Yossi Benayoun is my Saba and he fought in the IDF during the Sinai War, the Six-Day War, and the Yom Kippur War. His job in the IDF was to be a chabala. The Chabalas were the soldiers who went into enemy territory to clear the land of mines. His team would be the first to go into enemy territory and ensure it was safe for the army to begin operations. The Chabalas would also set land mines of their own to stop the Arabs from advancing into Israel.
In 1955, my Saba was 17 years old. A soldier came to his school to talk about the war that was about to take place. Soon after, my Saba was taken to army training. After only a month of training, the war started. First, the Israeli Air Force went into the land to clear what they could from enemy territory. After that, my Saba’s group went in to clear the rest of the land. The war ended in 1956 because President Eisenhower gave Israel an ultimatum that stated that if Israel didn’t give up all of its occupied territories, America would withdraw a large amount of American aid to Israel.
In 1967, my Saba was called to fight in the Six-Day War. My Saba was working at the beginning of the war. He had to leave behind his wife and two young children (Ronen at 5 years old and Ifhat at 6 months old). During the war, my Saba was stationed in Gaza. My Saba admitted that the war was an easy fight for him. This was mainly due to the Arabs fleeing at the sight of the IDF coming their way.
There is a story that my Saba told me about his time in the Six-Day War. He and his friends were surveying the land late at night and they went into houses in search of energy. In one of the houses, my Saba found a crying baby about the same age as his daughter, Ifhat. His friend was behind him and didn’t hear the crying and began shooting. My Saba got him to stop and took the baby with him to find the mother. Once he found the baby’s mother, he returned the child.
My Saba fought in the Yom Kippur War and filled his role as chabala just as he had done in the previous two wars. This fight was also fairly easy for my Saba. Like in the Six-Day War, when the Arabs saw the IDF coming, they ran away.
