Mordecai Maklef
Mordechai Maklef ( Hebrew מרדכי מקלף; Nickname Motke ; * 1920 in Motza , League of Nations mandate for Palestine ; † February 22, 1978 ) was the third chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces and later director general of many major Israeli companies.
Life
Maklef was born in the village of Motza in 1920 during the British Mandate over Palestine . His parents were among the founders of the village, which is in the Motza area on the road to Jerusalem . During the Hebron massacre in 1929 , the village was attacked by the Arab neighbors of the village of Kolonia, who killed Maklef's entire family. He was able to save himself by jumping from the second floor. A shepherd employed by the family and a policeman who was the only one in the area with a gun were also murdered. The incident rocked the Jewish settlers in Palestine and was among the events of the uprising that were often remembered. After his family was murdered, Mordechai Maklef was raised by relatives in Jerusalem and Haifa .
As a teenager, Maklef was active in the Hagana and was a member of Orde Wingate's Special Night Squads . When the Second World War broke out , he joined the British Army, where he fought in North Africa and Italy. After his discharge from the army with the rank of major , he stayed in Europe, campaigned for illegal immigration to Palestine and procured weapons for the Jewish state that was being established. He later returned to Palestine and became a member of the Hagana again.
During the War of Independence Maklef fought as an operations officer and later as a brigade commander in the Carmeli Brigade near Haifa and Acco . He also took part in Operation Hiram , in which Jewish units conquered all of Galilee for Israel. After the war, he led the Israeli delegation in talks with Lebanon and Syria . In November 1949 he was appointed deputy chief of staff under Jigael Jadin and chief operations officer of the Israel Defense Forces. After Jadin's resignation, Maklef was appointed chief of staff at the age of only 32. He only accepted the post for a year.
During this time, Israel became the target of more and more attacks by Palestinian fedajins from the West Bank and Gaza Strip , who attacked settlements near the border. Maklef then appointed Major Ariel Sharon to head Unit 101 , which was supposed to fight the Fedayeen. This unit was united with the paratroopers in 1953.
On December 7th, after serving exactly a year at his post, Maklef resigned. He then began to work in key positions in the Israeli public sector. From 1955 to 1968 he was General Director of Dead Sea Works , which developed the phosphate industry around the Dead Sea . He was also General Manager of the Citrus Fruits Marketing Council and Israel Chemicals.
Maklef died in 1978 of a heart attack in Germany.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Mordecai Naor: Eretz Israel , Könemann, Cologne, 1998, ISBN 3-89508-594-4 , page 467
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Jigael Jadin |
Chief of Staff of Tzahal 1952–1953 |
Moshe Dayan |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Maklef, Mordecai |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Israeli Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces and Manager |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1920 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Motza , Palestine |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 22, 1978 |