Selek, Michael

Son of Rina and Abraham. Michael was born on December 1, 1933 in Egypt. He is from a family of seven. Brother to Shlomo, Mordechai, Dora, Ephraim, Yehoshua and Jacob. Michael, who in Egypt was nicknamed “Micho” and in Israel became Micha, grew up in Alexandria for parents who were educators and the army. The father was often absent from home because of his work as a tour guide, and Micha who admired his father always waited for his return, even until the wee hours of the night, enjoying the little gifts the father had brought him. The authoritative mother ran the house with a high hand and she took care of the children’s education. The family was of a high class and therefore Micah, like all his brothers, was sent to a Christian school run by French Catholic monks in a strictly European teaching tradition and strict discipline. He was a good student and succeeded in his studies. In addition, Micha excelled in sports, joined the Maccabi club of the Jewish community and participated in several games. He was especially conspicuous in basketball and in every game he played in the opening five. Later the judge had a basketball. Micha’s son says: “From the moment Micha insisted, he knew what he wanted, and he got what he wanted, such as vegetarianism, when the cooking was for the whole family, and the mother did not take into account the small wishes of each of her children. He worked for a chait as a messenger boy and in the pocket money he earned, he bought food for the market, bourekas, hard boiled eggs or beans, and so he could remain a vegetarian and not hungry. A laundry wife would come home to wash the laundry by hand because there were no machines at that time, and if the garment Micha wanted to wear was dirty, he would not Waiting but washing himself according to his will and needs. ” When he was thirteen, Micha joined the “Young Hebrew” movement, following his brother. In 1948, after the establishment of the State of Israel, the older brothers were arrested in a police raid. Young Micha was not arrested, he forged his age and went with a group of older youth to train in France for immigration to Israel. And arrived after a year in Israel, and joined some of his brothers who also immigrated to Israel and lived with other relatives in Kibbutz Mishmar Ha’emek. The other family immigrated to Israel in 1954. Micha soon learned Hebrew and settled well in the kibbutz, working and learning like all the young people in the Yishuv. Only later, in the army, did his guide learn that Micha could not write Hebrew, only French, and he taught him to write. Micha enlisted in the IDF on November 3, 1951 and was assigned to the Nahal Brigade. But wanted to move to a more combat unit, thanks to his excellent physical fitness, he was accepted to the naval commando, Shayetet 13. Micha kept secret at all times serving in the naval commando unit, did not mention his activities. As a result, he was forced to leave, but was offered not to abandon his love for the sea but to join the training team at the naval officers’ school in Acre. From 1955 until his death, for more than forty-two years, Micha served as a school instructor, a high school that was assigned to command and officer positions in the navy. Among other things, Micha was a sports teacher, responsible for ceremonies and order exercises. During his work, he traveled with students to Finland, Cyprus and more. On one voyage he arrived in France, and met his brother after years they had not seen each other. Lt. Col. (res.) Zeev Almog, who served as the director of the School for Marine Officers from 1973 to 1996 and was very familiar with Micah, said: “They say that the time factor has a trait, that when a young man moves slowly, It did not work, and for over forty years it was as if he had stopped, and energetic Micha, who was full of vitality, worked in the training area as if he had just begun his work.And values ​​that are difficult to find today. Personal integrity, exemplary, uncompromising. A person whose truth is unshakable. Loyal and devoted to his role with great nobility, which was unique only to him. “Ze’ev Almog also said:” Micha, the central figure of the school’s guidance, undertook the most complex tasks, such as the Jerusalem march attended by the senior departments of the school. “When the marchers passed by the stage of honor, the mayor of Jerusalem, Teddy Kollek, remarked: ‘See how Yaffa the marching of the navy is.’ And I corrected: ‘This is the block of the naval officers’ school in Acre, the Navy will come later.’ Said the commander of the navy: ‘Parade and exemplary performance’. I replied: ‘Do you see the guide walking in the lead? To him, if only, is the honorable mention. ‘ Micha passed by with a look of happiness on his face. “Micha also marched his students in a performance at the Maccabiah ceremony in Ramat Gan, where he was awarded the prize for a trip abroad. On the 27th of Tishrei 5719 (October 7, 1958) Micha’s brother Jacob fell. “We were not aware of how to cope with this situation, and this is how Micha helped me cope with the bereavement, as it is involved in the life of the state in general, and in military life in particular. With the commanders of the unit where Yaakov served, his interest and the investigation of the tragic event itself, and he was the contact person of the family with the institutions. ” Micha married Zina (Zehava) and the couple established their home in Nahariya. Yaakov was born in 1959, Yair in 1963 and the daughter of Idit in 1970. Micha was an exemplary family man who invested in his children, and later his grandchildren. Grandpa Ophir wrote: “Grandpa, I miss you in the games we played, in the jokes we told, in the swimming lessons you taught me, and even in the delicious cooking you cooked for us.” While in the land of Micha he spoiled everyone with his successful cooking, and when he went sailing he always remembered to bring gifts to everyone. The extended family also knew Micha’s uncompromising quality and honesty. His door was open to everyone and he could listen and give good advice to all his nephews. Throughout the years, Micha made sure to maintain good relations with his entire family. His mother lived nearby, and for years he made sure to visit her every morning on his way to work, until her death a few months before him. After his mother’s death, Micha asked us to continue to meet and preserve the unity of the family, and despite his illness and harsh treatment, Micha initiated weekly meetings, whether at home with the assistance of his dear wife or in the home of one of the brothers. Brought us closer, after years in which each of us was preoccupied with his affairs. ” Over the years, Micha has raised many students who have reached senior positions in the army and abroad, including Navy Commander Maj. Gen. Micha Ram. During his service, Micha attained the rank of major. Lt. Col. Doron, commander of the School for Marine Officers, wrote: “… Among all the veteran school graduates I met in the two years I have been here, the first question has always been – does Micah still work at school? No doubt, many of the “officers of the naval officers” left a positive and important mark on the graduates, but Micha was one of the most prominent among them. Which the founding fathers engraved on the school’s flag. ” Many of Micha’s students maintained contact with him over the years, and a year before his death he even won a “life like this” party. During his service at the Marine Officers School, Micha contracted a serious illness. He fought the disease for a long time, but died on the 12th of Kislev 5758 (11.1)2.1997). Sixty-three years old in his death. Micha was brought to rest in the cemetery in Nahariya. Survived by a wife, two sons and a daughter, grandchildren, brothers and sister. On the first anniversary of Micha’s death, the family produced a book in his memory, in which his biography is presented in words, pictures and farewells. “I miss seeing you, laughing with you, walking with you, I miss your voice, hear your jokes, hear your footsteps, I miss your help, your support, your cooking, I miss your smile, your touch, your kisses, your embrace. ” The daughter Idit wrote: “I won something special, something that no one, no distance or even time can change, I won such a father, sometimes you were angry, sometimes you laughed, sometimes you preached and sometimes blessed, but you always looked for me … , Which protects me from above, I can only continue to grow and educate on the values ​​you planted in me throughout my years with you. ” The son wrote: “You can not measure your love with me … Your love for me can not be counted … And you have no courage to stand and hold … I wanted you to know that we will continue in the way we started together.” Know that the forces and the strength of the soul, The courage, the modesty and the personal example are from the character traits that you have given me, and I am commanded to continue to do so. ” The son Jacob wrote: “… the most difficult of all is the space created, the space without you, even as a child, my qualities have been absorbed in me, just as you have established generations of adults from your own creation. It is most difficult for me that you do not share with me the Yaffa moments, your hesitations, your advice, and your deliberate hand. “They say that a person’s character and characteristics are revealed in a crisis, you have a different father, your qualities, honesty and honesty are always remembered. Keep going and keep the family together as you did, life goes on, Father, and without you, but your seal remains imprinted in everything A plane of my life, and I miss. ” Dora, Micah’s sister, wrote by the letters of his name: “Of all the precious words in the world / I have to choose the most appropriate of all / You were so precious to me, and how is it Abta? / Could you describe me? Your wife, your children, and all your children / your existence will remain engraved on our hearts. ” The parade ground at the naval officers’ school in Acre was named after Micha, who had been guiding the site for decades, and a memorial monument was erected at the entrance to the lot