Significant moments of my life in times of war
During the Six-Day War, Kahalani commanded a company of Patton tanks from the 79th Battalion. He was awarded the Medal of Distinguished Service for his service during the war, where he was badly wounded when his M-48 Patton caught fire.
When the Yom Kippur War broke out in 1973, Kahalani was a 29-year-old lieutenant colonel and battalion commander. He served as commander of the Centurion-equipped 77th Armored Battalion of the 7th Brigade on the Golan Heights. Kahalani's battalion – along with other elements of the 7th Armored Brigade – engaged in fierce defensive fighting against a vastly superior Syrian mechanized force, consisting of more than 50,000 men and 1,200 tanks. The battle proved to be one of the turning points of the war. After the war, the valley where it took place was littered with hundreds of destroyed and abandoned Syrian tanks and was renamed "Emek Ha-Bacha" ("The Valley of Tears"). For his actions during the war Kahalani received the highest Israeli military decoration, the Medal of Valor.
The smuggling of Yemeni Jews to Israel
Brig. Gen (Ret.) Avigdor Kahalani
Former Homeland Security Minister
Israel
English, Hebrew
Avigdor, born in 1944, is married with 3 children and lives in Tel-Aviv.
Avigdor Kahalani served as a company commander in the Armored Corps. During the Six-Day War he was severely wounded, for which he was awarded a citation, which was later changed to a Medal of Honor.
Avigdor suffered from burns on 60 percent of his body, was hospitalized for a year though later returned to the armored corps.
During the Yom Kippur War, he commanded the 77th Battalion in the Golan Heights. The tank force under his command managed to recapture the occupied positions and destroyed hundreds of Syrian tanks (about 300 in number). For his part in these significant battles, he was awarded the Medal of Valor.
Avigdor has served as Knesset member, party leader and as the Minister of Internal Security.
Avigdor has published six books and 15 songs so far.