Avraham Lanir

Avi Lanir
Born(1940-01-25)January 25, 1940
Herzliya, Mandatory Palestine
Died16 October 1973
Aleppo, Syria
Buried
Mount Herzl, Jerusalem
Allegiance Israel
Service/branchIsraeli Air Force
Years of service1959–1973
RankLieutenant Colonel
Commands101 Squadron (Israel)
AwardsMedal of Courage

Avraham "Avi" Lanir (January 25, 1940 – October 1973) was a lieutenant colonel in the Israel Air Force. He was the highest-ranking Israeli fighter pilot to fall into enemy hands.

His image was engraved in the Israeli consciousness as a heroic figure, as a man who gave his life under severe torture in captivity in Syria and did not divulge the secrets of the state in which he was trusted - secrets that probably touched on the subject of "the weapon that Israel never admitted to exist".[1] For this act he was given the medal of courage.

  1. ^ "The man who kept silent: the story of the highest ranking pilot who fell in captivity". May 27, 2017.