Michael (Yomi) Barkai
(
Hebrew
:
????? ?????
; January 26, 1935 ? May 28, 1999) was the Commander of the
Israeli Navy
, a recipient of the
Medal of Distinguished Service
for his command of the missile ships during the
Yom Kippur War
.
[1]
Biography
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Childhood
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Barkai was born in
Bucharest
, the capital of
Romania
, as a first born of Moshe and Rachel Borsok. As a boy, he experienced the persecution and violence directed against the
local Jewish community
by the
National Legionary State
and the
Ion Antonescu
regime. In December 1947, his family tried to make aliyah to Palestine, but their ship was caught by the British and they were sent to the
Cyprus internment camps
, as the British prohibited Jews emigration to Palestine under the
White Paper of 1939
. When
Israel
declared its independence, his family finally arrived in Israel and settled in
Bat Yam
. In Bat Yam, Barkai realized his love for the sea.
Service in the Israeli Navy
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In 1953, Barkai enlisted in the
Israeli Ground Forces
in the Engineer (Sapper) Corps. He entered the Officer School for the
Israeli Navy
in 1956 and was commissioned in 1957.
In 1958, he married his wife Rachel, the couple subsequently had two children.
In 1959, Barkai volunteered to join the Israeli Navy's submarine unit and quickly became captain of a submarine. His expertise and military genius made him a common advisor in the Israeli Navy headquarters under the Command of
Shlomo Arel
. By the late 1960s, Barkai was stationed for a brief time in the Naval quarters in Ashdod until in 1971 he was put in charge of the missile ship fleet. during the Yom Kippur War Barkai's military strategies and genius helped turn the tide of the war for the Israelis. Barkai managed to scare the Egyptian and Syrian navies so much that, by the end of the war, their ships would not leave the harbor (see
Battle of Latakia
and
Battle of Baltim
). For his heroism, Barkai received the
Medal of Distinguished Service
, which he accepted on behalf of all the Israeli missile ship fighters.
[2]
In 1974, Barkai was stationed at the Israeli Naval headquarters and in 1976, at the rank of
Aluf
, Barkai became the Commander of the
Israeli Navy
. Barkai continued to build the Israeli Navy, under his command the Israeli Navy received the
Gal class submarines
and commissioned the building of two new corvettes. Barkai completely reorganized the sloppy command of the Israeli Navy into a great command.
[3]
In 1979 Barkai was tried by a military tribunal for an alleged rape of a female non-commissioned officer. He was acquitted due to lack of corroborating evidence but was relieved of his command by
Defence Minister
Ezer Weizman
.
[4]
After military service
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Barkai and his wife Rachel moved to Greece where they built the yacht "Leviathan." With it they sailed around the world, returning to Israel only in 1995. In 1999, Barkai was diagnosed with
cancer
and began
chemotherapy
. At the same time, he was invited by the Navy to teach military strategies to IDF soldiers. Although he was weak, he immediately took the job.
On 28 May 1999,
Alex Tal
, Commander of the
Israeli Navy
, personally called to inform Barkai that the American search team had found submarine
INS Dakar
, which had sunk three kilometers underwater on its way to Israel, killing all crew members, including Barkai's brother, Maj. Avraham Barkai. That same day Barkai committed
suicide
.
[5]
His friend
Yigal Tumarkin
said that "you couldn't hate Barkai and it was seven times harder to love him."
References
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