Maoz Poraz

Maoz Poraz was born in 1934 in Petah Tikva

Maoz Poraz was born on October 15, 1934, in Petah Tikva to parents who had immigrated from Poland. As a child he moved with his family to Kfar Sirkin. He finished elementary school in Petah Tikva and then studied at the Kadoorie Agricultural School.

He joined the IDF in November 1952 and volunteered for pilot training. He served as a flight school instructor, flew a Harvard in the Sinai Campaign, and later moved to Squadron 101, where he trained on the Mirage 3. He fought as a Mirage pilot in the Six Day War and bailed out after his plane was hit over Sinai.

In 1964 he left career service and became an El Al pilot, later training as a captain. In 1968 militants seized his flight from London to Israel, and he struggled with one of them, who fired at him and missed. The passengers, including Poraz, were released after 39 days in Algeria.

In the Yom Kippur War he flew a Skyhawk. On October 17, 1973, he led a pair of planes from Hatzor on a bombing mission near Qantara and crashed on the way back under heavy fire. He was buried at Kiryat Shaul military cemetery and left a wife and 3 children, including his son Nir, who was later killed in the attempt to rescue Nachshon Wachsman.