Yohai Ben-Nun ( he, יוחאי בן-נון; December 17, 1924 – June 6, 1994) was the sixth 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 ...

and one of the founders of the Israeli Special Forces.

Hero of Israel A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ''actor''), ''hero ...

Biography

Yohai Ben-Nun born on December 17, 1924, in Haifa to a Russian expatriate and a Palestinian Jew. His parents were members of the

First Aliyah The First Aliyah (Hebrew: העלייה הראשונה, ''HaAliyah HaRishona''), also known as the agriculture Aliyah, was a major wave of Jewish immigration ('' aliyah'') to Ottoman Syria between 1881 and 1903. Jews who migrated in this wave ca ...

. He spent his childhood in Jerusalem. At the age of 16 he entered Agana. Ben-Nun joined 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 ...

in 1941 and spent three years training and eventually rising to the rank of a squad leader. In 1944, he joined the Pal-Yam, the sea corps of the

. He participated in a covert operation in 1945, on which two British boats were sunk. At the outbreak of the

1948 Arab–Israeli War The 1948 (or First) Arab–Israeli War was the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. It formally began following the end of the British Mandate for Palestine at midnight on 14 May 1948; the Israeli Declaration of Independence had ...

, he founded

Shayetet 13 Shayetet 13 ( he, שייטת 13, lit. ''Flotilla 13'') is a unit of the Israeli Navy and one of the primary sayeret ''(reconnaissance)'' units of the Israel Defense Forces. Shayetet 13 specializes in sea-to-land incursions, counter-terrorism, s ...

, the Israeli naval commando unit. He commanded a force which sank the

Egyptian Navy The Egyptian Navy ( ar, القوات البحرية المصرية, El-Quwwāt el-Bahareya el-Miṣriyya, Egyptian Navy Forces), also known as the Egyptian Naval Force, is the maritime branch of the Egyptian Armed Forces. It is the largest navy ...

flagship, the '' Emir Farouk'', in the

Israeli naval campaign in Operation Yoav The Israeli naval campaign in Operation Yoav refers to the operations of the Israeli naval service (later Israel Navy) during Operation Yoav (October 15–22, 1948) in the final stage of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. The main objective of the naval ...

, for which he was awarded the

decoration. When it was replaced by the

Medal of Valor This list of medals for bravery is an index to articles about notable medals awarded for bravery or valor. These medals, usually associated with military forces, police forces, or other public safety entities, are given to personnel who have serv ...

, he was automatically awarded the newer medal. Ben-Nun volunteered for an extremely risky mission. He was to ride an explosive boat (similar to an Italian MTM one) and aim it at the Egyptian sloop. Because the Egyptians would spot the boat and maneuver to avoid it, it had been decided that it would be guided by a volunteer sitting astride it. The volunteer would jump off at the very last moment—just 50–100 meters from the target. Even if Egyptian searchlights spotted the e-boat, it would be too late. Yohai and the boat were maneuvered as close as possible by rowboat before the e-boat was launched with Ben-Nun astride. His comrades began to row away after the explosion, but then they heard a voice and Ben-Nun appeared. Once on board the rowboat, he explained that the Egyptian searchlights had turned dark just as he got near enough to aim his boat and leap off. Ben-Nun continued to serve in the Israeli Navy after the war. In the

Sinai War The Suez Crisis, or the Second Arab–Israeli war, also called the Tripartite Aggression ( ar, العدوان الثلاثي, Al-ʿUdwān aṯ-Ṯulāṯiyy) in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel,Also known as the Suez War or 1956 Wa ...

, he served as the commander of the INS ''Yafo'', taking part in the capture of an Egyptian destroyer. After the war, he returned to command Shayetet 13. Ben-Nun was appointed the commander of the Israeli Navy in 1960, a position he used to create a larger fleet with a better attack capability. Although he retired in 1966, 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 ...

Ben-Nun volunteered for service and fought in the naval operations and on the

Golan Heights The Golan Heights ( ar, هَضْبَةُ الْجَوْلَانِ, Haḍbatu l-Jawlān or ; he, רמת הגולן, ), or simply the Golan, is a region in the Levant spanning about . The region defined as the Golan Heights differs between di ...

. As a civilian, Ben-Nun founded a semi-governmental company, חקר ימים ואגמים בע״מ (Israel's Oceanographic and Limnological Research Ltd), for scientific research related to oceanographic and freshwater subjects. He was Director General from 1968 to 1982. After the

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 Egy ...

, he joined the protesters who called for the resignation of the government. Ben-Nun died on June 6, 1994, in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, and was buried in kibbutz

Ma'agan Michael Ma'agan Michael ( he, מַעֲגַן מִיכָאֵל, ''lit.'' Michael's Anchorage) is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located on the Mediterranean Sea coast between Haifa and Hadera, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hof HaCarmel Regional Counci ...

. A marine research foundation, The Admiral Yohai Ben-Nun Foundation for Marine and Freshwater Research, was established in his name.

References

* ''Caught Up in the Times'' written by Yohai Ben-Nun, Jerusalem 2003, , 190 pages

External links

Leaders of Pal-Yam
Palyam

Jewish Agency for Israel {{DEFAULTSORT:Ben-Nun, Yohai Palmach members Israeli Navy generals Recipients of the Medal of Valor (Israel) 1924 births 1994 deaths 20th-century Israeli Jews People from Haifa