Emmanuel Yehuda Moreno (

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 ...

: עמנואל יהודה מורנו) (June 17, 1971 – August 19, 2006), was an Israeli

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

of one of 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 ...

' most elite units, Sayeret Matkal (also known as the General Staff Reconnaissance Unit, or Unit 269), who died in combat at the end of the

Second Lebanon War The 2006 Lebanon War, also called the 2006 Israel–Hezbollah War and known in Lebanon as the July War ( ar, حرب تموز, ''Ḥarb Tammūz'') and in Israel as the Second Lebanon War ( he, מלחמת לבנון השנייה, ''Milhemet Leva ...

Biography

Moreno was born in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, one of five sons born to Ilan and Sylvia Moreno. His parents were

Maghrebi Jewish :''See Mashriqi Jews for more information about Jews in the rest of North Africa and Western Asia.'' Maghrebi Jews ( or , ''Maghrebim'') or North African Jews ( ''Yehudei Tzfon Africa'') are ethnic Jews who had traditionally lived in the Maghre ...

immigrants to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

from

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

: his father was from

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

and his mother was from

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

. When he was one year old, his family immigrated to Israel. Moreno's grandmother, Ninette Moreno, was one of the passengers on

Air France Air France (; formally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. It is a subsidiary of the Air France–KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global air ...

Flight 139, which was hijacked by Palestinian terrorists in 1976 and taken to

Entebbe Entebbe is a city in Central Uganda. Located on a Lake Victoria peninsula, approximately southwest of the Ugandan capital city, Kampala. Entebbe was once the seat of government for the Protectorate of Uganda prior to independence, in 1962. The c ...

, where the passengers were rescued in Operation Entebbe. Moreno and his four brothers grew up in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. He was conscripted into the

in 1990 and accepted into the elite Sayeret Matkal unit. He ultimately became a career soldier, serving in Sayeret Matkal for 16 years up to his death. He participated in numerous operations in Lebanon during the South Lebanon conflict and in the Palestinian territories, most of which remain classified. One of his comrades said that "during his service Emmanuel became the fighter who took part in the greatest number of operations in the unit's history. On more than one occasion, his level-headedness and courage made the difference between failure and yet another success story that shall remain classified. The squad commander once compared him to Bar-Kokhba, because we had not seen a fighter like him since." The only two operations that he is publicly acknowledged to have participated in are the abduction of

Amal Amal may refer to: * Amal (given name) * Åmål, a small town in Sweden * Amal Movement, a Lebanese political party ** Amal Militia, Amal Movement's defunct militia * Amal language of Papua New Guinea * Amal (film), ''Amal'' (film), 2007, directed ...

commander Mustafa Dirani in 1994 and the 2003 rescue of taxi driver Eliyahu Gorel after he had been kidnapped by Palestinians and held in a cellar in Beitunia. ecording of Lt. Colonel Emanuel Moreno released/ref> Moreno took part in the

2006 Lebanon War The 2006 Lebanon War, also called the 2006 Israel–Hezbollah War and known in Lebanon as the July War ( ar, حرب تموز, ''Ḥarb Tammūz'') and in Israel as the Second Lebanon War ( he, מלחמת לבנון השנייה, ''Milhemet Leva ...

and was killed at the war's end, after the ceasefire had already been announced. His unit had been operating in the Bekaa Valley when it was exposed and came under heavy fire, killing him. The publication of Moreno's photograph is banned by the Israeli Military Censor. He is one of only two Israeli soldiers whose photographs have been forbidden for publication after their deaths. In 2018, a recording of Moreno's voice was publicized, taken from the ceremony where Moreno was granted his Lieutenant Colonel rank. On April 27, 2008, the head of the IDF Intelligence Division awarded Emmanuel with the "Head of Regional Command Citation" (Hebrew: צל"ש אלוף) "for his numerous years of dedication to the security of the State of

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 ...

and his participation in several IDF operations throughout the Second Lebanon War." Moreno was married to Maya, whom he met in Neve Dekalim. The couple had three children: Aviya, Neria, and Noam-Yisrael.

References

External links

B’darkei Emmanuel Moreno
a memorial site for Lt. Colonel Emmanuel Moreno * YouTube dedicated channel in memory o
Emmanuel Moreno
* IDF memorial site
Emmanuel Yehuda Moreno
* Arutz Sheva (Israel National News)
“Israeli Hero: Lt.-Col. Moreno, Warrior and Scholar”
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moreno, Emanuel 1971 births 2006 deaths 20th-century French Jews 2006 Lebanon War Burials at Mount Herzl Israeli military personnel killed in action French emigrants to Israel Israeli people of Moroccan-Jewish descent Israeli people of Tunisian-Jewish descent French people of Moroccan-Jewish descent French people of Tunisian-Jewish descent