- Yossi Ben Hanan
Major General (
Aluf ) Joseph (Yossi) Ben Hanan was born in Jerusalem 1945. His father, Michael Ben Hanan, was a famous public figure inIsrael , known among other things- as one of the first live show broadcasters inKol Israel (the voice of Israel). Michael Ben Hanan was nicknamed "Mar Hitamlut Haboker" (The master of morning exercises), after his daily early morning gym program. During theSix Days War Yossi Ben Hanan was a youngIsrael i officer, a Lieutenant, serving as the Operations Officer of the 7th Armored Brigade. He was featured on [http://www.life.com/Life/covers/1967/cv062367.html a famous cover] ofLIFE magazine after the war which showed him, as a young soldier, triumphantly clutching anAK-47 rifle while standing in the waters of theSuez Canal . In 1973, while on his honeymoon inNepal , then-Lieutenant Colonel Ben Hanan learned of the start of theYom Kippur War . Over the course of a few days, Lieutenant Colonel Ben Hanan returned to Israel and arrived on theGolan Heights on about October 8, 1973. Ben Hanan participated in the fierce fightings with the Syrians in the holding defence of the Golan Heights along with then-Lieutenant ColonelAvigdor Kahalani , and was wounded for the first time, but refused to be evacuated and continued fighting.On October 9, 1973, Lieutenant Colonel Ben Hanan took command of a scratch force of Israeli
tank s that had been put together by Shmuel Askarov, one of the survivors of the decimated 188th Armored Brigade. Leading his command in a desperate battle against overwhelming numbers of SyrianT-62 s, Ben Hanan restored the tactical situation but at the cost of most of his command and his ownCenturion tank . Blown out of the turret when his tank was hit by a Saggeranti-tank missile , Ben Hanan lay wounded on the battlefield until he was rescued from behind enemy lines byYonatan Netanyahu , a legendary member of the IDF's eliteSayeret Matkal and brother of future Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu .Ben Hanan received the second highest decoration, the
Medal of Courage for his part in the fierce battles of the Yom Kippur War.Yossi Ben Hanan subsequently served with great distinction in the IDF.He was the 7th Armored Brigade commander, the head of the IDF R&D and the commander in chief of the armored units achieving the rank of Major General.
He is currently the head of the Israeli Defense Ministry's developing countries defense assistance division, SIBAT.
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