Asaf Simhoni

Asaf Simhoni was born in 1922 in Nahalal

Asaf Simhoni was born in 1922 in Nahalal. He was the eldest son of Mordecai and Yehudit Simhoni, farmers who came to the country in 1921 and helped found the moshav. His mother later served in the first Knesset for Mapai.

In 1931 the family moved to kibbutz Tel Yosef in the Jezreel Valley. He studied at the shared school of Ein Harod and Tel Yosef. He worked in farming, played sports and played trumpet in the kibbutz band.

He joined the Haganah in 1938 and was among the first Palmach volunteers. He was held by the British for 5 months after Black Sabbath in 1946. In the War of Independence he fought in about 40 battles in the Yiftach Brigade.

He was elected to the Constituent Assembly on the Mapai list but did not serve. In the IDF he commanded the Golani Brigade and was deputy head of Northern Command. In August 1956 he became head of Southern Command and led the main effort in the Sinai War.

He was killed in a plane crash on the night the war ended, on November 6, 1956. He had 3 sons with his wife Delilah, whom he divorced in 1952.