Rami Harpaz

Rami Harpaz (February 1, 1939 – January 24, 2019) was an IDF officer with the rank of colonel. Harpaz served as a fighter pilot in the Israeli Air Force and was an IDF prisoner of war during the war of attrition. He sat in an Egyptian prison for three and a half years. Upon his return he returned to the Air Force, and came to command the IAF basis of Ramat David.[1]

Biography

Harpaz was the son of Shifra and Shlomo Harpaz (Goldberg) and the brother of the astrophysicist Amos Harpaz. He was born in Herzliya and grew up in Kibbutz Mishmar HaEmek and Kibbutz Hazorea. In his youth, he was a member of the Israel Aviation Club and the Air Force youth movement. Harpaz enlisted in the IDF in 1956 and completed a pilot course (No. 25) in August 1958, majoring in combat. In the advanced training course he flew on Oregon planes and then served as a fighter pilot in the Mister Squadron and the Super Mister Squadron. He instructed in flight school and in an advanced training course, served in the Scorpion Squadron and was discharged from regular service in 1961. He worked at Kibbutz Hazorea and did a year of service at Kibbutz Zikim. During the Six Day War, he served as a first lieutenant in the 107th Squadron, the Oregon Squadron, and served as a senior leader in attack structures. He participated in 24 operational sorties during the war, the highest number of Air Force fighter pilots.

After the war he re-enlisted into permanent service. He was converted to a Mirage 3 and served in the 117th Squadron. He later was a member of the Skyhawk Absorption Team and served in the 109th Squadron. During the war of attrition with Egypt, he participated in many operational raids, first in the 109th Squadron, the Skyhawk Squadron in which he was placed until the arrival of the purchased phantoms [2][3] , and took part in the raid on Green Island and Operation Raviv. After the arrival of the Phantoms, he served in the 69 Squadron as a systems officer, participated in anti-aircraft bombings at Fayed Airport, bombed an anti-aircraft bomb in Ja’eefa, flew a deterrent mission over Damascus in January 1970, carried out operations, attacked the port of Ras Banas and a destroyer anchored there, within Operation Hair and other sorties. During Operation Hair 7, on June 30th, 1970, his plane was hit by an anti-aircraft missile and he was forced to abandon the plane along with the navigator, Eyal Ahikar, over Egyptian territory. During his captivity he underwent severe interrogations and torture; he became the leader of Israeli prisoners imprisoned at this time in the Abassia prison in Cairo: Air Force team members Menachem Eini, Yitzhak Fir, Avinoam Kaldes, Amos Levitov and Amos Zamir; Reserve officer Dan Avidan; Paratrooper David Levy and two logistics soldiers Moti Cohen and Moti Bavli. Harpaz and his fellow pilots translated the book "The Hobbit" into Hebrew in what became known as the Pilots' translation. He was released from captivity in November 1973, after the Yom Kippur War. [4] Soon after he became a prisoner of war his twin daughters were born.


After his return from over 3 years of captivity he returned to serve as a pilot in the Air Force, he commanded a squadron and served as deputy commander of the Etzion base. In 1977, he was appointed commander of the Ramat David IAF base, where he served until January 1980. He continued to serve in the reserve and served as an instructor at the flight school until 1993 and commander of the Megiddo emergency airfield, until his retirement from the reserve service in 2016.

Harpaz died on January 24, 2019. He was a member of Kibbutz Hazorea, was married to Nurit and the couple had 5 children, their youngest son Erez died during a trip to Bolivia. After his release from the IDF, he served as CEO of the Plastopil-Hazorea plant for six years and later as an employee in the product engineering department and development manager at the company.

  • Harpaz, Nurit and Rami (2019). The Captive Israeli Pilot and his Wife. Israel: Matar.
  • Hacohen, Hagai (2019). Father of iconic ‘Hebrew Pilots’ translation of Tolkien dies. Israel: Jerusalem Post.
  • Aderet, Ofer (2019). Israeli Fighter Pilot Who Translated 'The Hobbit' From an Egyptian Prison Dies at 80. Israel: Haaretz.
  • Simchayoff, Eldad (2020). The POWs Who Translated an Iconic Book in Captivity. Israel: Lessons from History.
  • Peart, Thom (2019). Learn How Four Israeli POWs Translated an English Copy of ‘The Hobbit’ into Hebrew. England: For Reading Addicts.

References
  1. Norton, Bill (2004). Air War on the Edge – A History of the Israel Air Force and its Aircraft since 1947. Midland Publishing. p. 228. ISBN 1-85780-088-5.
  2. Aloni, Shlomi (2004). Israeli F-4 Phantom II Aces. Osprey Publishing. p. 96. ISBN 978 1 84176 783 3.
  3. Aloni, Shlomi (2013). Israeli A-4 Skyhawk Units in Combat. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 96. ISBN 1472800281.
  4. Lieblich, Amia (1994). Seasons of Captivity: The Inner World of Pows. NYU Press. p. 344. ISBN 1-0814750796 Check |isbn= value: length (help).
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