Some of the bereaved families who lost loved ones when the Israeli Navy submarine Dakar mysteriously sank in 1968 are up in arms over the state's recent decision to name Israel's newest submarine Dakar in its honor. The original INS Dakar was a former British Royal Navy submarine that was purchased by the Israeli Navy in late 1967 and was making its way from Scotland to Israel in January 1968 when it disappeared with 69 crew members on board. Despite extensive searches, its wreckage was found only three decades later, in 1999, on the seabed between Cyprus and Crete. The families' outrage was sparked last week after Israeli Navy Commander Vice Adm. Ram Rothberg announced that the next submarine to arrive in Israel from Germany will be named INS Dakar after the submarine that sank. Some family members of the dead mariners say there can be only one INS Dakar and the Israeli Navy's decision to give the name to a new submarine is tantamount to a "knife in the heart." Israel Friedman, whose brother Yossi Shalev (Friedman) was one of the sailors killed in 1968, has been circulating a petition seeking to meet with the Israeli Navy commander personally to voice his objections. "I have been conducting telephone conversations with some of the Dakar families and I have heard mixed reactions," Friedman said. "But there are obsessive responses, like mine, that reject the idea of another INS Dakar outright. There is only one Israeli Navy vessel named Dakar, and it sank to the depths together with 69 of our family members, and that is where it will stay until the end of days." Friedman told Israel Hayom: "As they told us in 1999, when the INS Dakar was discovered, the fighters' burial site is with the submarine some 3 kilometers underwater. We ask that their memories be honored, particularly when the name means everything to us, the families. No copy could ever commemorate our loved ones, by calling a submarine 'Dakar II.' Let this symbol, INS Dakar, rest in peace." "Not to mention the many superstitions mariners believe, especially Navy fighters," he added. Ada Refaeli, the widow of lost Dakar sailor Refael Refaeli (Fadida), signed Friedman's petition. "When a person dies of natural causes or of a disease or a car accident, and they name someone after him it is indeed an honor," she said on Monday. "But in a situation like this, when they just disappeared one fine day, and there is no connection to the submarine, that's like a knife in the heart. It will commemorate the name of the submarine, but it won't commemorate the fallen." Sources in the IDF told Israel Hayom that officials thought long and hard and held countless consultations before deciding to name the newest submarine INS Dakar. They said the Israeli Navy believes in perpetuation and naming new vessels after destroyed vessels out of respect for the fallen. The IDF Spokesperson's Unit issued a statement, saying, "The Israeli Navy decided to honor the memory of the 69 fighters who were killed aboard the INS Dakar and to name Israel's sixth submarine after it. The IDF cherishes the families of the fallen and will continue to support them."
