41
Captain David Tel Or
By Shimon Kirshner
Claims, Insurance & Loss Prevantion Division
In 1974, when I was discharged from my long reserve army
service following the Yom Kippur War, I went to work at
ZIM-Sela
. There, I met many distinguished people and
only in the fullness of time did I realize what a tremendous
privilege it was to work alongside them. Among them were
the late Captain Gad Hilev, the skipper of the immigrant
ships (which had given the British a fight), Eliyahu “Blackie”
Shahor, the line manager, who in the past had participated
in Ha’apala activities (clandestine immigration to pre-state
Israel) and the Palyam (the sea force of the Palmach) (see
the biography, “Life fromWave toWave”) and also Captain
David Tel Or, of whose passing we recently learned.
Even though 40 years has passed, it seems as though time
has stood still. I clearly remember my first encounter with
him in the hallway on the 4th floor of ZIM’s well-lit old
building, with its many windows overlooking the sea and
with a view of the port. I, an inexperienced young man,
saw in front of me the Director of Operations, an imposing
man with a noble stride and a kind, alert countenance, who
greeted me with a smile. For a moment, that smile made
you forget the obvious class gap between a lowly worker
and a senior, accomplished Director of Operations. He
introduced himself with his first name, and said I should
feel free to call him David, not Captain and not Mr. Tel Or,
just David – it’s worth remembering that in those days it was
expected that we would all keep a professional distance
and respect the rank, addressing captains by their title,
or at least as “Mr” or “Ma’am”. But he wasn’t like that.
The fact is, if my memory serves me correctly, ZIM-Sela
under Blackie’s management held daily meetings where
even junior workers were given the right to speak, just
like senior officials. Perhaps these were the remnants of
the egalitarian “Kibbutznik” past of the Tarshish-Sela line.
Later, Captain Tel Or invited me to his modest room to
talk, and not only about work matters, as I watched and
listened, transfixed with awe. Occasionally it crossed
my mind that if there were ever any need to select an
impressive figure to advertise recruitment to the Merchant
Navy, I would choose him. Even though a long time has
passed since then, he has remained clearly etched in my
mind as a true example of an officer and a gentleman.
Captain David Tel Or as a young seaman
In Memor iam
