Two Heroes by Avi Heiligman

The Jewish Home | SEPTEMBER 1, 2022 Forgotten Her es Two Stories of Bravery

By Avi Heiligman

Amos Yarkoni, a Bedouin who risked his life for the Jewish state Esther Arditi, the Angel in White

Citations for military medals can be quite informative, and the stories they tell are quite compelling. Looking at these citations, however, doesn’t always tell the full picture as they are just the tip of the iceberg of the full narrative of the acts of these servicemen and women. The Medal of Distinguished Service is Israel’s third most important medal given out by the Israeli military and is awarded for courageous actions and exemplary service. Over 600 medals have been given out to date. Here are a few of the incredible stories behind some of the recipients.

Sgan Aluf (Lieutenant Colonel) Amos Yarkoni had a very unique background and helped many non-Jews pave a path to success in the IDF. Yarkoni was actually born as Abd el-Majid Hidr from the Bedouin village of Na’ura in 1920. His family was part of the Muslim Bedouin tribe of the Mazarib tribe, and he had joined a band of youths that had sabotaged the Trans-Arabian Pipeline. At the age of 16, he was working as a shepherd and became friendly with Jews from the nearby moshav of Nahalal. He heard about the hostilities that the Arabs had brought upon the local Jewish population and had disagreements with his own tribesmen. He had been captured by other Arabs and sentenced to death for helping the Jewish population. After managing to escape with two other friends, Abd decided to leave his community.

Abd changed his name to the more Israeli name of Amos Yarkoni and soon made contacts within the Haganah. In the years leading up to the Israeli War of Independence, Yarkoni kept up with Moshe Dayan and in late 1947 decided to join the Jewish fighting forces. After spending time in other units, Yarkoni was assigned to the Minorities Unit in late 1948.

Known for his tracking and patrolling skills, he was sent to the border where he used to capture infiltrators from the neighboring Arab countries. Twice wounded, Yarkoni lost his left hand and injured his leg in separate incidents. In 1953, he passed the officers course and became the commanding officer of the Minorities Unit.

Two years later, the IDF was looking for an officer to create a force to combat the attacks on communities that were being attacked from the Gaze Strip and the lower part of the West Bank. Yarkoni was recommended by the senior commander of the Southern Command, and he set up the Shaked Unit. He was able to take a relatively small unit and with good tactical skill was able to patrol a large amount of border land. It was during a 1959 operation when he lost his hand while pursuing a band of terrorists nears Ashkelon. He stayed with the unit for several years and began recruiting members for the counter-terrorism unit from the paratroopers. They were tasked with capturing spies, terrorists, saboteurs, guerillas, and any others who tried crossing the border with nefarious intentions.

Many soldiers did not know that Yarkoni wasn’t Jewish. In 1969, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and retired soon afterwards. For his invaluable service to the IDF, he was awarded the Medal of Distinguished Service.

The only woman to be awarded the medal was paramedic Esther Arditi. Born in Bulgaria in 1937, she spent World War II in Italy and immigrated to Israel in 1951. She first went to a kibbutz with a group of immigrants but soon the group broke up and she decided to enter the IDF. In 1954, Arditi completed the Israeli Air Force medic course and was sent to Hazor Air Base.

A week into her assignment she was on night duty during a dark and rainy night. The runway lights were turned off due to the bad weather damaging base’s electrical system. This spelled disaster for the Mosquito squadron stationed at the base that had taken off on a night training mission. Pilot Yaakov Salomon and navigator Shlomo Hertzman had no other choice but to attempt a landing without seeing the runway. The plane lost control as it missed the runway and veered into a field. It burst into fire, and the base’s emergency teams sprung into actions. Arditi was driving an ambulance but abandoned it when it got stuck in the mud. Instead, she ran towards the burning plane despite the danger of exploding fuel and ammunition. She first located Hertzman who, despite his wounds, was conscious and pulled him to the safety of a nearby canal. Arditi then ran back to the plane to rescue the unconscious pilot. She found him in his seat and pulled him to the safety of the canal. Her actions saved the pilot’s life, as a few seconds later the fuel tanks exploded. The two airmen were taken to a hospital, but the navigator succumbed to his wounds.

For her heroic actions that night, Arditi was awarded a medal which later was converted into the Medal of Distinguished Service by Chief of Staff Moshe Dayan. During the Six Day War in 1967, she accompanied the paratrooper brigade as a medic on their mission to recapture the Kosel. Six years later, she again volunteered as a medic in a field hospital. She was given the nickname the Angel in White for her achievements while in the IDF.

These are just two of the stories of the heroism shown by the servicemen and women serving in the IDF. Their actions under pressure saved many lives, and their bravery in harsh conditions make them forgotten heroes.

Avi Heiligman is a weekly contributor to The Jewish Home. He welcomes your comments and suggestions for future columns and can be reached at aviheiligman@gmail.com.