Brigadier General Emi Plant, who received the Medal of Valor for his part in the Battle of Emek Habakah in the Golan Heights during the Yom Kippur War, under the command of Avigdor Kahalani, passed away on Monday at the age of 71.
Plant's funeral will be held on Tuesday at 6:00 PM at the Moshav Magshimim cemetery in central Israel, where he lived.
In 1975, for his role in the battle of Emek Habakah, Plant received the Medal of Valor, the second-highest decoration awarded by the IDF, from then-Chief of Staff Muta Gor.
The "Be'oz Ruham" (in the strength of their spirit) website, which is run by the IDF to honor the memory of service medal recipients, states that Plant "bravely fought while performing combat tasks and risking his own life."
The website further states that "Captain Plant's company was one of the mainstays against the Syrian force in the northern sector. While fighting, most of the tank commanders in his unit were killed, and the force dwindled."
"Despite this, he and his men remained in their positions, encouraged those who remained and continued to fire back at the attacking enemy. On October 9, 1973, at the end of the main attack of the enemy in the Hermonit sector [the battle] took a turn in favor of the Syrians."
Captain Plant ordered the retreating tanks that were in his area to return to forward combat positions, thereby bringing the Syrian war effort to a halt, despite the fact that his unit had only six tanks left. "In these actions, he showed exemplary courage and leadership ability," the website said.
“In these actions, he [Plant] showed exemplary courage and leadership ability.”
Be'oz Ruham
Plant enlisted in the IDF in November 1969 and was assigned to the Armored Corps. After completing the IDF officers' course, he served as a platoon commander in the Sinai and as deputy commander of a Hermesh (mechanized infantry) company.
During the Yom Kippur War, Captain Plant was the commander of Company H in the 77th Battalion in the 7th Brigade, which stopped Syrian armor attacks during the Battle of Emek Habakah under the command of Kehlani.
After the Yom Kippur War
A year after the Yom Kippur War, Plant was released from the IDF, but in 1977 he returned to service. In the First Lebanon War, he served as a Deputy Brigade Commander and Brigade Commander of the Kiryati Brigade, and in his last position in the army, he served as Chief Armor Officer until July 1995.
After his military service, Plant held several positions, including CEO of the Third Way Party and the Ministry of Internal Security, both under Kahalani, who served in the mid-1990s as party chairman and Minister of Internal Security.