Haim Liebel (21 December 1922 – 21 January 2022) was an Israeli naval engineer.

Life and career

Shahal was born in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

, the son of Shlomo Liebel. In his education, he was trained as an

electrical engineer Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

. In 1946, Shahal served in the

Palmach The Palmach (Hebrew: , acronym for , ''Plugot Maḥatz'', "Strike Companies") was the elite fighting force of the Haganah, the underground army of the Yishuv (Jewish community) during the period of the British Mandate for Palestine. The Palmach ...

elite fighting force, in which he commanded and planned on 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 ...

venture Night of the Bridges. He served in the

Israeli Defense Forces Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni Israeli ...

, discharged in 1970 in the rank of

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 ...

. Shahal was initially drafted to work with the naval squadrons in

Jaffa Jaffa, in Hebrew Yafo ( he, יָפוֹ, ) and in Arabic Yafa ( ar, يَافَا) and also called Japho or Joppa, the southern and oldest part of Tel Aviv-Yafo, is an ancient port city in Israel. Jaffa is known for its association with the b ...

. He later served as an

engineering officer An engineering officer can be a Merchant Navy engineer or a commissioned officer with responsibility for military engineering, typically used in the British Armed Forces. In the Royal Navy, Engineering Officers are responsible for the materi ...

in 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 ...

. In his final capacity, from 1968, Shahal headed the development unit of the Israeli Navy. In 1970, Shahal became chief engineer for the

Israel Shipyards Israel Shipyards is one of the largest shipbuilding and repair facilities in the eastern Mediterranean. The company also operates the first and only privately owned port in Israel. The company’s facilities are located at the Kishon Port (part ...

. He was awarded the

Israel Defense Prize The Israel Defense Prize (Hebrew: פרס בטחון ישראל), also known as the Israel Defense Award is an award presented annually by the President of Israel to people and organizations who made significant contributions to the defense of the ...

, by 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 ...

in 1973. Shahal was also honored for an award, alongside Royal Danish Air Force

commissioned officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

Viggo Dan Nielsen. With his contributions, he created missile ships. Shahal died on 21 January 2022, at the age of 99.

References

1922 births 2022 deaths 20th-century Israeli engineers People from Tel Aviv Israeli engineers Israel Defense Prize recipients Israeli officers Israeli Navy personnel {{Israel-engineer-stub