Former minister and IDF chief of staff Rafael Eitan during construction work at the southern Ashdod Port in 2001
Posted on 11/23/2004 12:44:51 AM PST by zyaakov
Former IDF chief of staff Rafael Eitan drowns in Ashdod Port
Former minister and ex-Israel Defense Forces chief of staff Rafael Eitan, 75, died shortly after he was pulled from the waters of Ashdod Port on Tuesday morning.
| Former minister and IDF chief of staff Rafael Eitan during construction work at the southern Ashdod Port in 2001 |
Magen David Adom paramedics at the scene attempted without success to resuscitate him.
Eitan's vehicle was found abandoned near the port's docks. The circumstances of the drowning are unclear.
Police believe Eitan fell from a breakwater into rough seas off the port and disappeared for a number of minutes before he was found and pulled from the water.
Police forces and Israel Navy soldiers, aided by a helicopter, spotted Eitan in the water and extricated him with the help of a naval vessel.
Transportation Minister Meir Sheetrit ordered the formation of a committee to investigate the circumstances of Eitan's death.
Eitan worked at the port as the director of a project conducted by the Ashtrom company. The construction of the new section of the Ashdod Port is currently reaching completion and its official opening has been delayed a number of times over the past few months due to various reasons.
strange
He fell??
What was he doing there?
Inspecting the port's breakwaters. He was one of Israel's greatest sons and he will be sorely missed. May his memory be for a blessing. Baruch Hashem.
Eitan, 75, was a former deputy prime minister as leader of the maverick nationalist Tzomet Party and served as agriculture and environment minister.
He was pulled out of the water after he disappeared for over an hour. Attempts by Magen David Adom paramedics to revive him failed and his death was announced around 9:30 a.m.
Army Radio reported that Eitan was hit by a large wave as he stood on a pear and spoke on his cellular phone.
Police helicopters and navy vessels were called to the scene to search for his body, which was located one hour after his disappearance.
But a life-long soldier, "Raful" was a legendary IDF paratrooper and the 11th chief of staff during the Lebanon War. In many ways, he personified the gruff, almost boorish Sabra character of the new state.
He was born in the Jezerel Valley moshav of Tel Adashim in 1929. He fought in the Palmach during the 1948 War of Independence was severely wounded in the battle for Jerusalem.
In 1956, he commanded the 890th battalion and was the first to parachute into the Mitla Pass during the Sinai Campaign. He later held key combat roles in subsequent wars and in 1978 was named the 11th chief of general staff.
He was the mastermind behind the 1982 Peace for the Galilee, a war to oust the PLO from Lebanon that later led to an 18-year presence in that country. Eitan was reprimanded by the Khan Commission for not preventing the massacre of Palestinians in the Sabra and Chatilla refugee camps in Beirut by Phalangist Christian militias.
After retiring from military service, Eitan returned to his farm, but later founded the Techiya movement, which became the Tzomet political party. He served as agriculture minister from 1988-1991. In 1996, his Tzomet Party merged with Likud and he served as minister of agriculture and environment and was deputy prime minister to Binyamin Netanyahu.
After retiring from the Knesset, Eitan refused to cease work and took up a position to oversea the construction of a new breakwater in the port of Ashdod, where he drowned.
An old man who left government to work in the private sector. Raful was never a person who would retire. And he always had Israel's best interests at heart.
Thank you for the info .. I have not heard his name before
Prayers to him and his family
WARNING: This is a high volume ping list
This has got to be a typo? Pier?
Eitan was a true hero for Israel. G-d bless his soul, and provide peace to his family.
http://web.israelinsider.com/Articles/Culture/4441.htm
...After leaving the army, he formed the nationalist Tzomet party. He served as agriculture and environment minister in the 1990s.
Eitan was a political hardliner who opposed handing over land to Arabs.
...Eitan was strongly opposed to Sharon's disengagement plan, and rejected efforts to reach accommodation through peace talks and compromises with the Arabs.
...Raful had sharp words for the left-wing and HaShomer HaTza'ir [young guard] socialist/communist movement: "I can count 30 kibbutzim of HaShomer HaTza'ir that are sitting on Arab land. You know what, this is the most hypocritical movement that I can imagine... When Stalin died, they lowered the flag in the kibbutzim to half-mast. Sir, this just shows that the true root is missing."
Just to clarify, 'Raful' Eitan was 'logistic coordinator' for the company that was doing work on the breakwater, and did this inspection on the breakwater daily. One report called the sea 'stormy' at the time.
He was also the owner of an olive farm.
dayan ha'emess
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