Uzi Narkiss
Uzi Narkiss (Jerusalem, 1925 - Jerusalem, 1997), Israeli soldier and general, served as commander of the Israel Defense Forces units in the Central Region during the Six Day War.
He is famous for appearing in a photograph with Chief of Staff Yitzhak Rabin and Defense Minister Moshe Dayan, taken in the Old City of Jerusalem shortly after its capture from Jordanian forces in the 1967 Six Day War.
Early Life and Career
Born in Jerusalem to Polish immigrant parents, Narkiss' first memory was of going into hiding in the city during the 1929 Arab Riots.
Narkiss was educated at the Rehavia Gymnasium and began his military when he joined the Palmach at the age of 16. Subsequently heavily involved in Haganah operations against British Mandatory forces in Palestine, Narkiss was determined to help realise the idea of a Jewish state. In April 1948, Narkiss headed the assault on Katamon, liberating the monastery at San Simon - a key strategic position. Following the final departure of the British and the Israeli Declaration of Independence, Narkiss was appointed to assist those besieged in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City. Narkiss' unit succeeded in penetrating Zion Gate, bringing in supplies and evacuating the wounded from those under siege. When military reinforcements failed to appear, however, Narkiss ordered his men to retreat, with the Old City falling to Jordanian forces shortly thereafter.
Mature Career
Narkiss spent several years in France during the formative years of Israel, seconded to study at the École de Guerre (the French Military Academy) and later in the capacity of Israeli military attaché, having been awarded the Légion d’honneur by the French government. Narkiss returned to Israel to continue his military career and in 1965 became the first director of the Israel National Defense College.
Six Day War
In June 1967, now with seven brigades under his command, Narkiss was responsible for combating any possible Jordanian offensive as part of the Six Day War. Capturing the Old City was not part of the plan. Israeli units moved effectively to take key positions in east Jerusalem.where one key location was ammunition hill. Still, to Narkiss's dismay, the polititians would still not allow the old city to be taken. But with a looming cease fire approaching after an emergency meeting of the UN, Moshe Dayan gave the order to Narkiss who quickly capitalised on the opportunity to reunite the city before any cease fire prevented this as an option. Under his direction, the Old City was taken over and Jerusalem reunified under Israeli control. From Narkiss viewpoint, this liberation completed the campaign he had begun nineteen years earlier , and whose previous failure had haunted him. This was not about defence: this was personal.
Later Career
Narkiss retired from the IDF in 1968, subsequently holding key positions in the Jewish Agency and the World Zionist Organization, before dying in Jerusalem at the age of 72.
External links
- A Defender of Jerusalem, Jerusalem Post supplement by Greer Fay Cashman (partial interview with Narkiss).