Meir Har-Zion - End of Career

End of Career

Operation Jonathon, 11–12 September 1955, was an attack by two paratroop companies on Khirbet al Rahwa police fort, on the Hebron–Beersheba road, in which over 20 Jordanian soldiers and policemen were killed. During the fighting Har-Zion was wounded in the throat and arm. His life was saved by an army doctor who performed a tracheotomy while still on the battlefield.

His injuries left him unable to continue his army career. He was awarded Medal of Courage. He had attained the rank of Captain. In 1969 he published his diaries which gave an account of his time as a paratrooper.

Of one of the early attacks he wrote: "Once again I am beset by this strong feeling of discord... the feel of battle, the will to victory, the hatred towards one who wishes to take from you what is most precious of all – your life. These first victories have been too easy.'"

He also gives an account of the killing of Rafia Abdul Aziz Omar: ".... A telephone line blocks our way. We cut it and continue. A narrow path leads along the slope of a hill. The column marches forward in silence. Stop! A few rocks roll down the hill. I catch sight of a man surveying the silence. I cock my rifle. Gibly crawls over to me, "Har, for God's sake, a knife!!" His clenched teeth glitter in the dark and his whole body is tight, his mind alert, "For God's sake," ... I put my tommy down and unsheath my machete. We crawl towards the lone figure as he begins to sing a trilled Arab tune. Soon the singing will turn into a death moan. I am shaking, every muscle in my body is tense. This is my first experience with this type of weapon. Will I be able to do it?" We draw closer. There he stands, only a few meters in front of us. We leap. Gibly grabs him and I plunge the knife deep into his back. The blood pours over his striped cotton shirt. With not a second to lose, I react instinctively and stab him again. The body groans, struggles and then becomes quiet and still.

In 2005, he was voted the 15th-greatest Israeli of all time, in a poll by the Israeli news website Ynet to determine whom the general public considered the 200 Greatest Israelis.

Currently, he lives in "Ahuzat Shoshana", a farm built on land on a mountaintop above the Jordan Valley. The farm is named after his sister.