Militaryשאול סלע

Shaul Sela

Shaul Sela was an Israeli Navy officer, a Shayetet 13 fighter and the second commander of Unit 707.

1935 to 2016Commanding Unit 707Combat diving in Shayetet 13War of Attrition naval raids

Born: 24 April 1935, Blida
Died: 14 September 2016, Marseille
Occupation: military personnel
Rank: aluf mishne
Wars: Suez Crisis, Six-Day War, War of Attrition, Yom Kippur War

Shaul Sela was born in 1935 in Blida

Shaul Sela was born Charles Claude Fitoussi on April 24, 1935, in Blida, Algeria. He was the eldest of 8 children of a butcher and a homemaker. Under the Vichy laws Jewish pupils were barred from general schools, so he moved to Algiers to study at a Jewish school.

He was active in the Gordonia Maccabi Hatzair youth movement and later headed it across Algeria. In 1953 he sailed to Israel with a youth group and reached Kibbutz Kiryat Anavim. He took the name Shaul Sela, and his family followed him to Israel in 1957.

Drafted into the Givati Brigade, he moved to Shayetet 13 and served as a combat diver. He completed the naval officers course in 1962 and later trained new fighters. In 1965 he became commander of Unit 707, a defensive diving unit, and led it in missions after the Six-Day War and during the War of Attrition.

His last post was head of the Navy's manpower department, with the rank of colonel. He died on September 14, 2016.

Shaul Sela's life in 8 milestones

1935
Born in Blida, Algeria.
1953
Immigrated to Israel with a youth group.
1957
His family immigrated to Israel.
1962
Took the naval officers course and was promoted to lieutenant.
1965
Appointed commander of Unit 707.
1968
Led Unit 707 in Operation Victoria on the Suez Canal.
1969
Unit 707 received the Octopus insignia.
2016
Died.

Shaul Sela served in Shayetet 13

He served in the Givati Brigade and then as a combat diver in Shayetet 13, and from 1965 commanded Unit 707 in the Six-Day War aftermath and the War of Attrition. He ended his service as head of Navy manpower with the rank of colonel.

Shayetet 13