Israel Leshem

Israel Leshem was born in 1943 in Tel Aviv

Israel Leshem was born in Tel Aviv in 1943 as Israel Finkelstein. His parents had immigrated to the Land of Israel before World War II, and his father's parents died in the Holocaust. He grew up on Kibbutz Ashdot Ya'akov Meuhad, where he played basketball on youth teams and played the violin.

He volunteered for the navy and joined the first submariner course in 1960. During training he took the Hebrew name Leshem, at the instruction of David Ben-Gurion. He served on the submarine INS Tanin and later trained with the British navy.

He was badly wounded by a mine near the Suez Canal in 1970. After recovering he commanded INS Dolphin and later the submarine flotilla. During the Yom Kippur War he commanded the merchant ship Hana, and his last regular post was military auditor in the defense establishment comptroller's office.

After retiring he managed the Galilee district of Clalit Health Services. He headed construction and infrastructure at the Misgav Regional Council and served as director general of the Kiryat Tivon Local Council.