Gal (Hefner), Michael (Mickey)

Son of Yaacov and Yehudit. He was born on the 24th of Sivan, July 1, 1948 in Jerusalem. He attended the Henrietta Szold School. His teachers there testified that Michael had an especially pleasant manner. After graduating from elementary school, he studied at the Hebrew Gymnasium, where he stood out for his quick perception, his kindness, his closeness to his friends, and his love for people in general. He was always happy and cheerful. After finishing high school, Michael’s way was clear to him. As soon as the matriculation exams were over, he was drafted into the IDF, which was in July 1966. He volunteered for the Air Force and then went to the pilots’ course. He volunteered to join the diving unit. He went through basic training, then a course for divers and finally a course for electricians in the submarine. He began his service as a diver in the “Tanin”. Although his life there was not easy, he would not talk about it, and was always satisfied with everything. In August 1967, he went to England and joined the crew of the Dakar submarine. He and his friends underwent harsh training under difficult weather conditions, but his letters from Forestmouth and Scotland were without complaints. In January 1968, the Dakar submarine headed for Israel. While at sea, it lost connection between Gibralter and Haifa.This was on the 24th of Tevet, January 5, 1968. The Chief Military Rabbinate determined that the date of Michael’s death, in the course of his duties with the rest, was on the 29th of Teves, January 30, 1968. As a member of the team, Michael was assigned a memorial monument in the military cemetery on Mount Herzl, in Jerusalem. In Eran Shorer’s book “Six Days in Dakar,” his picture was presented. On the 13th of Sivan, May 28, 1999, after years of searching, the INS Dakar submarine was found on the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea, at a depth of 2,900 meters, on its planned sailing route and 250 miles from the port of Haifa.