Dov Yermiya

Dov Yermiya (דב ירמיה; October 24, 1914 – January 30, 2016) was an Israeli military officer and political activist who became notable for severely criticizing Israeli military actions.

Dov Yermiya was born on moshav Beit Gan, now a part of Yavne'el, in what was then Ottoman Palestine in 1914.

His parents, David and Bella Yirmanovich, had immigrated to Palestine from the Russian Empire as part of the Second Aliyah.

His mother had been romantically involved with Joseph Trumpeldor before marrying his father.

In 1921, his family moved to moshav Nahalal, where he grew up.

Moshe Dayan was a childhood friend of his.

In school, he displayed musical talent, and at age 15, he conducted a student's choir and composed melodies.

As a teenager, Yermiya joined the Haganah in 1929, and defended Nahalal during the 1929 Palestine riots.

In 1934, he left Nahalal to study music in Tel Aviv.

While studying music, he joined Hashomer Hatzair.

During the 1936-1939 Arab revolt in Palestine, Yermiya joined the Special Night Squads.

In 1937, his parents separated, although they never divorced, with his father moving to kibbutz Beit Alfa and his mother moving to Hadera.

He maintained a close relationship with each of them until their deaths.

In 1938, he was among the founders of kibbutz Eilon, and became a member of the kibbutz.

He participated in a battle for kibbutz Hanita, and was appointed regional commander of the area.

After World War II, broke out, Yermiya joined the British Army, and served in Palestinian Transport Corps.

He participated in the North African and Middle Eastern fronts, and the invasions of Italy and Germany.

At the end of the war, he was a member of the Haganah's elite strike unit, the Palmach, and participated in Palmach operations to smuggle illegal Jewish immigrants into Palestine as part of Aliyah Bet.

During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Yermiya served in the Israel Defense Forces as a company commander.

He participated in fighting in the Eastern and Western Galilee, and the conquest of Nazareth.

He was the officer who directed the assault that ended in the conquest of Saffuriyah in Operation Dekel, and his memory of the event confirms the version of events given by the Palestinians who fled.

He was a deputy battalion commander in the Carmeli Brigade during Operation Hiram, which saw Israel capture the Upper Galilee and invade southern Lebanon, which was temporarily occupied by the Israelis.

During the occupation of southern Lebanon, an officer under Yermiya's command, First Lieutenant Shmuel Lahis, was one of the two Israeli officers responsible for the Hula massacre, in which dozens of people in the village of Hula were killed.

When Yermiya learned of this, he filed a complaint that led to the two officers' trial and conviction in a military court.

After the war, Yermiya continued to serve in the army, eventually reaching the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

His second wife, Hadassah Mor, whom he married during this time, claimed he had developed Communist views, and wrote that "Stalin... was Dov's God."

In 1958, he retired from the army.

After retiring from his military career, Yermiya became a member of kibbutz Sarid, where he worked in agriculture and as a Hebrew teacher for new immigrants.

Later, he left Sarid and settled in Nahariya, where he lived for most of his life before returning to Eilon in his final years.

He was active in struggling for equal rights for Israeli-Arabs.

In particular, he protested the imposition of military rule over Arab areas, which was in effect until 1966, and turned down an appointment that would have made him Military Governor of Nazareth.

He was one of the founding members of the Nature and Parks Authority in the Northern District, which later became part of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority.

In 1967, General David Elazar, who commanded the IDF's Northern Command, appointed Yermiya commander of the regional defense of Kiryat Shmona, and from then on, he did reserve duty on a voluntary basis.

In 1974, one day after the Ma'alot massacre, he established the Civil Guard in Nahariya and served as its commander.

Five weeks later, he participated in action against Palestinian infiltrators during the 1974 Nahariya attack.

In 1976, when the Good Fence opened, he served as a reservist in the military government unit.

During the 1978 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, he served as an administrative and service officer in the military government unit, which became a unit dealing with assistance for civilians.

He worked there until his retirement in 1979.

After his retirement, he became the security coordinator for the Ga'aton Regional Council.

During the 1982 Lebanon War, Yermiya, aged 68, volunteered for service.