Benjamin Telem ( he, בנימין תלם) (1928 – 16 June 2008) was the 9th Commander of the

Israeli Navy The Israeli Navy ( he, חיל הים הישראלי, ''Ḥeil HaYam HaYisraeli'' (English: The Israeli Sea Corps); ar, البحرية الإسرائيلية) is the naval warfare service arm of the Israel Defense Forces, operating primarily in ...

(1972–1976).

Early life and education

Born Benjamin Blumenthal in Dessau,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, in 1928, Telem

immigrated Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

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 ...

, during the Mandate era, as a child in 1933. He attended the Haifa Naval School, joining the

Palyam Palyam ( he, פלי"ם, an abbreviation of ''Plugat HaYam'' (), lit. ''Sea Company'') was the sea force of the Palmach. History Palyam was set up in April 1945 as the Palmach's tenth company (Pluga Yud) which originated from the Palmach's Naval ...

shortly after graduation. Later on in his career Telem would complete officer courses in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Career in the Navy

In 1956, during the Suez Crisis, Telem served as head of branch operations of the Navy, and shortly after the war, in 1957, was appointed commander of the destroyer ''Yaffo'', a position he held for two years. Telem also took part in 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 states (primarily Egypt, Syria, and Jordan) from 5 to 10 Ju ...

, the

Cherbourg Project The Cherbourg Project (or Boats of Cherbourg) was an Israeli military operation that took place on 24 December 1969 and involved the escape of five remaining armed Sa'ar 3 class boats from the French port of Cherbourg (Cherbourg-Octeville sin ...

, and the

War of Attrition The War of Attrition ( ar, حرب الاستنزاف, Ḥarb al-Istinzāf; he, מלחמת ההתשה, Milhemet haHatashah) involved fighting between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and their allies from ...

as a Navy officer. In 1972 he was promoted in rank to

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

and elevated to Commander of the Navy.

Yom Kippur War

Telem's skill as Commander was quickly tested by the 1973

Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by E ...

. Contrary to the opinion of others in the IDF intelligence, Telem insisted on preparing for the war, the outbreak of which came as a surprise to most in the Israeli establishment. Although the war as a whole did not result in outright victory for either side, the Israeli Navy did not lose a single ship (while sinking multiple enemy ships) and only suffered three casualties.

After the Navy

Telem retired from the Navy in 1976. Then-

Defense Minister 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 s ...

Shimon Peres appointed Telem special assistant to the ambassador to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

, where he conducted several weapons deals. In 1979, he left government service, and served as CEO of Israel Military Industries from 1980 until his retirement in 1991. Telem died on 16 June 2008. An autobiography, "תלם בים" (''A Trail ("Telem") at Sea''), was published posthumously.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Telem, Benjamin 1928 births 2008 deaths People from Dessau-Roßlau Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to Mandatory Palestine German emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Israeli people of the Yom Kippur War Israeli Navy generals Burials at Kiryat Shaul Cemetery