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He was the first pilot of Kiryat Shmona.

When he was captured by the Syrians, an entire city feared for his fate

Yoram Shachar, who has a "gentle mind and a sturdy body," was "the strongest man in the pilot course."

On the third day of the Yom Kippur War his phantom plane was shot down, and for eight months he was tortured in prison while at home waiting for signs of life from him.

"He was a revered figure in the city, not just because he was a pilot."

This week he died at the age of 74

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• Kiryat Shmona

• Yom Hakkipurim War

Eli Ashkenazi

Saturday, 29 May 2021, 09:40 Updated: 09:41

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"When he would come to visit, the house would be filled with light."

Yoram Shachar with his father, Ephraim (Photo: Walla !, courtesy of the family)

On the third day of the Yom Kippur War, the phantom plane of the pilot Yoram Shachar and the pilot Gur Israeli was shot down deep in Syria. The two spent eight months in a Syrian prison with other IDF prisoners.

Zeev Raz, then deputy commander of the 69th Squadron and later leader of the attack on the nuclear reactor in Iraq, recalled that the letters sent by Yoram from captivity, through the Red Cross, would arrive late at night. Raz described on his Facebook page the long way north, in the military Susita car, from the base in the courtyards to Shahar's parents' house in Kiryat Shmona, where he would arrive around 02: 00-03: 00 in the morning

. We kept them quiet, "Raz wrote." Elite coffee miracle, milk and two teaspoons of sugar. Read each sentence aloud three or four times. Mom and then Dad and Mom again. "

Shahar was the first pilot of Kiryat Shmona, a revered and beloved figure in the city.

The old residents of the city tell of a man "from his shoulder upwards", and not only because of his high stature.

This week he passed away, and he is about 74 years old.

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"A revered figure in Kiryat Shmona, not only because he is a pilot."

Yoram Shachar (center) (Photo: Walla !, courtesy of the family)

Shahar's parents, Tamar and Ephraim, Holocaust survivors born in Hungary, were members of the Hashomer Hatzair movement and dreamed of living in Eretz Israel. They stayed for several months in a British camp in Cyprus, and after they managed to immigrate to Israel, the two arrived at Kibbutz Ga'aton - where their son Yoram was born. Later, the family moved to Moshav Shear Yashuv in the Upper Galilee, and in 1958 they moved to the neighboring city of Kiryat Shmona. The couple already had four small children: three sons and a daughter.

Tamar worked for many years as a home economics teacher at the Youth Center School, while Ephraim managed the fish farm on the nearby Schwartz farm, a farm whose founders were pioneers in raising pond fish in Israel.

"Kiryat Shmona of those years was a city that had nothing and in fact everything had it," said Danny Shachar, Yoram's brother.

He said, "It was a city of open friendships between the residents. A city whose residents were a group of postcards of immigrants from around the world. Materially life was difficult, but there was warmth and love and mutual help among the people," he said.

He says his father was one of the few in town who owned a car, and it also served other residents of the neighborhood when needed.

"A woman who had to give birth would knock on the door of the house in the middle of the night - and he would drive her," he recalled.

Yoram Shachar (left) with the principal of the high school in Kiryat Shmona (Photo: courtesy of the family)

Gentle mind in a sturdy body

Yoram began his studies at the elementary school in Moshav Beit Hillel, later went on to study at the "HaMaganim" school in Kiryat Shmona and then studied at the "Maalot" high school that was only then founded in the city.

He is considered an outstanding and well-liked student among his peers.

He was active as a trainee in GDNA Air, where he also instructed. "The subject of flying always attracted him," said Brother Danny.

In 1966 he enlisted in the IDF and was accepted to a pilot course as a trainee in class number 54, and completed the course as a helicopter pilot.

"Inside Yoram's sturdy and well-groomed body, a gentle soul resided and won," describes Zeev Raz.

After starting his regular service, he married his childhood sweetheart and partner since the high school days in Kiryat Shmona, Ida Hadad.

The wedding took place in Shakem at the Tel Nof base. Over the years, they had three sons.

More on Walla!

On his 19th birthday, he went blind in a battle near Gaza.

Without seeing, the sounds filled his life

To the full article

In early 1969, Kiryat Shmona began to suffer from Katyusha fire from Lebanon. The city knew that the prime minister or defense minister would come to visit the city after a barrage - it would be Shahar who would fly them. "The residents would leave the houses and wave to Yoram who was flying in a helicopter," recalls Tony Malul, a resident of the city, during those visits.

Tony and her husband, Sami Malul, note that "Yoram was a revered figure in the city, not only because he was a pilot. He had a special personality - we radiated warmth and love from him. When he came to visit, the house would be filled with light."

As much as he was loved and revered, the thing of his captivity aroused great concern among the inhabitants of the city. The atmosphere in the city was very difficult. 20 of her sons were killed in the battles or declared missing. "To the difficult atmosphere that was added was also the great concern that was for Yoram's well-being. The whole city was in tension," says Sami Malul, whose brother Salomon was declared missing and later an IDF space.

"Dropped deep inside Syria."

Phantom plane over a tank company 1973 (Photo: IDF Spokesman)

Captivating math exercises

Indeed, Shahar has gone through many hardships since his plane was shot down.

His brother Danny said that "when Yoram and Gur fell to the ground, Syrian farmers tried and almost killed them. Even in prison, Yoram did not lick honey and was severely tortured. At home we went through a tense period, but the parents were strong. "It gave the parents strength."

Nearly five months after he was taken prisoner, a reporter for the French newspaper Paris Match met Shahar and several other prisoners.

He photographed him holding a love letter to his wife, and a reporter who Yoram told him he was passing the time doing math exercises and drawing portraits of his wife.

After returning from captivity, he returned to service in the Air Force, and during his service graduated with honors from the Technion's Aeronautical Engineer.

He later commanded a helicopter squadron, and at the age of 42 was discharged from military service with the rank of lieutenant colonel.

Upon his release, he began working for a multi-bolt company.

At first he insisted on learning the basic work of a door installer, which also required carrying them on his back to apartments without an elevator.

He then moved to work in a UAV production company, a field that was then in its infancy. He also worked as a development engineer at a compressor manufacturing company and later joined Israir as a pilot, where he worked alongside his younger brother, Nimrod, who was also an Air Force pilot.

"His body could not withstand the load."

Yoram Shachar (Photo: Walla !, courtesy of the family)

Shahar lives with his family in Ramat Hasharon, in a house whose construction was completed while he was in captivity in Syria.

The family moved there after years of wandering in family residences at Air Force bases.

The couple had 11 grandchildren over the years, who filled their world.

Recently, Shahar nursed Ida, the love of his life who fell ill, until she passed away four months ago.

Yoram fell ill as well.

"On Friday we met his classmates again by his bedside," wrote Mickey Katz, his friend since the pilot course.

"We spoke to him in the hope that he would hear us. Yoram, the strongest man in the course, the bully of the course, died the next day. His body could not stand the load," he wrote.

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