Ran Ronen-Pekker

Ran Ronen-Pekker was born in 1936 in Kfar Vitkin

Ran Pekker was born in Kfar Vitkin on 19 July 1936. His parents, Leah and David Pekker, were among the founders of the village.

He joined the Air Force in March 1954 and flew Spitfires, Meteors, Ouragans and Mystères, fighting in the Sinai Campaign. He later commanded Mirage Squadron 119, the flight school, Phantom Squadron 201 and Tel Nof Airbase. He fought in the Six-Day War, the War of Attrition and the Yom Kippur War, and was promoted to brigadier general in 1975.

In 1979 he returned from studies at Harvard University, where he earned a master's degree in public administration, and was considered for a senior Air Force post. Allegations that he had killed a captured Jordanian officer after the Six-Day War were investigated and the case was closed, but he was not promoted. He retired from the IDF as a brigadier general.

He then worked at the advertising agency Dahaf and served for 3 years as consul in Los Angeles from 1989. In 1992 he started the Zahala Project for teenagers from poor neighborhoods, which the Ministry of Education adopted. He wrote 2 books and sat on the board of Israel Aerospace Industries from 2009 to 2012.

He was married twice and had 3 children with his first wife. He died of cancer on 3 December 2016.