Israel Ben Amitai

Israel Ben Amitai was born in 1922 in Petah Tikva

Israel Ben Amitai, originally Handin, was born on November 22, 1922, in Petah Tikva. In 1942 he joined the Irgun, following his brother Mordechai Tzipori, and held command roles in central Israel. In 1944 the Mandate authorities exiled him to Sudan, Kenya and Eritrea, where he helped plan escapes and took part in a 1946 tunnel escape before being caught.

He joined the IDF in 1948 and fought in the War of Independence as a platoon commander near Jerusalem and in Operation Horev. He later commanded heavy mortar battalions, including Battalion 334 of the Golani Brigade from 1952. In 1956 he became Northern Command artillery commander, and in 1961 he was named Chief Artillery Officer.

As Chief Artillery Officer he worked to build a self-propelled artillery force, including a 155 mm gun mounted on a Sherman tank. He left regular service in 1968 and served in the reserves in the Yom Kippur War. He held a bachelor's degree in economics and political science.

In March 1969 he became the first director of the Institute for Higher Education in the Negev, later Ben-Gurion University. He married Yehudit Mozer, and their eldest son Udi was killed in a training accident in 1981. He received the Yakir Beersheba award in 1995 and died on March 18, 2011.