Yekutiel Adam

Yekutiel Adam was born in 1927 in Tel Aviv

Yekutiel Adam was born in Tel Aviv to Yehuda and Elisheva Adam. His family were Mountain Jews from the Caucasus, and the family name was once Adamov. He was named after his grandfather, Yekutiel Ravayev, who was killed defending Petah Tikva in 1916.

As a teenager he joined the Haganah and trained as a fighter. In the War of Independence he commanded a platoon and later joined a special Haganah unit that raided behind enemy lines. He then joined the IDF and served in the Givati Brigade.

He studied at the war academy in France from 1964 to 1966 and commanded a brigade in the Six-Day War under Ariel Sharon. He led the Golani Brigade from 1968 and later held senior posts in Northern Command. After the Yom Kippur War he became a major general and headed Southern Command.

As head of the Operations Directorate he played a central role in Operation Entebbe in 1976. He later became Deputy Chief of Staff under Rafael Eitan. In 1982 Menachem Begin named him the next head of the Mossad.

On June 10, 1982, during the Lebanon War, he was shot by Palestinian fighters hiding in a basement in Dawha near Damour. He was buried in Kiryat Shaul cemetery. His son Udi Adam also became a major general.