The black armband over his left eye made Moshe Dayan one of the most recognizable military commanders of the 20th century. On October 16, 1981, Israel lost the man whose name was associated simultaneously with military victories, heavy defeats and attempts at peace in the Middle East. Dayan died at the age of 66 after a heart attack in a hospital near Tel Aviv.
He was born on May 20, 1915 in Degania. In the 1930s, he joined the Haganah - the Jewish military organization in British Mandate Palestine. He later served in the Special Night Units, created under the command of British officer Orde Wingate to combat attacks on Jewish settlements.
The wound that became his mark
In 1941, Dayan lost his left eye in an operation against Vichy forces in Lebanon. The wound left a lasting mark on his face, but it also created an image that the world immediately remembered. According to the Israel Defense Forces, the bandage gradually became a symbol of his courage, self-confidence and military victories.
In the Israeli War of Independence, Dayan commanded the Jerusalem Front, and then headed the Southern and Northern Commands. In 1953, he became Chief of the General Staff – a position he held until 1958. In that capacity, he led the Israeli army during the Suez Crisis of 1956.
The Face of the Six-Day War
Dayan's greatest international fame came as Minister of Defense during the Six-Day War in June 1967. Israeli forces captured the Sinai Peninsula, the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights. Dayan became a global symbol of Israeli military power, but also a controversial figure due to the consequences of the war and the ongoing conflict.
US President Ronald Reagan described him after his death as a “brave soldier and a great Israeli statesman”. This assessment combines both sides of his career – military and political.
From general to diplomat
After his years in the army, Dayan entered politics. He was Minister of Agriculture, Minister of Defense, and Minister of Foreign Affairs. As a diplomat, he participated in the efforts that led to the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt, signed in 1979. The treaty was the result of negotiations that began with the visit of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat to Jerusalem and continued with the mediation of the United States at Camp David.
Dayan resigned as Foreign Minister in October 1979 due to disagreements with Prime Minister Menachem Begin over the way negotiations for Palestinian autonomy should be conducted. He died two years later, but remains part of Israel's political memory – like the officer with the bandage, the minister of victory in 1967, and the military man who understands that lasting peace is negotiated not only with allies, but also with adversaries.
Sources: washingtonpost.com, time.com