1. Uzi Narkiss appears in the famous photograph of Defense Minister Moshe Dayan flanked by Chief of Staff Yitzhak Rabin taken in the Old City of Jerusalem shortly after its capture from Jordanian forces.
12 Facts About Uzi Narkiss
1. 2.
Uzi Narkiss was born in Jerusalem to Polish Jewish parents.
3.
Uzi Narkiss joined the Palmach at the age of 16 and was involved in Haganah operations against British Mandatory forces in Palestine.
4.
Uzi Narkiss' unit, dubbed a "diversionary force," succeeded in penetrating Zion Gate, bringing in supplies and evacuating the wounded from those under siege.
5.
When military reinforcements failed to appear Uzi Narkiss ordered his men to retreat, with the Old City falling to Jordanian forces shortly thereafter.
6.
Uzi Narkiss spent several years studying in France at the Ecole de Guerre.
7.
Uzi Narkiss later served as an Israeli military attache and was awarded the Legion d'honneur by the French government.
8.
Moshe Dayan claimed the destruction was carried out under the orders of an officer who wished to expel the residents; Brigadier General Uzi Narkiss claimed the credit for the action.
9.
In 1948, Uzi Narkiss searched the body of the dead Palestinian commander Abdul Kader Husseini for his Koran on the battlefield.
10.
Husseini was not interested under such terms, therefore Uzi Narkiss kept it in his library.
11.
Uzi Narkiss died in 1997 after a long illness at the age of 72.
12.
Uzi Narkiss was buried in the military cemetery on Mount Herzl.