Commander, Jerusalem Front / Later Chief of Staff
"If you want to make peace, you don't talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies."
Moshe Dayan was the most celebrated and controversial Israeli military figure of his generation — a man whose single black eye patch became the face of Israeli military prowess. Born on the first kibbutz in Palestine, he joined the Haganah as a teenager and learned his craft fighting Arab gangs alongside British officers. He lost his eye in 1941 during a Vichy French Syrian campaign while serving with British forces. In the 1948 war, he commanded the 89th Commando Battalion and then the Jerusalem front, fighting in some of the war's bloodiest engagements. He later rose to Chief of Staff, commanding the Sinai Campaign in 1956, and to Defense Minister during the Six-Day War, where his iconic appearance at the Western Wall cemented his legend.
Did you know?
Dayan lost his eye not in battle but while looking through binoculars at Australian troops when a rifle bullet shattered the binoculars. The eye patch became his defining feature and was reportedly stuffed with cigarettes on social occasions.
April 21–22, 1948 · 400 total casualties
The fall of Haifa, Palestine's largest Arab-majority city, was a watershed moment. The mass flight of roughly 70,000 Arab residents became a template for what followed across Palestine — and a central symbol of the Nakba (Catastrophe). The port gave the nascent Israeli state a critical logistics hub.
April – July 1948 · 2,000 total casualties
Jerusalem's divided outcome shaped the entire region's future. The Old City — including the Western Wall — remained under Jordanian control until 1967. The cease-fire line through the city became the 'Green Line' that defines Israeli-Palestinian borders to this day.
May 20, 1915
🌅 Birth
Born at Degania Alef — first person born in a kibbutz
June 1941
⚔️ Battle
Lost left eye during Syria campaign with British forces
1948
⚔️ Battle
Commanded Jerusalem sector during War of Independence
1956
⚔️ Battle
Commanded Israeli forces during Sinai Campaign
June 7, 1967
⚔️ Battle
Entered the Old City following capture of Jerusalem
October 16, 1981
✝️ Death
Died in Tel Aviv, age 66