Hanoch Ben Eliyahu

Hanoch Ben Eliyahu was born in 1937 in Ness Ziona

Hanoch Ben Eliyahu was born in Ness Ziona in 1937 to Yaakov and Hana Ben Eliyahu, who had immigrated from Poland in 1925. His parents were among the founders of moshav Beit Yosef in the Jordan Valley. During the War of Independence the women and children were evacuated, and the family later lived in Haifa for a time.

He studied in Beit Yosef, Tel Aviv and Afula. In 1952 he joined the nautical school in its marine engineering track, which later became the naval officers school in Acre. In 1963 he began mechanical engineering studies at the Technion and finished them in 1968.

He enlisted in 1956 and qualified as a navy engineering officer in 1957. He served on INS Noga, instructed naval cadets, worked on the missile boat flotilla and held staff posts. During the Yom Kippur War he commanded the technical unit of the Red Sea arena.

He later commanded the navy shipyard and became head of the equipment division as a brigadier general. After his discharge he managed Haifa Port, served as technical deputy director at Israel Railways, and runs a private port consulting firm.