Militaryמרדכי פצ׳ו

Mordechai Petcho

Mordechai Petcho was an Israeli military officer and Irgun fighter who served as deputy to Irgun commander Ya'akov Meridor.

1916 to 1992Deputy commander of the IrgunWithstanding British torture in 1939Hasmonean Alliance youth leadership

Born: 14 July 1916, İzmir
Died: 27 January 1992, Israel
Occupation: military personnel

Mordechai Petcho was born in 1916 in İzmir

Petcho was born in İzmir in 1916 to Eliyahu Petcho and Zimbol (Aviva) Curiel. His father's family descended from the Venetian rabbi Azaria Piccio. He graduated from the Lycée Saint-Joseph, a French school where Jews, Muslims and Christians studied together.

He first visited the Land of Israel in 1934. In 1935 he came on a tourist visa, destroyed his passport and settled in Jerusalem. He worked at the Jewish Agency, which also served as cover for his work in the Irgun.

In the Hasmonean Alliance he led the military side of the youth headquarters. He refused to be photographed, so British wanted posters showed a blank square for him. On July 16, 1939 he was arrested in Jerusalem and tortured, but he gave no names, and his case was raised in the British parliament.

He was later held at Latrun with David Raziel, Meridor and Avraham Stern. He took part in the Irgun attack on Jaffa and then joined the Irgun fighters in Jerusalem. In 1959 he was named to a committee forming the Herut list for the Tel Aviv-Yafo municipality.

Milestones in Mordechai Petcho's life

1916
Born in İzmir.
1934
Visited the Land of Israel for the first time.
1935
Moved to the Land of Israel on a tourist visa.
1939
Arrested and tortured by the British in Jerusalem.
1949
Recruited into the IDF and joined the officer corps.
1959
Appointed to the Herut list committee for Tel Aviv-Yafo.
1992
Died.

Mordechai Petcho served in the military

Petcho was an Irgun fighter and deputy to Ya'akov Meridor, and fought in Jaffa and Jerusalem. He joined the IDF in 1949 as an officer, was called up for reserve duty in the Suez Crisis and was released afterward.