Harold Simon (; 24 April 1920 – 28 February 2022), nicknamed Smoky Simon, was a South African pilot who helped in the creation of the

Israeli Air Force The Israeli Air Force (IAF; , commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial and space warfare branch of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Indep ...

Biography

Born in the

Orange Free State The Orange Free State ( ; ) was an independent Boer-ruled sovereign republic under British suzerainty in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, which ceased to exist after it was defeated and surrendered to the British Em ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, to a father from Lithuania, then part of

Kovno Governorate Kovno Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, with its capital in Kovno (Kaunas). It was formed on 18 December 1842 by Tsar Nicholas I of Russia, Nicholas I from the western part of Vilna Govern ...

Vilna Governorate The Vilna Governorate was a province ('' guberniya'') of the Northwestern Krai of the Russian Empire. In 1897, the governorate covered an area of and had a population of 1,591,207 inhabitants. The governorate was defined by the Minsk Governo ...

and

Suwałki Governorate Suwałki Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of Congress Poland of the Russian Empire, which had its seat in the city of Suwałki. It covered a territory of about . History In 1867, the territories of the Augustów ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, and a mother from England, he grew up in South Africa. He studied accounting and commerce at the

University of Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), commonly known as Wits University or Wits, is a multi-campus public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg, South Africa. The university has its roots in ...

and volunteered in 1941 to join the

South African Air Force The South African Air Force (SAAF) is the air warfare branch of South African National Defence Force, with its headquarters in Pretoria. The South African Air Force was established on 1 February 1920. The Air Force saw service in World War II a ...

, serving as a navigator and bombardier. He returned to Johannesburg after the war, worked as an accountant and married Myra Weinberg. Three weeks after their wedding, in May 1948, they moved to Israel to assist with the

War of Independence Wars of national liberation, also called wars of independence or wars of liberation, are conflicts fought by nations to gain independence. The term is used in conjunction with wars against foreign powers (or at least those perceived as foreign) ...

and both joined the Israeli Air Force. Simon was recruited to be a navigator and bombardier. In June 1948 he became the IAF’s chief of operations and participated in 24 reconnaissance and bombing missions. He stayed in Israel after the war and was discharged from the IAF in 1950 as a major. In 1962 Simon started the Simon and Wiesel Insurance Agency which specialized in life insurance. He sold the portfolios to Migdal insurance agency in 2000. He was Chairman of World

Machal Mahal, more often spelled Machal (), refers to the group of overseas volunteers who fought alongside Israeli forces during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Some 4,000 volunteers, mostly Jews but also non-Jews, arrived from all over the world. Mahal ...

since 1968 and was a founding member of the Menachem Begin Heritage Foundation in Jerusalem. He received the TELFED 2014 Lifetime Achievement Award for his service to Israel. His involvement in the founding of the State of Israel was featured in the movie ''

Above and Beyond Above and Beyond may refer to: Film * ''Above and Beyond'' (1952 film), a 1952 film about World War II American pilot Paul Tibbets and the atomic bombing of Hiroshima * ''Above and Beyond'' (2014 film), a 2014 film about World War II veteran pilo ...

''. In 2019, he was awarded the Sylvan Adams

Bonei Zion Prize The Sylvan Adams Bonei Zion Prize (; Translation: ''Builders of Zion Prize'') is awarded annually by the Nefesh B'Nefesh organization in recognition of the achievements of outstanding Anglo immigrants and their contribution to the State of Israel ...

, which honors English-speaking immigrants to Israel who have made significant societal contributions. Simon died on 28 February 2022, at the age of 101.

References

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Simon, Harold 1920 births 2022 deaths 1948 Arab–Israeli War pilots South African people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent South African people of English descent Bonei Zion Prize recipients South African men centenarians South African Zionists South African World War II pilots People from the Free State (province) Jewish centenarians Israeli Air Force personnel Mahal personnel of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War