Yitzhak Yifat, paratrooper at center of iconic Six Day War photo, dies at 81

Immortalized at newly captured Western Wall, Yifat and fellow soldiers Zion Karasenti and Haim Oshri became powerful symbol of one of most significant moments in Israeli history

The iconic Rubinger photo of three paratroopers standing at the recaptured Western Wall in June 1967. From left: Tzion Karasenti, Yitzhak Yifat and Chaim Oshri (David Rubinger/GPO)
The iconic Rubinger photo of three paratroopers standing at the recaptured Western Wall in June 1967. From left: Tzion Karasenti, Yitzhak Yifat and Chaim Oshri (David Rubinger/GPO)

Dr. Yitzhak (Itzik) Yifat, one of three paratroopers who appeared in an iconic photo taken at the Western Wall after Israel captured it during the 1967 Six Day War, died Saturday at age 81.

He will be laid to rest Sunday in his hometown of Ge’a, near Ashkelon.

Yifat was immortalized in David Rubinger’s iconic photo as the fresh-faced young man in the middle, gazing up at the Western Wall following the military’s victory at the holy site.

The Rubinger photograph of the three paratroopers standing in silent awe in front of the recaptured Western Wall after the battle for Jerusalem in 1967 has become the defining image of one of the most significant moments in Israel’s history.

Yifat, 24 at the time, was pictured next to fellow paratroopers Tzion Karasenti and Chaim Oshri.

Yifat eventually became a gynecologist and lived in Kiryat Malachi and later Ge’a.

In 2019 Yifat told Yedioth Ahronoth: “When we broke through to the Western Wall it was emotional in a way it’s hard to describe. I thought of my grandfather, may he rest in peace, of his history, how he always spoke of the the Wall. He was not a fighter and did not get to see the Wall in our hands, so I felt it was for him.

“I’m not a person who prays but all the religious soldiers began praying. I touched the Wall, put my hand on the stones. It’s a moment that’s always with me. Then we cut up a few papers, every person wrote his deepest wish, and we inserted the notes into the cracks.”

In 2017 Yifat told Channel 12: “After the war, my neighbor who was a brand new immigrant from Poland, came running out to show me that my photo was in the Polish newspapers. I was shocked.”

“We did become a symbol of our strength,” he said.

Related: On US tour, Israeli paratroopers to re-create iconic photo from Six Day War

Yifat also had misgivings about the results of that war, which led to decades of Israeli military rule over the Palestinians.

“There is something to be said for [calling the image the start of the tragedy of the State of Israel],” Yifat said during a reenactment of the moment with Karasenti and Oshri. “I don’t believe that we should be ruling over another nation.”

“How can you say that as an Israeli who fought for something after 2,000 years of longing?” Karasenti shot back. “We returned the heart of the Jewish people to this land.”

Yifat responded: “What am I supposed to tell my grandchildren? That there will be war every year?”

Despite their political differences, the three men said they had remained close friends over the years.

Yifat is survived by three daughters and 10 grandchildren.

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