This important memoir, translated into English for the author’s 100th birthday, tells the life story of Maj. Gen. (ret.) Amos Horev, a visionary leader whose contributions helped shape Israel’s growth across many fields.
Rooted in memories of growing up in Jerusalem in the 1920s and ‘30s, where he built foundational friendships with other future leaders, such as Yigael Yadin, Uzi Narkiss, and Yohay Ben-Nun, Horev tells the story of Israel through the personal lens of his own experiences. One of the first Palmach commanders and deputy to Yigal Allon and Moshe Dayan during Israel’s War of Independence, he went on to shape the evolution of the Israel Defense Forces’ weaponry and logistics, later serving as president of the Technion—Israel Institute of Technology and chair of the board of Rafael, Advanced Defense Systems Ltd.
In this autobiography, Retired Major General Amos Horev reveals the stories of the daily lives of the fighters and commanders in the Palmach—their failures, their successes, and most especially their motivation to fight to the end, even when the results were unknowable and the chances were slim.
Through wars and missions, Amos remained a family man. He reveals another layer of his inner life when he speaks about Shoshana, his wife and the love of his life. Amos Horev’s life story, which he tells with candor and integrity, combines with the story of Israel, and the generation that broke the ground, for those who followed.
The Ballad of the Beds
I Carry within Me the Seal of Jerusalem, Where I was Born and Raised
The Influence of My Father’s Home
It is Not Surprising that by the Time I Was Fourteen, I was Already a Member of the Haganah
We Strapped on a Backpack and Went Off to the Palmach Together
From a Youth Movement to a Fighting Force in the Palmach
Why Stay in the Palmach?
Hard Work and Not Much Food
Frustration, Disagreement, and AWOL—Palmach Deserters 36 Training and More Training—Building Our Strength behind the Backs of the British
The Platoon Commanders’ Training Course—A University of Sorts
Gradually We Realized That a Real War Had Started
Six Weeks at the Technion and Back to Fighting in Jerusalem
The War over the Road to the Besieged City of Jerusalem
A Nation Fighting against Regular Armies
An Attempt to Conquer the Old City of Jerusalem—“I’m Not Asking for Advice”
The Battle for Latrun and the Price of Arrogance
Jerusalem No Longer Under Siege—The Story of Burma Road
Jerusalem and the Harel Brigade
Two More Failures—Latrun Remains Jordanian
Latrun May Have Remained Jordanian but We Conquered Its Surroundings
“The Sixth Battalion Will Yet Arise”
An Encounter Between Cultures—the Palmach and the Former British Soldiers
The Storm of Reorganizing as One Army of the State of Israel—”The Altalena” 108 From Harel to the Southern Front—Betrayal?
The End of an Era—The Palmach Had Shaped My Path for the Rest of My Life
Commitment at All Costs, the Failures, the Losses—and Harel Moves Forward
Without rank and order exercises—Discipline and Hierarchy
What between Refusing an Order, Avoiding Action, and Default
We Had More Dead Friends Than Living Friends—but We Kept Going
No Orders from above Were Given to Bomb and Destroy Villages
Commit Suicide Rather Than Be Taken Hostage
Operations Officer on the Southern Front—LikeOne Big Family
Operation Yoav—Beginning with a Failure and Then the Turning Point
Conquering Be’er Sheva—Decision and Conclusions
Operation Horev to Eliminate the Egyptian Forces—The Courage to Act and Take Risks. Success but Ben-Gurion Orders Us to Stop
Conquering Mount Hebron—Possible, but “We Need to Take Advantage of the Next Opportunity”
At the End of the War—War and Negotiations Lead to a Ceasefire
Preparing an Operation Far, Far Away 135 The Battles Ended and I Moved to the Negotiations Table
The Palmach and the Harel Brigade—Legacy, Forgetting, Erasure, and Remembrance
Explaining What Should Never Be Taken for Granted 143 Stopping the Erasure of Public Memory and Consciousness—the Battle for Historical Truth
Memorial Projects—to Remember and Inculcate What Happened Here to Future Generations
Even at Ninety Years of Age the Struggle for National Memory Continues—“We Have Sha’ar Ha’gai!”
The War Is Over, What’s Next?
Fate Chose the Most Advanced Technology Possible
My First Time Away from the Land of Israel
That Is Where We Started to Become a Family
Aiming High but Stuck at the Bottom
“So, Create It”—As Head of the Weapons Department
Looking Ahead—Developing Missiles in the ’50s Despite the Cold Shoulder 165 A Messenger with a Note in His Hand—“You Are Hereby Appointed Chief Ordnance Officer”
Helped by a Tailwind—Systemic Changes
A Technological Affair with the French and the Lesson on the Side
Engineers Build the Force—Getting out of the “Dependency” Trap
When There Is No Other Choice—This Is How We Build Strength 185 The Story of the Sherman Tank Engine
How to Beat the Advanced Soviet Weaponry That had been Sent to Egypt—A Difficult Situation That Demanded Thinking Outside the Box
A Step Up in the Development of the Tank Factory, but Not Without Confrontations
The Story of the Centurions—Imagination, Technological Capabilities, and Audacity
The artillery’s pursuit of the forces on the move—The story of the development of a self-propelled cannon and mortar on the Half-Track
Fighting and Staying Alive—The Story of the Armored Personnel Carriers
A Greenhouse for Research and Development
A Break for Studies and a Quick Return to the Position of Chief Ordnance Officer
A Glance into the Decision-Making—The Merkava Tank and the Separation of Powers in the Army
With Professor Katzir as Deputy to the Chief Scientist of the Ministry of Defense
Head of the Quartermaster’s Branch during the War of Attrition and Looking Ahead at the Next War
The Challenge of Logistical Service to the IDF after June 1967
The Ordnance Corp—Withstanding the Challenges in the IDF Following the Six-Day War
The Supply Corps—Striving for Expertise, Professionalism, and Quality Even in Things That Don’t Shoot
The Engineering Corps—Lessons Learned and Building During the War
Four Years as Head of the Quartermaster’s Branch Came to an End
From October to October—Terrible Neglect
A Smoke Screen—Canister Launchers and Shells
Emergency Storage Facilities
Ammunition and Inventory Levels
“The True Heroes of the Crossing Battle—the amphibious tank-carrier”
A Time of Distress
The Failures of the Intelligence Branch, the Tank and the Sagger Missile in the Center of a Personal Disaster
The War Has Ended. I Am Responsible for Assessing the Damage to the IDF, and I Return to the Technion
President of the Technion—Starting during a time of National Distress and Personal Grief
Eight Objectives and the Many Activities to Fulfill Them
Leading changes in Rafael Advanced Defense Systems—From collapsing to a leading government company
Maybe I’m Not a Good Fit for the Private Market?
I Never Imagined This Is What I Would Do—the Great Philanthropy
Committees on Topics of National Security— Continuing to Make a Difference
The Committee for the Investigation of the Events at Ma’a lot—An Unbiased Investigation
Aliya and Integration—Canceling the Ministry of Integration
Nuclear Electricity—Thirty-Eight Years without Success
The Horev Committee for the Examination and Testing of Nuclear Power Plants
I was eighty-six, old? And yet a member of the Turkle Commission
To Be with You, with the Wars and the National Representation Abroad
A Woman Looking for Her Way between Her Husband’s Job and the Fulfillment of the Dream of Having a Family
“Maybe You Will Remember to Do Something about the Trees”
This has been My Home for Sixty Years
“I Want to Continue on Being Sand and Sanda”
Together as We Separate
“I Will Not Lie to Myself”
“If I Had Lived in the Wild West”
And Where Are the Tears? 309
I Am a Jew in My Soul, but I Am Not a Believer
As the Time Left Grows Shorter
Father and Son, Two Generations Seemingly Emerging from the same Tree Trunk
He Was Very Mischievous
In the Palmach—When Our Paths Crossed
A Technologist in Civil Service
In His Memory
Yigal Allon—The Man and the Loss
The Dismissal
A Civilian—Not an ordinary citizen
Politics
To This Day
Thank You
