Mike Flanagan (soldier)
Mike Flanagan ( Hebrew מייק פלנגן; May 15, 1926 in Foxford , Ireland - January 26, 2014 ) was an Irish soldier who helped form the Israel Defense Forces .
Life
Flanagan was born in Foxford, Ireland in 1926. He served in the British Army during World War II and participated in the liberation of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp run by the Nazis .
After the war, Flanagan was stationed in the British Mandate of Palestine . Because he sympathized with the emerging (Jewish) nation of Israel , Flanagan and his tank commander Harry McDonald stole two British Cromwell tanks on June 29, 1948 , which they were taking to the Israeli forces in Tel Aviv . These became central to the Israeli armored force. Flanagan is considered one of the most famous deserters of the British Army in Palestine.
Flanagan later converted to Judaism, took the Hebrew name Michail Peleg (מיכאל פלג) and married Ruth Levy, whom he had met on active duty. They lived in Kibbutz Sha'ar Ha'amakim in Israel.
After retiring from the Hagana and the death of his wife, he emigrated to Canada .
Awards
He was posthumously awarded the Wiesenthal Center's Medal of Bravery in the United States.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c British deserter who stole tanks for Haganah this , The Times of Israel, February 2, 2014
- ↑ Mark Celinscak: Distance from the Belsen Heap: Allied Forces and the Liberation of a Nazi concentration camp . University of Toronto Press, Toronto / Buffalo / London 2015, p. 115
- ↑ Tina Daunt: Wiesenthal Center, Hollywood Power Elite Honor Netflix's Ted Sarandos , The Hollywood Reporter. March 19, 2014
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Flanagan, Mike |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Peleg, Mikhail |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Irish soldier |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 15, 1926 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Foxford , Ireland |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 26, 2014 |