Nehemia Dagan

Nehemia Dagan was born in 1940 in Kfar Hittim

Nehemia Dagan was born on March 19, 1940, in Kfar Hittim, where he grew up as Nehemia Mitrani. His family had immigrated from Bulgaria. He holds a bachelor's degree from Tel Aviv University.

He joined the IDF in 1958 and was dropped from the pilot course, moving to a light aircraft course. After his discharge he farmed for 2 years. In 1963 he entered career service after agreeing to retrain as a helicopter pilot.

He helped found Squadron 114 and flew in many raids deep in Egypt and Syria, including a 1969 mission to carry off an Egyptian radar station. He later founded Squadron 118 and, after the Yom Kippur War, a unit for transport, assault and helicopters. In 1979 he became commander of the Palmachim base.

In 1985 he became Chief Education Officer, and the project taking soldiers to cultural shows was founded under him. He left the IDF in 1988 but flew operational flights until 1996.

In 2002 he became chairman of the Israeli association for preventing alcoholism, and he chairs the board of the Suzanne Dellal Center in Tel Aviv. His 2023 autobiography won the Yitzhak Sadeh Prize for military literature. He is married to Shosh and lives in Ramat HaSharon.