Avraham Lanir

Avi Lanir
Native name
אבי לניר
Born(1940-01-25)January 25, 1940
Herzliya, Mandatory Palestine
Died16 October 1973
Aleppo, Syria
Buried
Allegiance Israel
BranchIsraeli Air Force
Years of service1959–1973
RankLieutenant Colonel
Commands101 Squadron (Israel)
AwardsMedal of Courage

Avraham "Avi" Lanir (Hebrew: אברהם "אבי" לניר; January 25, 1940 – October 1973) was a lieutenant colonel in the Israel Air Force. He was the highest-ranking Israeli fighter pilot to fall into enemy hands.

His image was engraved in the Israeli consciousness as a heroic figure, as a man who gave his life under severe torture in captivity in Syria and did not divulge the secrets of the state in which he was trusted - secrets that probably touched on the subject of "the weapon that Israel never admitted to exist". For this act he was given the medal of courage.