Yochai Ben-Nun

Yochai Ben-Nun was born in 1924 in Haifa

Yochai Ben-Nun was born in Haifa on December 17, 1924. His mother was born in Petah Tikva to a First Aliyah family, and his father was born in southern Russia. He grew up in the Beit HaKerem neighborhood of Jerusalem, which his parents helped found.

He studied at the Beit HaKerem high school. He began training with the Haganah in 1940 and joined the Palmach in 1942. In 1945 he joined the Palyam, the Palmach's sea company, and set up its naval sabotage squad, which struck British ships.

In the 1948 war he fought in Haifa and near Jerusalem, where he was wounded. He then set up the naval commando unit that became Shayetet 13. In October 1948 he led the force that sank the Egyptian flagship Emir Farouk, and later received the Medal of Valor.

In the Sinai War he commanded INS Yafo, which took part in capturing an Egyptian destroyer. He commanded the Israeli Navy from 1960 to 1966. He retired in 1966 but volunteered in the Six-Day War.

He founded Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research and was its director general from 1968 to 1982. After the Yom Kippur War he joined protests calling for the government to resign. He died in New York City on June 6, 1994, and was buried in Ma'agan Michael.