Danny Matt

Danny Matt was born in 1927 in Cologne

Daniel Matt was born in Cologne, Germany, in 1927 to an Orthodox family. He came to Mandatory Palestine with his family in 1934. They settled in Kfar HaRoe, a religious moshav in the Hefer Valley, where he helped his father on the farm.

In 1943 he joined the Mandatory Coastal Police, which served as cover for work with the Palyam. He later joined the Jewish Brigade of the British Army after his father signed a false statement about his age, and served in Egypt, Italy and the Netherlands. In 1946 he left the British Army and joined the Palmach.

He fought at Gush Etzion in 1948 and was taken prisoner by the Arab Legion. He later commanded paratroop forces in the Sinai Campaign, the Six-Day War, the Karameh operation and the Yom Kippur War. In 1973 his brigade crossed the Suez Canal and set up a bridgehead on its western bank.

He headed the Military Court of Appeals from 1974 and served as Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories from 1979 to 1982. From 1982 to 1992 he was the Soldiers' Ombudsman. After retiring he chaired the LIBI Fund, and he died in 2013.