4 minute read
Sam Levine: Our local hero
By Harvey Cohen, JFGN Member
Israel’s War of Independence was the first of many wars with the combined Arab nations vs. the tiny state of Israel. Sam Levine, Bonita Springs nonagenarian, served a seminal role for the fledgling Jewish state, beginning in 1948 and beyond. A volunteer scientist-soldier, Levine helped lead the establishment of what would be known as ‘Radar Mountain’ in the Galilee.
Armed with his Master of Science from University of Illinois, the native of tiny Hazlehurst, Georgia and WWII veteran was on a military mission to advise the new Israeli government on radar technology as the War of independence progressed.
Levine, just 23, and a handful of Zionist men gathered in New York, then sailed to London, hopped a train to Paris, then to Marseilles. At the port of Marseilles, they joined hundreds of refugees in a converted, barely seaworthy, freighter for an 11-day ‘cruise’ to Haifa. Many supplies were quite limited. Levine laughs today, that he filled his belly eating dog biscuits, while the ship’s engineer made daily repairs to the aging freighter.
Uniquely suited for his challenge, Levine had enlisted in the ‘Mahal,’ as a scientist-soldier. He joined volunteers from around the world who fought and worked alongside the Israelis in their first war. Radar in 1948 could only ‘see’ very small areas. The technology was primitive compared to today. Only the most sophisticated and powerful installation could provide any useful early warning. (Today, we use AWACS, drones and satellites with other advanced technologies.) Levine quickly realized that radar in 1948 would work effectively only along the shoreline or from select higher mountains.
In the War of Independence, Egypt to the west was the Arab leading power. Radar sites just north of Gaza along the Mediterranean Sea up to the major installation on Mt. Carmel, Haifa provided early warning to Israel air, sea and land forces in their efforts to address Egypt’s feared military superiority. A highlight of Levine’s tour of duty was a private Mahal dinner with the mostly American pilots who helped start the Israel Air Force. These fighter pilots ‘cut their teeth’ during WWII and brought the battle hardened courage and skills to the air campaigns.
The War of Independence successfully ended in the spring of 1949. Young Levine joined in the celebrations and continued his radar research and assessment until the fall. He soon found himself immersed at the University of Pittsburgh doctoral program in physics. Then, with his doctorate earned, Levine returned to the young state of Israel with a charge to identify the optimum location(s) for a more advanced radar.
Bringing his battlefield based calculations, he scoured the hilly areas of Israel for the optimum radar site, then recommended Mt. Meron in the Galilee, northwest of Safed. Rising to almost 4,000 feet above sea level, Mt. Meron was a great choice. Soon to be known as Israel’s ‘Radar Mountain,’ Levine’s scientific education and his passion gave Israel that qualitative military edge in the years following. ‘Radar Mountain’ remains today home to an IDF Air Force base.
Levine’s career path brought him back to America where he joined the faculty of his alma mater, Virginia Tech. Teaching math to undergraduate students didn’t light a candle to the excitement of advancing nuclear science. Wanting experience in industry, he soon joined Northrop to head their nuclear space program, designing and conducting scientific investigations into atomic energy and illuminating the risks of radiation. Yet, academia won him again when Levine joined the faculty of Penn State University where he worked with notable colleagues in this growing era of nuclear research and development.
Sam Levine recently celebrated his 98th birthday surrounded by his daughters and their families. He is a longtime member and supporter of Jewish Federation of Greater Naples, remaining the same passionate Zionist which took him to Israel serving in the War of Independence some 75 years ago. He is our local hero.
Naples stands with Israel.
