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In January 1955 Sharet wrote in his diary about the operation in Syria:<blockquote>"It turned out that the entire organization of this operation was flawed by an alarming irresponsibility. Young people were sent... They were not briefed at all in case of failure, and the result was that in the first investigation they collapsed and told the whole truth."
In January 1955 Sharet wrote in his diary about the operation in Syria:<blockquote>"It turned out that the entire organization of this operation was flawed by an alarming irresponsibility. Young people were sent... They were not briefed at all in case of failure, and the result was that in the first investigation they collapsed and told the whole truth."


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''Moshe Sharet, personal diary, volume 3, 1978, p. 649''</blockquote>In the Syrian prison, they were sent to separate cells and [[torture]]d.<ref>{{cite book |title=Navies in Northern Waters, 1721-2000 |publisher=[[Routeledge]] |year=2004 |page=130}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=8 January 2012 |title=This Week in History: 'I didn't betray my country' |url=http://www.jpost.com/Features/In-Thespotlight/This-Week-in-History-I-didnt-betray-my-country |website=The Jerusalem Post}}</ref>
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''Moshe Sharet, personal diary, volume 3, 1978, p. 649''</blockquote>According to [[Dan Margalit (journalist)|Dan Margalit]], international organizations suggested to Fayge Ilanit, Uri's mother, to work for his release, due to the mother being a Mapam member. She agreed, provided that the release would be "not alone. Uri will be released with everyone".


⚫
According to [[Dan Margalit (journalist)|Dan Margalit]], international organizations suggested to Fayge Ilanit, Uri's mother, to work for his release, due to the mother being a Mapam member. She agreed, provided that the release would be "not alone. Uri will be released with everyone".
⚫
In the Syrian prison, they were sent to separate cells and [[torture]]d.<ref>{{cite book |title=Navies in Northern Waters, 1721-2000 |publisher=[[Routeledge]] |year=2004 |page=130}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=8 January 2012 |title=This Week in History: 'I didn't betray my country' |url=http://www.jpost.com/Features/In-Thespotlight/This-Week-in-History-I-didnt-betray-my-country |website=The Jerusalem Post}}</ref>


Opinions differ as to Ilan's last days. According to the accepted version, while in captivity, under extreme physical and psychological pressure, Uri was told that his friends had been murdered<ref name="dover.idf.il" /> by the Syrians and if he did not reveal the secret they would kill him as well. As a result, Uri feared that under the pressure of torture, he would reveal the secrets of the operation to the Syrians, thus harming the security of the country. As a result, Uri hanged himself on 13 January 1955 in his prison cell, using a rope made from the fabric of the mattress cover.
Opinions differ as to Ilan's last days. According to the accepted version, while in captivity, under extreme physical and psychological pressure, Uri was told that his friends had been murdered<ref name="dover.idf.il" /> by the Syrians and if he did not reveal the secret they would kill him as well. As a result, Uri feared that under the pressure of torture, he would reveal the secrets of the operation to the Syrians, thus harming the security of the country. As a result, Uri hanged himself on 13 January 1955 in his prison cell, using a rope made from the fabric of the mattress cover.

Revision as of 08:13, 9 December 2023

Uri Ilan

Uri Ilan (Template:Lang-he, 17 February 1935 – 13 January 1955) was an Israeli soldier taken hostage by the Syrians during the Zarzar operation on the Golan Heights[1] and committed suicide in Syrian captivity, after being captured in a covert operation. He became a symbol of courage and patriotism in Israel[2][3].

In a note he left in his shoes which was discovered upon examination of his body, He wrote "I did not betray, I committed suicide", so as not to reveal a military secret. Chief of Staff Moshe Dayan quoted from the note the first words "I did not betray", which became a symbol of personal sacrifice for the sake of the country's security.

Biography

Early life

Mourners, including Israeli Military Chief Rabbi Shlomo Goren, far left, saluting, at the grave of Ilan (1955)

Uri Ilan was born in 1935 in kibbutz Gan Shmuel. His mother was Fayge Ilanit, a member of the First Knesset[4], and a member of the Mapam faction. Uri was the great-grandson of the famed Talmudic scholar Rabbi Shimon Shkop.

Capture and Suicide

In July 1953, Ilan enlisted in the Golani Brigade. On December 8, 1954, he was sent to an operation (the Zarzar operation) aiming to return a wiretapping device to a telephone line in Syrian territory, near Tel Faher, not far from Kibbutz Dan.

Ilan, together with Lieutenant Meir Mozes, commander of the Golani patrol, joined the squad, which included three paratroopers - Sergeant Meir Jacobi (squad commander), Corporal Yaakov (Jackie) Lind and T.S. Gad Castelnitz. The operation got complicated and the five were discovered and captured. The captives were taken אם Quneitra, and from there they were transferred to Mezzeh prison in Damascus[5], where each of them was held separately.

After the squad was captured, the Minister of Defense Pinchas Lavon authorized Chief of Staff Moshe Dayan to hijack a military plane if it crossed the border or approached it, for bargaining purposes. Dayan ordered the Air Force, contrary to Lavon's opinion, to hijack a civilian plane.

On December 12, the Air Force planes forced A Syrian civilian plane, which was on its way to Egypt and entered Israeli airspace, to land at Ben-Gurion Airport under false pretenses. On the plane there were ten passengers and crew members. Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs Moshe Sharet rejected the proposal to use the passengers as bargaining chips for the exchange of captives. Sharet explained his decision by saying: "we are not pirates, we act like human beings"[6]. Fayge Ilanit, Uri's mother, respected Sharett's decision and did not go against it.

In January 1955 Sharet wrote in his diary about the operation in Syria:

"It turned out that the entire organization of this operation was flawed by an alarming irresponsibility. Young people were sent... They were not briefed at all in case of failure, and the result was that in the first investigation they collapsed and told the whole truth." Moshe Sharet, personal diary, volume 3, 1978, p. 649

In the Syrian prison, they were sent to separate cells and tortured.[7][8]

According to Dan Margalit, international organizations suggested to Fayge Ilanit, Uri's mother, to work for his release, due to the mother being a Mapam member. She agreed, provided that the release would be "not alone. Uri will be released with everyone".

Opinions differ as to Ilan's last days. According to the accepted version, while in captivity, under extreme physical and psychological pressure, Uri was told that his friends had been murdered[5] by the Syrians and if he did not reveal the secret they would kill him as well. As a result, Uri feared that under the pressure of torture, he would reveal the secrets of the operation to the Syrians, thus harming the security of the country. As a result, Uri hanged himself on 13 January 1955 in his prison cell, using a rope made from the fabric of the mattress cover.

When Uri's body was examined, a note was found tied to his leg: "They've already killed everyone, I'm waiting for the verdict, I don't know anything about the rest, bury me next to Gabi, they're going to kill me, revenge". Nine additional notes were found in his clothes, written by punching holes in the form of letters on the paper (the paper was taken from the book "Revenge of the Fathers" by Yitzhak Shemi). The most famous is a scrap of paper on which he wrote the Hebrew words "לא בגדתי. התאבדתי" ("Lo bagadeti, hitabadeti") which means: "I did not betray. I committed suicide," that is to say, he chose to end his own life so as not to reveal military secrets under torture[5].

He was buried on 14 January 1955 in Kibbutz Gan Shmuel.

In the remarks made by the Chief of Staff, Moshe Dayan, at Ilan's funeral, he chose not to read the end of the note, and thus the message "I did not betray" remained in the public's mind.

Return to Israel

On 29 March 1956 the four Israeli soldiers who were captured along with Uri Ilan were returned to Israel in exchange for 40 Syrian soldiers.[9]

Ilan's suicide and the notes he left behind set off a great outpouring of grief in Israel, but also a sense of national pride.

References

  1. ^ "Syria returns the body of a soldier captured in Damascus". Israel Defense Forces. Archived from the original on December 21, 2011.
  2. ^ Moses Rum; Zev H. Ehrlich (12 January 2005). אורי אילן - מסר נוסף בפתקים [Uri Ilan - More message notes]. Haaretz (in Hebrew). Retrieved 19 August 2014.
  3. ^ Jonathan Frankel, ed. (1994). Reshaping the Past: Jewish History and the Historians. Studies in Contemporary Jewry. Vol. X. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-509355-0.
  4. ^ Avi Shlaim (2001). The Iron Wall: Israel and the Arab World. W. W. Norton. ISBN 0-393-04816-0. Uri Ilan.
  5. ^ a b c "Syria returns the body of a soldier captured in Damascus". IDF. Archived from the original on December 21, 2011.
  6. ^ "Uri Ilan and the Zarzar operation covered by Israel Defense". January 17, 2022.
  7. ^ Navies in Northern Waters, 1721-2000. Routeledge. 2004. p. 130.
  8. ^ "This Week in History: 'I didn't betray my country'". The Jerusalem Post. 8 January 2012.
  9. ^ "Timeline: Israeli prisoner exchanges". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 2011-09-29.
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