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Source: http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1101183312098
Former IDF Chief Rafael Eitan Drowns in Ashdod
(Jerusalem Post)Arieh O'Sullivan - Rafael "Raful" Eitan, 75, was hit by a large wave at Ashdod port Tuesday while overseeing the construction of a new breakwater. Eitan was a former deputy prime minister as leader of the Tzomet Party and served as agriculture and environment minister. A legendary IDF paratroop commander and the 11th chief of staff during the Lebanon War, Eitan had fought in the Palmach during the 1948 War of Independence and was severely wounded in the battle for Jerusalem. In 1956 he was the first to parachute into the Mitla Pass during the Sinai Campaign. "The man was courageous, a true leader, and impersonated the true qualities of a fighter. It might sound strange but it suits him to die at work," former president Ezer Weizman told Army Radio. "He will always be remembered as a symbolic fighter that embodies the Jewish people's struggle in the Land of Israel."