Page 45 - HaMizrachi #29 Yom HaAtzmaut 2021 USA

Mordechai, his wife and two children If they raised their heads, the snipers
had fulfilled their lifelong dream and would shoot. Yet they couldn’t stay there
made aliyah only five years earlier without ammunition.
from Algeria. Upon arriving in Israel, “Get behind me,” Yaakov told his men.
24-year-old Mordechai enlisted in the Alone Against the Enemy Yaakov covered for his fellow soldiers as
army, where he served for three months
before being assigned to the reserves. June 9th, 1967. one by one they rolled back into a ditch
behind him.
On the third day of the Six-Day War, The fifth day of the Six-Day War. The Yaakov was left alone, with no one to
Mordechai was making the rounds Syrians were firing from the Golan. cover for him.
between Gaza and Beer Sheva, supply- Yaakov Girschfeld, a rookie squad com-
ing soldiers with critical equipment. On Crawling sideways, he quickly rolled
one of his rides, he saw the truck ahead mander, was given the order to advance. into another ditch.
of him driving straight ahead instead of The mission: conquer the Syrian out- A ditch he and his team had not cleared
turning at the junction as it should have. post Tel Faher, a strategic point in the
Golan, from where the IDF would con- of enemy soldiers.
Mordechai honked his horn but it was quer the rest of the Heights. The plan: And there, looking into his eyeballs, was
too late… loop around the outpost and take it from a Syrian soldier.

The truck had driven over a mine. With- behind. Yaakov shot first, beating his foe by a
out thinking twice, Mordechai jumped As soon as they began their mission, millisecond. Grabbing his enemy’s gun,
out of his own truck and ran to rescue
the soldiers trapped in the blazing vehi- things did not go as planned. Yaakov Yaakov dashed through the ditch until
he reached his comrades. He helped
cle. He dragged the driver’s escort 10 and his men were met with Syrian fire, them evacuate the wounded before
meters to safety, then returned for the and soon the path was blocked by an returning to fight until Tel Faher was
driver. His arms were burning and he abandoned Israeli tank. under Israeli control.
realized the enemy was now shooting “Take it by foot, Yaakov!”
at him.
The soldiers planted explosives to
Mordechai could save himself and take demolish the fence, then bravely jumped
cover, or continue to try and free the into the ditches, shooting at enemy sol-
driver, whose legs diers. The team had managed to clear
were still stuck under the gas pedal. “I 200 meters of ditch when they came
knew I couldn’t leave him there,” said upon what seemed like an empty build-
Mordechai. ing. Ordered to clear the building and

Pulling with all his might, under heavy take it by force, the soldiers began to
fire, Mordechai freed the driver and climb out of the ditches... straight into
dragged him to safety, minutes before Syrian fire.
the truck exploded. Yaakov and his comrades dived back
After the war, Mordechai Attia received down and returned fire, but they were
a decoration for his bravery. soon running low on ammunition.
They were trapped.

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