Haim Ben-David ( he, חיים בן-דוד; May 6, 1919 – November 22, 1967) was a major general in 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 ...

, the second Military Secretary to Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, and the head of the

Manpower Directorate The Israeli Personnel Directorate (, ''Agaf Koakh Adam'', abbreviated to AKA), formerly called the Manpower Directorate and the Human Resources Directorate, is the Israel Defense Forces body that holds responsibility for planning and coordination ...

. After his military service, Ben-David was appointed ambassador to Ethiopia where he was killed in a plane accident in line of duty.

Biography

Ben-David was born in Vienna, the capital of Austria in 1919. He studied Hebrew at the local Jewish community which was headed by

Tzvi-Peretz Hayot Zwi Perez Chajes, also Tzvi-Peretz Hayot, (13 October 1876 – 13 December 1927) was a rabbi, historian, biblical scholar and a notable Zionist leader. Biography Zwi Perez Chajes was born in 1876 in Brody, then part of Austria-Hungary, now in U ...

at the time. Soon after, Ben-David joined the Gordonia, a Zionist youth movement and in 1938 he immigrated to Israel. Soon after arriving in Israel, Ben-David joined 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 ...

where he aided Jewish immigrants during the

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 ...

. Ben-David became one of the first fighters in the

Special Night Squads The Special Night Squads (SNS) (Hebrew: ''Plagot Ha'Layla Ha'Meyukhadot'', פלוגות הלילה המיוחדות) was a joint British-Jewish counter-insurgency military unit, established by Captain Orde Wingate in Mandatory Palestine in 1938 ...

watching over the Mosul–Haifa oil pipeline in the Jezreel Valley. He eventually settled in Beit She'an valley where he became the area's first commander of Hish. After the formation of the Carmeli Brigade on February 22, 1948, he became a company commander. During 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 ...

Ben-David fought in the

Battle of Ramat Yohanan A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

. He participated in Operation Dekel and Operation Hiram in the

Western Galilee Galilee (; he, הַגָּלִיל, hagGālīl; ar, الجليل, al-jalīl) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon. Galilee traditionally refers to the mountainous part, divided into Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and Lower Galile ...

in an attempt to free

Yehiam Yehi'am ( he, יְחִיעָם) is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located at the western Upper Galilee, eight miles east of the coastal town of Nahariya and 14 miles south-east of the border with Lebanon it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Ash ...

. In October 1951, he was appointed assistant

Chief of General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) is a post in many armed forces ( militaries), the head of the military staff. List * Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (United States) * Chief of the General Staff (Abkhazia) * Chief of General Staff (Af ...

under the command of

Mordechai Maklef Mordechai (Motke) Maklef (or Makleff) ( he, מרדכי (מותקה) מקלף; 1920–1978) was the third Ramatkal, Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and later, director-general of many important public companies in the Economy ...

. In 1953 he was appointed to organize the Department of Human Resources under the

. In 1955 he was appointed Battalion commander of

Golani Brigade The 1st "Golani" Brigade ( he, חֲטִיבַת גּוֹלָנִי) is an Israeli military infantry brigade that is subordinated to the 36th Division and traditionally associated with the Northern Command. It is one of the five infantry brigade ...

, a position he held for a year. Ben-David became the Military Secretary to the Prime Minister under the command of David Ben-Gurion following the suicide of Nehemiah Argov. He held that position for five years while the Lavon Affair intensified. Following the resignation of David Ben-Gurion in 1963, Ben-David was appointed Head of the

. In April of '64 Ben-David was promoted to Aluf rank.

After his release and plane accident

After his release from the military in 1966, Ben-David was appointed Israel's ambassador in Ethiopia. In November 1967 Ben-David was killed in a plane accident while flying from Addis Ababa to an Israeli farm as part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. He is buried in

Kiryat Shaul Military Cemetery Kiryat Shaul Cemetery ( he, בית העלמין קריית שאול) is a 320- dunam (32 hectares) Jewish burial ground in Northern Tel Aviv near the neighborhood of Kiryat Shaul. On the east side of the cemetery is a large military cemetery. Foun ...

. Ben-David was married and had three sons.

References

1919 births 1967 deaths Israeli generals Haganah members Jewish emigrants from Austria to Mandatory Palestine after the Anschluss Burials at Kiryat Shaul Cemetery {{Israel-mil-bio-stub