Yoash "Matti" Tzidon ( he, יואש צידון, 28 November 1926 – 8 July 2015) was an Israeli former Air Force commander and politician.

Biography

Born Yoash Chatto in Focşani,

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

in 1926, Tzidon made

aliyah Aliyah (, ; he, עֲלִיָּה ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel, which is in the modern era chiefly represented by the Israel, State of Israel ...

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 ...

in 1941. He attended the Hebrew Navy school at the Technion, and later at the Aerial Warfare School in

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 ...

. Between 1944 and 1948 he was a member of 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 ...

, and was involved in illegal Jewish immigration from Egypt and Cyprus between 1945 and 1947. In addition to assisting illegal Jewish immigrants in their attempts to run the British blockade of Palestine, Tzidon took part in sabotage operations against British ships in Cyprus. During the

1948 Arab-Israeli War Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

he was a commander involved in convoys to

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

. He later served as a combat pilot in the

Israeli Air Force The Israeli Air Force (IAF; he, זְרוֹעַ הָאֲוִיר וְהֶחָלָל, Zroa HaAvir VeHahalal, tl, "Air and Space Arm", commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial warfare branch of the Israel Defense ...

, before becoming a test pilot, flight trainer, squadron commander and a deputy Air Force base commander. He later became head of the Weapons Systems and Planning in the Air Force, before being demobilised in 1966.Yoash Tsiddon (Chatto): Particulars
Knesset website He joined the

Movement for Greater Israel The Movement for Greater Israel ( he, התנועה למען ארץ ישראל השלמה, ''HaTenu'a Lema'an Eretz Yisrael HaSheleima'', officially called themselves in English ''Land of Israel Movement'') was a political organisation in Israel du ...

, and later the

Tzomet Tzomet ( he, צוֹמֶת, lit., ''Crossroads'') is a small, right-wing political party in Israel. History The party was founded by General Rafael Eitan in 1983, after his retirement from the position of chief-of-staff in 1982. He headed it throug ...

party. He was elected to the Knesset in

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

on the Tzomet list, and was one of the instigators of the law that led to direct elections for the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

. He lost his seat in the 1992 elections.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tzidon, Yoash 1926 births People from Focșani Romanian Jews Romanian emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Israeli people of Romanian-Jewish descent Aliyah Bet activists Palmach members Israeli Air Force personnel Israeli Jews Tzomet politicians Movement for Greater Israel politicians Members of the 12th Knesset (1988–1992) 2015 deaths

Biography

See also

References

External links