110 111
M
Machluf,
Madmon,
Malc,
Manor Manes,
Manor,
Mansbac,
Maor Polerewitz,
Margalit,
Markowitz,
Maykel,
Meir,
Mekayton Bashari,
Menachem,
Mendler,
Michal,
Migovski Meged
Minc,
Mincer,
Mitelman,
Mizrahi,
631 632
637 638
562
326
500
218
563
327 328
501
219 224
285 288 289
497 498 499
421 422 423
64 158 159 160 161 168 169
804
Mizrahi,
Mizrahi,
Mizrahi,
Mizrahi,
Mizrahi,
Mizrahi,
Moldawski,
Monbaz,
Moreno,
Moshe,
Moshkowitz,
Mundlak,
Muzafi,
Mymon Waserman,
Ezikiel
Jacob
Meir
Menachem "Nahmo"
Pirhiya
Shalom
Samuel
Judah Leib
Armoza
Zacharia Yihje
Avihu "Avi"
Moses
Chaim
Benjamin "Benny"
20
20
20
20
49
214
20
227
109
20
20
214
20
20
Chaim
Eliezer
Moses
Eliyahu "Eli"
Menachem
Uzi
Gamal Abdel
Michael
Ezra
Rami Raymond
Jacob
Joseph "Yossi"
Nachman
David
425
214
227
20
20
694
468
214
20
20
462
20
227
109
Isaac
Solomon "Chup"
Zvi "Zvika"
Zadok Salah
Amiram
Bezalel
20
20
20
20
109
20
633 634
49 432 433 434 635 636
247 250 251
46 47 48 49
310 311 312
149 150 152 153 154
438 439 440
709 711 713 714 715 716
564 565
N
Nadal,
Naftashvili,
Namdar,
Naor,
Narkis Nargos,
Narkis,
Nasser,
Nathan,
Nattal,
Navaro,
Nevo,
Nezer Wolberg,
Nudelman,
Nusbaum,
488 489 490
641 642
73 74 75
502 503 504
639 640
O
Ogen Markowitz,
Opochinski Ofek,
Oren,
Orkabi,
Overfirst,
Ozeri,
645
556
491
511
646
557
492 493
512 513
647 648
805
P
Pachter,
Parnas,
Paz Feingold,
Paz Pomeranc,
Paz,
Peer,
Peled,
Penso,
Pereg,
Peri Prolov,
Perlstein,
Pichet,
Pinkasov,
Pitel,
Pony,
Presler,
Proschowitz,
Pundak,
Ben‐Ami
Uri
Arie "Arik"
Zvi Dov
Amnon
Zeb "Zebale"
Aaron
Joseph
Zvi
Jacob
Kurt
Leonard Elmer
Benjamin
Ruben 'Debka'
Meir
Abraham
Isaac
Isaac
336
21
21
21
21
21
695
21
21
126
227
263
214
21
214
21
21
322
738
570
653
651
720
739 740 741
571
654
652
722 723 724
247 250 252 253
655 656
127
267
197 198
191 192
392 403 404 405
Q
Qawuqji,
Fawzi al‐
46 107
R
Raanan,
Rabin,
Rapoport,
Raviv,
Reiner,
Reizner Raz,
Rephaeli Fadida,
Robinson,
Ron Hacoen Ringwald
Ron Shukron,
Ron,
Ronen Hacohen,
Ronen Stein,
Ronen Waknin,
Jacob
Isaac
Bezalel
Tuvia
Hillel
Elhanan
Rephael
Bruno
Amnon
Jacob
Avi Abraham
Hagay
Judah
Jacob
21
36
214
695
21
21
21
227
21
21
21
21
21
21
550 551 552 555
97 351 355 361
193 194
532 536 537 538
673 674
665
667
663
539
669
671
666
668
664
540
670
672
806
Rosenbaum,
Rosenblum,
Rosenfeld,
Rosenfeld,
Rotcik,
Rotem,
Rubinstein,
Rusak,
Eliyahu
Zvi
Aaron David
Zalman Zigmond
Zeb
Abrahaam
Isaac
Menachem
109
21
214
21
21
695
22
97
Amram Amos
Elijah
Rahamim Clement
"Rami"
Isaac
Meir
Ashba
Hasan
Mohammed Hasan
Symon "Sam"
Yuval
Gad
Saul
Nahum
Ezikiel
Oron
Mohammed Kasm
Joel
Abraham "Bunia"
Solomon
Chaim
Gideon
Abraham
Uzi
Giora
Abraham
Jacob
Meir
Sela
Benjamin "Benny" Zvi
Joseph "Yossi"
Shalom
David
David
22 392 401 402
401
218 224 225
146 147 148
750 751
244 245 246
S
Saadon Sadwin,
Saadon,
Saban,
Sade Landoberg,
Safran,
Salem,
Salem,
Salem,
Samargad,
Samueli,
Samuk,
Sapir,
Sarig,
Sason,
Saul,
Sayed Ahmed,
Schticler,
Schwartz,
Scweitzer,
Segal,
Segal,
Sendik,
Shaanan Shanenski
Shaanan,
Shacar,
Shacar,
Shachmon,
Shahak,
Shaked Mendel,
Shalev Friedman,
Shalom Zalah,
Shalom,
Shaltiel,
22
107
22
60
60
22
22
22
22
37
260
22
22
22
214
22
22
22
22
22
381
381
22
392
22
785
22
22
23
214
91
505 506 507
643 644
57 58 59 60
280 281
681 682
733 734 735 736
687 688
791 792
435 436 437
336
351
508
566
217
337
355
509
567
218
338
358 359 360 361
510
220 221 224
675 676
406 407 408
278 279
689 690
677 678
384 387 388 389
275
807
Shani Shneorson,
Shanon,
Shapir Shafik,
Shapir,
Sharon,
Sharoni Kendel,
Sharoni,
Shavit Yalowski,
Shay,
Sheffer,
Shemesh,
Shiloach,
Shneidmeser,
Shorer,
Shprinzak,
Shtil,
Shuami
Shulerer,
Shushan,
Shusterman,
Singer Hacohen,
Snapir Shnaper,
Sobol,
Solbermacher,
Solomon,
Spector,
Stampper,
Stern,
Stern,
Stern,
Stoler,
Stoler,
Stravshinski,
Strikowski,
Sugarman,
Sukenik [Yadin],
Symon,
Symon,
Chaim
Amiel "Ami"
Jacob
Baruch
Ariel "Arik"
Alexander
Eliezer "Luzi"
Aaron
Hezi
Libka
David
Moses "Mussa"
Isaac
Eran
Aaron David
Oded
Ozer
Joseph Judah
Isaac
Isaac
Judah
Ruben
Pinkus
Abraham
Ofer
Nachman
Enosh
Dan
Moses Max
Zvi Herman
Judah
Solomon
Samuel
Nbenjamin
Dov Sidney Ben
Mattatyahu
Abed
Ran
23
23
23
37
424
23
23
462
774
244
64
64
109
549
23
23
227
23
478
109
23
23
23
214
23
392
373
23
227
23
210
23
109
392
23
23
23
21
679 680
762 763 764
351 355 358 361 362 363
683 684
685 686
292 296 297 298
412 415 416 417
254 255
479
186 187 188
568 569
234 235 236 237
778 780 781 782
195 196
207 208 209
210 211
263
292
428
572
267 268 269
293 294 295 296
430 431
573
808
T
Tabenkin,
Tabilla,
Takac,
Tal Teitler,
Tamir Kaplan
Tarashi,
Tel‐Zur,
Treblinski BenTov,
Treister,
Joseph
Abraham
Moses
Zvi
Amnon
Mordechai
Yair
Moshe
Nehemiah
97
214
23
23
23
23
425
23
227
Zeva
462
Solomon
Abraham
23 615 616
729
Samuel
Zvi
Moses
Bertold "Bert"
Dan "Danny"
ID2300000
Chaim
Isaac
Robert Lester 'Bob'
Israel Isaac
Zvi
23 126 127 129 130 131
214
214
24 127 132 133 134
698
576
691
621
97
699 700
577
692
622
98
99 100
U
Umschwiff,
V
Vardy Viderman,
Vilan,
W
Wachtfogel,
Wansman,
Wansover,
Waserberg,
Weiss,
Weitzman,
Werber,
Wikman,
Wirzer,
Wolkostavski Cemri,
24 766 767 768
193
214
24 155 156 157
227
24 218 222 223 224
809
Y
Yacoub,
Yagnatinski,
Yanay Yana,
Yariv Rabinowitz,
Yarom,
Yaskolka,
Yeger,
Yehezkely,
Yohay,
(sultan)
Amiram
David
Aaron
Meir
Solomon
Chaim Zvi
Abner
Isaiah
774
24
24
333
24
381
24
24
24
Zvi
Chaim
Zvi
Giora
Zvi
Abraham
Saul
Uri
Joseph
Jacob
Obbadia
97
22
24
76
227
24
747
37
24
24
24
776
199 200
625 626
336
627 628
529 530
468 469 470
623 624
Z
Zamir,
Zarfati,
Zehavy Goldstein,
Zeid,
Zeif,
Zimerman,
Ziv,
Zlatin,
Zohar Keler,
Zrihen,
Zrubavel,
446 447 448
617 618
351 355 356 357 358 361
619 620
102 103 104 105
81 82 83 84
810
Books by Meir Halevi Gover:
Book of Levi
YIZKOR to Jewish Konstantynow Podlaski
From the 1st Jerusalem Temple Levites to PM Netanyahu
Thessaloniki Lost Jewish Cemetery
Ordinary Jews
YIZKOR to Jewish Dlugosiodlo, Poland
Jewish Malta Yok?
The Tabuk Blueprints
The Radzyner Rebbe Dynasty 1840-2005
Gover’s Directory of 20,020 Jewish Surnames
Zwykli Zydzi (Polish)
( מצעד איוולת שיפוטיתHebrew)
( יהודים רגיליםHebrew)
( כוח ישקהHebrew)
( שרטוטי טאבוקHebrew)
( מי היה המרגל אלי מזרחיHebrew)
משפחה יהודיים- שמות20,020 ( אלפוןHebrew)
( מאיר הלוי גובר: בבירקנאו מאת משה גרברז )עברית8 שריד צריף
(Hebrew)
The Carnelian
Israeli Nukes over Cairo and Damascus
This is the Second Edition of Meir Halevi Gover’s
album about the IDF and the MOSSAD MIAs;
Missing in Action soldiers
in defense of ISRAEL
during the years 1947 to 2021.
ISBN 978-965-92760-9-7
Digital Edition Cost-Free
https://buffalo.academia.edu/MeirGGover