obtained Dassault Mirage III jet fighters in order to counter Egyptian Soviet-made MiG-19s. The Mirages proven themselves very well and served as the Israeli Air Force's main fighter for many years. The Mirages contributed substantially to Israel's victory in the Six-Day War and the elimination of the combined Arab airpower of Egypt, Syria and Jordan, as did other two notable acquisitions by Tzur, the Centurion tanks and MIM-23 Hawk surface-to-air missile technology. Tzur retired from his position as Chief of Staff and from military duty at the end of December 1963. Civilian and political career After his retirement Tzur was appointed as the general manager of Mekorot, Israel's national water company. Under pressure from Moshe Dayan to enter the political fray, in the 1965 elections he was elected to the Knesset on the Rafi list, David Ben-Gurion's party. However, he resigned from the Knesset after just a month, and was replaced by Amos Degani, before returning to work in Mekorot. With the appointment of Dayan as Minister of Defense in May 1967, Tzur was asked to assist Dayan and served as an adviser to the Minister of Defense for seven years. After that, Tzur served at several managing positions, including the Israeli Aircraft Industries, the shipping company Zim, and "Hevra LeYsrael". Tzur was active in public affairs until his last days, and on 29 April 2004 he signed a letter in support of Ariel Sharon's disengament plan. He died in December that year. References External links 1923 births 2004 deaths Soviet Jews People from Izyaslav Soviet emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Jews in Mandatory Palestine Haganah members British Army personnel of World War II Members of the 6th Knesset (1965–1969) Israeli civil servants Rafi (political party) politicians Burials at Kiryat Shaul Cemetery