Sgan aluf Amos Yarkoni ( he, עמוס ירקוני) (born 1 June 1920 — died 7 February 1991), was an officer in the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...

and one of six

Israeli Arabs The Arab citizens of Israel are the largest ethnic minority in the country. They comprise a hybrid community of Israeli citizens with a heritage of Palestinian citizenship, mixed religions (Muslim, Christian or Druze), bilingual in Arabic an ...

to have received the

IDF IDF or idf may refer to: Defence forces * Irish Defence Forces * Israel Defense Forces *Iceland Defense Force, of the US Armed Forces, 1951-2006 * Indian Defence Force, a part-time force, 1917 Organizations * Israeli Diving Federation * Interac ...

's third highest decoration, the

Medal of Distinguished Service The Medal of Distinguished Service ( he, עיטור המופת) is an Israeli military decoration. The Medal of Distinguished Service is the third most important medal given by the IDF Chief of General Staff following an act that is done with co ...

. He was the first commander of the Shaked Reconnaissance Battalion of Israel's Southern command.

Service in the IDF

Early years

Yarkoni was born Abd el-Majid HidrIzkor Website Citation entry
( ar, عبد المجيد خضر المزاريب) in the

Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu (; , singular ) are nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia. The Bedouin originated in the Syrian Desert and A ...

village of

Na'ura Na'ura ( ar, ناعورة, he, נָעוּרָה) is an Arab village located in northern Israel. Located to the east of Afula, it falls under the jurisdiction of the Gilboa Regional Council. In it had a population of . See also *Arab localities ...

Biography of Amos Yarkoni
(east of

Afula Afula ( he, עפולה Arabic: العفولة) is a city in the Northern District of Israel, often known as the "Capital of the Valley" due to its strategic location in the Jezreel Valley. As of , the city had a population of . Afula's ancient ...

, in the Gilboa region of northern

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

). His family were

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

of the Mazarib tribe. In 1936, at the age of 16, he joined a band which sabotaged the

Trans-Arabian Pipeline The Trans-Arabian Pipeline (Tapline), was an oil pipeline from Qaisumah in Saudi Arabia to Sidon in Lebanon, active between 1950–1976. In its heyday, it was an important factor in the global trade of petroleum, as well as in American–Middle ...

(Tapline), an oil pipeline running from the Iraqi oilfields to

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

while

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

was under British Administration (after Israeli independence, the Tapline was redirected to

Sidon Sidon ( ; he, צִידוֹן, ''Ṣīḏōn'') known locally as Sayda or Saida ( ar, صيدا ''Ṣaydā''), is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate, of which it is the capital, on the Mediterranean coast. ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

). Due to an internal disagreement within the band, Abd el-Majid fled to a Jewish area of

, where he was sheltered by Jews. There, he made contacts in the

Haganah Haganah ( he, הַהֲגָנָה, lit. ''The Defence'') was the main Zionist paramilitary organization of the Jewish population ("Yishuv") in Mandatory Palestine between 1920 and its disestablishment in 1948, when it became the core of the ...

through

Moshe Dayan Moshe Dayan ( he, משה דיין; 20 May 1915 – 16 October 1981) was an Israeli military leader and politician. As commander of the Jerusalem front in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (1953–1958) du ...

. Abd el-Majid kept in touch with Dayan up until the

War of Independence This is a list of wars of independence (also called liberation wars). These wars may or may not have been successful in achieving a goal of independence. List See also * Lists of active separatist movements * List of civil wars * List of o ...

. In December 1947, as the war raged, he placed his destiny with the Jews, joining the nascent

and changing his name to Amos Yarkoni. Yarkoni served in a number of units during the

, eventually settling in the Minorities Unit, and proved himself to be an excellent tracker and patrolman, continually astounding his fellow soldiers with his abilities. In 1953, Yarkoni passed the Officer's Course (his main concern being that the exam was in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

), and went on to become the Commanding Officer of the Minorities Unit.

Shaked

In 1955, the frequency and effectiveness of

Fedayeen Fedayeen ( ar, فِدائيّين ''fidāʼīyīn'' "self-sacrificers") is an Arabic term used to refer to various military groups willing to sacrifice themselves for a larger campaign. Etymology The term ''fedayi'' is derived from Arabic: '' ...

attacks being launched from the

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

ian-controlled

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...

and the

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

ian-controlled

Hebron Hebron ( ar, الخليل or ; he, חֶבְרוֹן ) is a Palestinian. city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judaean Mountains, it lies above sea level. The second-largest city in the West Bank (after East J ...

Hills area against isolated Israeli civilian communities increased, and the

searched for new ways to eliminate the threat.

Rehavam Zeevi Rehavam Ze'evi ( he, רחבעם זאבי ; 20 June 1926 – 17 October 2001) was an Israeli general and politician who founded the right-wing nationalist Moledet party, mainly advocating population transfer. He was assassinated by Hamdi Quran ...

, then a senior officer in the Southern Command and in charge of securing the isolated towns of the

Jordan Valley The Jordan Valley ( ar, غور الأردن, ''Ghor al-Urdun''; he, עֵמֶק הַיַרְדֵּן, ''Emek HaYarden'') forms part of the larger Jordan Rift Valley. Unlike most other river valleys, the term "Jordan Valley" often applies just to ...

, recommended Amos Yarkoni for the task. Yarkoni and Zeevi had met some years earlier, when serving in a joint minorities/Jewish unit, and remained close friends for the rest of their lives. Yarkoni accepted the recommendation, and the

tracking and

counter-terrorism Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, business, and intelligence agencies use to combat or el ...

unit was formed under his guidance and command. The unit was named "Shaked" ( he, שקד, lit. ''almond''. Because the almond blooms early, the word also has connotations of ''diligent'' or ''perseverant''). ''Shaked'' was also an

acronym An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...

for (''Shomrei Kav ha Darom'', ''Guardians of the Southern Border''). The unit fielded both Jews and non-Jews, yet when it came to

recruits, Amos was careful to accept only

s from northern Israel (rather than the south of the country), so that they would not have to fight against their tribal brethren. Yarkoni was based in the

Negev The Negev or Negeb (; he, הַנֶּגֶב, hanNegév; ar, ٱلنَّقَب, an-Naqab) is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The region's largest city and administrative capital is Beersheba (pop. ), in the north. At its southe ...

for many years, and was involved in countless operations. He was wounded many times, and his body was peppered with bullet and shrapnel wounds. He lost his right hand in combat in November 1959, and was badly wounded in the leg in an explosion. In 1961, after his recovery, Yarkoni was re-appointed as Commanding Officer of the Shaked Battalion. At the time, the Military Commander commented that "''if Moshe Dayan could be the

Ramatkal The Chief of the General Staff, also known as the Commander-in-Chief of the Israel Defense Forces (, abbreviated ''Ramatkal''—), is the supreme commander and head of the Israel Defense Forces. The current Chief of the General Staff is Aviv Koch ...

(Chief of General Staff) without an eye, we can have a Battalion Commander with a prosthetic hand''".Amos Yarkoni, Shaked Battalion Commander, Shaked Battalion Homepage
Even by this stage, many Israelis did not know that Amos Yarkoni was not

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...

ish: most simply assumed he was a Jew from an Arab country. A running joke among those who did know was "''Fouad the Jew and Amos the Bedouin''", referring to the two lead officers of counter-insurgency in the

: "Fouad" Ben-Eliezer, an Iraqi-born

with an

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

name, and Amos Yarkoni, a

with a typically

Sabra Sabra may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Sabra (comics), a fictional Israeli female superhero in the Marvel Comics universe * Sabra (magazine), a Japanese magazine for men * ''Sabra Command'' the original title of the film ''Warhead'' * "Sabr ...

i name. During the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states (primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, S ...

(1967), Yarkoni served on the

Sinai Sinai commonly refers to: * Sinai Peninsula, Egypt * Mount Sinai, a mountain in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt * Biblical Mount Sinai, the site in the Bible where Moses received the Law of God Sinai may also refer to: * Sinai, South Dakota, a place ...

front. After years of distinguished service, Yarkoni retired from the IDF in 1969.

Death

Yarkoni died on February 7, 1991, after a prolonged battle with cancer, aged 70. His old friend,

Rehavam Ze'evi Rehavam Ze'evi ( he, רחבעם זאבי ; 20 June 1926 – 17 October 2001) was an Israeli general and politician who founded the right-wing nationalist Moledet party, mainly advocating population transfer. He was assassinated by Hamdi Quran ...

, requested that the IDF bury Yarkoni in a military cemetery, despite the fact that as a retired soldier, he was technically ineligible for a military burial. Both then-

Minister of Defense A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

Moshe Arens Moshe Arens (27 December 1925 – 7 January 2019) was an Israeli aeronautical engineer, researcher, diplomat and Likud politician. A member of the Knesset between 1973 and 1992 and again from 1999 until 2003, he served as Minister of Defense th ...

, and the Head of Manpower for the IDF approved the request. In a mark of respect to Yarkoni, and going against military tradition, Yarkoni's coffin was carried by soldiers of a higher rank than him: six

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

s – his former commanding officers – carried his coffin. Behind the coffin marched the

President of Israel The president of the State of Israel ( he, נְשִׂיא מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, Nesi Medinat Yisra'el, or he, נְשִׂיא הַמְדִינָה, Nesi HaMedina, President of the State) is the head of state of Israel. The posi ...

Chaim Herzog Major-General Chaim Herzog ( he, חיים הרצוג; 17 September 1918 – 17 April 1997) was an Irish-born Israeli politician, general, lawyer and author who served as the sixth President of Israel between 1983 and 1993. Born in Belfast and ...

, political and military leaders, and ordinary Israelis from all walks of life. Also included in the cortège were former members of the Shaked Battalion.

Legacy

Streets in several towns are named for him (including in Beer Sheva and

Burial controversy

Because Yarkoni was not Jewish, there was a problem with burying him in the Military Cemetery at Kiryat Shaul. (According to Orthodox Jewish burial law, Jews must be buried among Jews.) There was an outcry over the unseemliness of the impediment to burying a hero of the stature of Amos Yarkoni in a Military Cemetery. The matter was resolved quickly when

, Yarkoni's lifelong friend and comrade, purchased a grave in the cemetery for himself, allowing Yarkoni to be buried at the end of the row, and therefore ''technically'' not in the Jewish part of the cemetery. The incident over Yarkoni’s burial, and the increasing numbers of non-Jewish soldiers (especially after the influx from the former

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

in the early 1990s) has seen the system of burial for non-Jews in Jewish military cemeteries streamlined.

References

External links

*Katz, Sam, and Ronald Volstad. ''Israeli Elite Units Since 1948''. Oxford: Osprey Publishing Ltd., 1988
Ministry of Defense Izkor website

Ministry of Defense Izkor website, citation

The Shaked Battalion Webpage

Biography of Rehavam Zeevi
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yarkoni, Amos 1920 births 1991 deaths Bedouin Israelis Israeli military personnel Israeli civil servants Recipients of the Medal of Distinguished Service Arab supporters of Israel Israeli Muslims Deaths from cancer in Israel Place of death missing Burials at Kiryat Shaul Cemetery