Happy Birthday to the Israeli Uzi

Happy Birthday to the Israeli Uzi !

A tribute to Uziel “Uzi” Gal (15 December 1923 to 7 September 2002)

by Col Mike Howard, US Marines (Ret)



The Israeli Uzi, invented by Uziel “Uzi” Gotthard Glas Gal (he later changed his German birth name Glas to the Hebrew Gal), was invented by him in the late 1940’s. It is thus celebrating its 70th birthday. Though he did not pick this name for his innovative weapon, that is what everyone called it from its inception. The late 1940’s was a desperate time for Israel as it struggled with its War of Independence. From the beginning, the Jewish community in Israel “the Yishuv”, had had to do its best defending itself with a wide array of foreign weapons. The Uzi was welcomed and celebrated not only as a highly reliable sub-machine gun, but as a symbol of Israeli resolution that “they would not go quietly into the night” and be pushed into the sea by their many enemies.

He was born in Weimar, Germany to Erich and Mile Glas. When Hitler and his Nazis came to power in 1933, Uzi moved first to Britain, and then in 1936, to Kibbutz Yagur, in northern Israel southeast of Haifa. It was here that he changed his name to Uziel Gal. World War II was raging and most Arabs were openly hostile to the Yisuv (the Jewish community prior to the 1948 establishment of Israel). In fact, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem was a guest of Hitler in Berlin, translating Mein Kampf and broadcasting it to the Middle East in Arabic. A patriotic Jew who believed in the right of self-defense, Uzi Gal became a member of the famed Palmach, the “strike force” unit that later provided the offensive capability for the Haganah, the future IDF. He was arrested by British police in 1943 for illegally carrying a gun. He was sentenced to six years in Akko Prison. But he was pardoned and released in 1946. His home, Kibbutz Yagur, served as one of the Haganah’s three largest arsenals, where the British later raided and confiscated in 1946 during British Operation Agatha, where more than 300 rifles, some 100 2-inch mortars, more than 400,000 rounds of ammunition, over 5,000 grenades, and 78 revolvers. Gal recalled that while in prison, he began visualizing his design for a new weapon. After his release, Gal began designing an actual prototype. The 1947 United Nations approval vote for the partition plan of Palestine following the British Mandate provided added incentive. Israel needed a reliable, indigenous weapons industry. Uzi Gal’s design had to be simple, easy to manufacture, and rugged. The 1948-1949 Arab-Israeli War was proof that Israel could not count on outside weapons imports. A pivotal date in the history of the IDF and the Uzi was 20 October 1949, when officer cadet Uziel Glas #120946 formally submitted his detailed description of his near perfect sub-machine gun design to his IDF chain of command. Despite his objection, the new Israel Defense Force arms industry referred to his 9 mm masterpiece simply as the “Uzi”. Fittingly, it was a simple name for a simply magnificent weapon!

By 1951, following extensive tests, the IDF officially adopted the Uzi. By 1954, IDF Special Operations units were fully equipped with it. By 1956, the entire IDF was equipped with it. The Uzi was extremely popular from the start and “Uzi” Gal was lionized in the media and across the country. Israel had an outstanding weapon of its own! In 1955, he was decorated with a special IDF Chief of Staff citation award, the Tzalash Ha Ramatkal and in 1958, Gal was the first person to receive the Israel Security Award, presented to him by Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion. All of this for his amazing work and inspiration on the Uzi.

After a distinguished career, Uziel Gal retired from the IDF in 1975. He then moved to the United States so that his daughter Tamar could receive specialized medical treatment in Philadelphia.

With his passion for weapons still there, Uzi Gal continued as a firearms designer and assisted the Ruger Corporation in the creation of their new Ruger MP9 submachine gun.

On 7 September 2002, Major Uziel Gal, Israel Defense Force, passed away quietly after battling cancer. His remains were flown back to Israel where he was welcomed and buried with honors at Kibbutz Yagur.

He was once asked about his invention of the Uzi. To which he had humbly responded: “I did my duty in the Army just like a cook does, just like everyone else.” Yet it was his attention to duty that produced one of the most phenomenal weapon designs throughout the world.

Yet even today, the Uzi represents Israel as few other outstanding weapons system do. Even the vaunted Merkava and the Galil would take second place to it. But then to this, Uzi Gal would probably remind us that the sling, stones and faith of Kind David still represents the best combined weapon in the history of Judaism.





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