Tag Archives: Commando

Jew of the Week: Muki Betser

Israel’s Legendary Commando

Moshe “Muki” Betser (b. 1945) was born in the moshav of Nahalal in the north of Israel, the grandson of the founders of Degania Alef, Israel’s first kibbutz. He fought valiantly as a young soldier in the Six-Day War, and remained in the military thereafter. Soon, he became a commando in Israel’s elite Sayeret Matkal special forces unit. In 1971, after repeated terrorist attacks coming from Lebanon, Betser and his unit launched a cross-border raid into the town of El-Khyam, killing at least 10 terrorists and blowing up two terrorist bases. Despite the loss of fellow commando Lt. Dov Adar, all of the mission’s objectives were achieved. During the Yom Kippur War, Betser defended the Golan Heights. He then co-founded another special forces unit, Shaldag (now a division of the Israeli Air Force). That same year, Betser led another raid into Lebanon. In a daring night-time mission, his unit quietly entered Beirut from the sea, and eliminated three unsuspecting PLO terror leaders to retaliate for the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre. The following year, on the anniversary of Israel’s declaration of independence, three Palestinians terrorists took 115 Israeli hostages at a school in the town of Ma’alot. Betser led one of the teams in the rescue mission which, unfortunately, did not go as planned. While the three terrorists were ultimately killed, they managed to tragically take the lives of 22 students and 3 teachers first. For Betser, this experience was especially traumatic, but taught him important lessons that he implemented while commanding Operation Thunderbolt—the famous rescue of hostages in Entebbe, Uganda—two years later. Betser planned most of the mission, and was credited with ensuring its success. In fact, he was so instrumental because, several years prior, he had actually gone to Uganda to train their military! Betser continued to serve in the military until his retirement in 1986, with the rank of colonel. Since then, he has worked as a city planner and real estate developer, and co-founded the Galilean towns of Neve Ziv and Tamar (where he still lives). In 2005, he also co-founded a pre-military training school, where he continues to play a key leadership role. Betser has been called “one of Israel’s most legendary commandos”.

Happy 75th Birthday to Israel!

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Words of the Week

I had faith in Israel before it was established, I have in it now. I believe it has a glorious future before it – not just another sovereign nation, but as an embodiment of the great ideals of our civilization.
– President Harry Truman

Jew of the Week: Meir Har-Zion

Israel’s Real-Life Rambo

Meir Har-Zion (1934-2014) was born in the new town of Herzliya in 1934. His mother’s side hailed from Sephardic-Turkish heritage, while his father’s side came from Romania and Russia. He spent his early years on a number of different kibbutzim and moshavim. He loved hiking and exploring the Holy Land, together with his younger sister, and the two youths were once arrested by Syrian authorities when they wandered a little too far. It happened again in 1951, and it took negotiations mediated by the UN to secure their release. Two years later, Har-Zion was a co-founder of Unit 101, Israel’s first special forces commando team. While sometimes brutal, the operations of Unit 101 were essential in securing Israel’s borders and maintaining its defenses in the early years. They also made it clear that the new IDF is a force to be reckoned with, and that Israel would respond forcefully if provoked. In 1954, Har-Zion joined the 890th Paratroopers, led by Ariel Sharon. The following year, Har-Zion’s beloved sister and her boyfriend were abducted by Bedouin Arabs, tortured, and murdered. Despite being ordered to restrain himself, Har-Zion vowed revenge. He took three fellow soldiers and infiltrated the Bedouin town, capturing six men, killing five of them, and sending the sixth back to relay what happened. Har-Zion was heavily condemned for his actions, and temporarily imprisoned. Still, David Ben-Gurion described the act as “the kind of ritual revenge the Bedouins understood perfectly.” In one 1956 paratrooper mission, Har-Zion was nearly killed by being shot in the throat and arm. He survived, though forced to retire due to his injuries. He was awarded the Medal of Courage. During the Six-Day War, Har-Zion was called up again and, despite having just one arm, participated in the liberation of Jerusalem. He played a key role, hunting down a Jordanian sniper that was holding up the Israeli advance, and killing him with a grenade. In the Yom Kippur War, Har-Zion volunteered again to battle for the country’s survival, and fought deep in Syrian territory, even managing to save the lives of several soldiers. Har-Zion lived out the rest of his life on a farm that he named after his sister. He married, had four children, and wrote memoirs and political commentary. Moshe Dayan described Har-Zion as “the best soldier ever to emerge in the IDF”.

Words of the Week

It is manifestly right that the Jews should have a National Home where some of them may be reunited. And where else could that be but in this land of Palestine, with which for more than 3,000 years they have been intimately and profoundly associated?
– Winston Churchill

Jew of the Week: Yitzhak Sadeh

Israel’s First Commando

Yitzhak Sadeh

Izaak Landoberg (1890-1952) was born to a religious Jewish-Polish family in Lublin, then part of the Russian Empire. He was a student of Rabbi Hillel Zeitlin in his youth, but drifted towards secularism as a young adult. An avid athlete, Landoberg particularly enjoyed wrestling, and was once crowned St. Petersburg’s wrestling champion. When World War I broke out he joined the Russian Army and fought valiantly, receiving a medal. During this time, he met Joseph Trumpeldor and became a Zionist. He helped Trumpeldor establish the HeHalutz movement, which trained young Jews in agricultural work to settle the Holy Land. In 1920, he made aliyah and changed his last name to Sadeh, “field”. He joined the Haganah, and co-founded Gdud HaAvoda, the Labor and Defense Battalion, along with 80 others who worked tirelessly to drain swamps, pave roads, plant farms, defend Jewish settlements, and build kibbutzim. Sadeh defended the Jewish residents of Haifa and surrounding towns during an Arab uprising in 1929, and again during the Arab riots between 1936-1939 as the commander of the Jewish Settlement Police. It was during this time that he created two new fighting units. The first was Nodedet, a troop unit that started going on the offensive instead of always being on the defence from Arab violence. The second was Plugot Sadeh, “Field Companies”, the Haganah’s commandos, the first Jewish elite strike force. This evolved into the Palmach in 1941, which Sadeh commanded until 1945. At that point, he was made Chief of Staff of the Haganah, and set the foundations for the future IDF, crafting its first protocols, structures, and training procedures. Sadeh played an instrumental role during the War of Independence, commanding several brigades and creating Israel’s first armoured (tank) brigade, too. Sadeh retired at the war’s end with the rank of major general, and went on to have a successful literary career, publishing a variety of books, essays, and plays. Today there is a Yitzhak Sadeh Prize for Military Literature given in his honour, as well as several kibbutzim and many streets named after him in Israel. There is also a “Yitzhak Sadeh Wandering Song Club” with hundreds of members (mostly soldiers) that gather over bonfires, food, Israeli folk songs, and Sadeh’s wise words, seeing in Sadeh their spiritual mentor. Sadeh is recognized as one of the “fathers of the IDF”. This friday is his yahrzeit.

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Words of the Week

If I am to understand that you are inquiring whether I am of Jewish origin, I can only reply that I regret that I appear to have no ancestors of that gifted people.
– J.R.R. Tolkien