Shlomo Erell (; 20 November 1920 – 20 November 2018) was a Major General in the IDF, and the seventh Commander of the

Israeli Navy The Israeli Navy (, ''Ḥeil HaYam HaYisraeli'', ; ) is the Israel Defense Forces#Arms, naval warfare service arm of the Israel Defense Forces, operating primarily in the Mediterranean Sea theater as well as the Gulf of Eilat and the Red Sea th ...

Early life and family

Erell was born in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

in 1920 and was taken to Mandate Palestine by his parents in 1926. His family moved to

Petah Tikva Petah Tikva (, ), also spelt Petah Tiqwa and known informally as Em HaMoshavot (), is a city in the Central District (Israel), Central District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv. It was founded in 1878, mainly by Haredi Judaism, Haredi Jews of the Old Y ...

, but eventually settled in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

. In his youth, he was member of the

Betar The Betar Movement (), also spelled Beitar (), is a Revisionist Zionism, Revisionist Zionist youth movement founded in 1923 in Riga, Latvia, by Ze'ev Jabotinsky, Vladimir (Ze'ev) Jabotinsky. It was one of several right-wing youth movements tha ...

youth movement.

Career

With the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Erell joined the British merchant marine. In January 1941, his ship was sunk by a torpedo from a German

U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...

. Erell was rescued and after recuperating, he returned to the navy. After the war he was discharged from the Navy at the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. With the outbreak of the

1948 Arab–Israeli War The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, also known as the First Arab–Israeli War, followed the 1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine, civil war in Mandatory Palestine as the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. The civil war becam ...

Shlomo Erell joined the

and he became the captain of the Israeli Naval vessel ''Palmach''. The ''Palmach'' was credited with many operations in the Sinai and in

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

. After the war, Erell continued as an IDF officer. He held many posts including being the IDF military attaché in the Israeli embassy in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, and commander of the Israeli Navy's missile ships. In January 1966, Erell was promoted to the rank of

Aluf ( or "first/leader of a group" in Biblical Hebrew) is a senior military rank in the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) for officers who in other countries would have the rank of general, air marshal, or admiral. In addition to the ''aluf'' rank, fo ...

( Major General) and became the Commander of the Israeli Navy. In 1968, he resigned from his posts as Commander of the Israeli Navy and he retired from the IDF. After retiring, Erell received a master's degree in administration from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. In the 1970s, he became a member of the

Likud Likud (, ), officially known as Likud – National Liberal Movement (), is a major Right-wing politics, right-wing, political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon in an alliance with several right-wing par ...

party and from time to time he was brought in by Israeli leaders as an advisor of Naval issues.

Death and legacy

Erell died on 20 November 2018, on his 98th birthday.

Published works

* Erell, Shlomo (2000), ''Diplomacy in the Depths of the Sea''. Ma'ariv Publishing.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Erell, Shlomo 1920 births 2018 deaths Polish emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Israeli Navy generals Columbia Business School alumni Burials at Kiryat Shaul Cemetery Betar members British Merchant Navy personnel of World War II Inmates of Acre Prison Military personnel from Łódź Mandatory Palestine military personnel of World War II Israeli military personnel of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War