Haim Ben-David

Ben-David was born in Vienna, the capital of Austria in 1919.{{cite web|title=אלוף חיים בן-דוד|url=http://www.izkor.gov.il/HalalKorot.aspx?id=94982|publisher=Izkor, Ministry of Defense|accessdate=23 January 2014}} He studied Hebrew at the local Jewish community which was headed by Tzvi-Peretz Hayot at the time. Soon after, Ben-David joined the Gordonia, a Zionist youth movement and in 1938 he immigrated to Israel. Soon after arriving in Israel, Ben-David joined the Haganah where he aided Jewish immigrants during the Aliyah.{{cite web|title=על חב"ד שאיננו|url=http://jpress.org.il/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Skin=TAUHe&BaseHref=DAV/1967/11/28&EntityId=Ar00615&ViewMode=HTML|publisher=Davar|accessdate=23 January 2014|language=Hebrew|date=November 28, 1967}}

Ben-David became one of the first fighters in the Special Night Squads watching over the Mosul–Haifa oil pipeline in the Jezreel Valley. He eventually settled in Beit She'an valley where he became the area's first commander of Hish.

After the formation of the Carmeli Brigade on February 22, 1948, he became a company commander. During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War Ben-David fought in the Battle of Ramat Yohanan. He participated in Operation Dekel and Operation Hiram in the Western Galilee in an attempt to free Yehiam.{{cite web|title= (Part 2) אלוף ח. בן דוד, שגריר ישראל באדיס אבבה, נספה בתאונת מטוס|url=http://jpress.org.il/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Skin=TAUHe&BaseHref=DAV/1967/11/23&EntityId=Ar00201&ViewMode=HTML|publisher=Davar|accessdate=23 January 2014|language=Hebrew|date=November 23, 1967}}

In October 1951, he was appointed assistant Chief of General Staff under the command of Mordechai Maklef. In 1953 he was appointed to organize the Department of Human Resources under the Manpower Directorate. In 1955 he was appointed Battalion commander of Golani Brigade, a position he held for a year.

Ben-David became the Military Secretary to the Prime Minister under the command of David Ben-Gurion following the suicide of Nehemiah Argov. He held that position for five years while the Lavon Affair intensified. Following the resignation of David Ben-Gurion in 1963, Ben-David was appointed Head of the Manpower Directorate. In April of '64 Ben-David was promoted to Aluf rank.

File:חיים בן-דוד (חב"ד) ודוד בן-גוריון.png]]

After his release from the military in 1966, Ben-David was appointed Israel's ambassador in Ethiopia. In November 1967 Ben-David was killed in a plane accident while flying from Addis Ababa to an Israeli farm as part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.{{cite web|title=אלוף חיים בן דוד נהרג בתאונה אווירית באתיופיה|url=http://jpress.org.il/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Skin=TAUHe&BaseHref=MAR/1967/11/23&EntityId=Ar00301&ViewMode=HTML|publisher=Maariv|accessdate=23 January 2014|language=Hebrew|date=November 23, 1967}} Ben-David was married and had three sons. He is buried in Kiryat Shaul Military Cemetery.{{cite web|title=מקום מנוחתו|url=http://www.izkor.gov.il/HalalMakomMenucha.aspx?id=94982|publisher=The State of Israel, Ministry of Defense|accessdate=23 January 2014}} A street in the Yad Eliyahu neighborhood in Tel Aviv is named after him.

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Category:1919 births

Category:1967 deaths

Category:Austrian Zionists

Category:Israeli generals

Category:Israeli military personnel of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War

Category:Haganah members

Category:Jewish emigrants from Austria after the Anschluss to Mandatory Palestine

Category:Burials at Kiryat Shaul Cemetery

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Category:British military personnel of the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine

Category:Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1967

Category:Immigrants of the Fifth Aliyah

Category:Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in Israel