Charley Attali

Charley Shalom Attali (sometimes misspelled as Charles Chalom Attali; 1930–2006) was an Algerian-born French-Israeli aerospace engineer.

Charley Attali
Born	(1930-12-17)December 17, 1930 Constantine, Algeria
Died	April 22, 2006(2006-04-22) (aged 75) Tel Aviv, Israel
Citizenship	French, Israeli, Algerian
Education	École nationale de l'aviation civile
Occupation	Aerospace engineer
Employer(s)	Sud Aviation, SEREB, Israel Aerospace Industries
Known for	Chief engineer of Diamant, project lead of IAI Scout
Spouse	Violette Attali
Awards	French Legion of Honour (1965), Israel Defense Prize (1981)

Early life and education

Attali was born in Constantine, Algeria to a Jewish family.^[1] Upon graduating high school at age 16 after skipping a grade,^[2] he was sent to study at École nationale de l'aviation civile in France, where he excelled and graduated as an engineer.^[3]

Early career

After completing his studies in 1952, Attali was initially employed at Sud Aviation, before eventually working for SEREB on developing ballistic missiles.^[4] While at SEREB, Attali was appointed by French president Charles de Gaulle to lead the Diamant project.^[5][6] Due to the success of Diamant, Attali was awarded the Legion of Honour in 1965 by Charles de Gaulle.^[7] After the Diamant project, Attali was placed in charge of France's role in the Europa-1 rocket.^[4]

Attali receiving the Legion of Honour from Charles de Gaulle in 1965.

Move to Israel

In 1969 Moshe Arens, who served as vice-president of the IAI, secretly flew to Paris to meet with Attali. Due to France's weapons embargo on Israel, Israel was planning to develop their own fighter jets. Arens asked Attali to move to Israel and help in the development of the IAI Kfir.^[2] Attali agreed, and made Aliyah shortly after with his wife and two children.^[8]

While at the IAI, Attali had a key role in the development of many aircraft including the IAI Kfir, IAI Arye, and IAI Lavi.^[4] For leading the IAI Scout, Attali received the Israel Defense Prize in 1981.^[9] He continued working at the IAI until his retirement in 1995.^[4]

Attali receiving the Israel Defense Prize from Menachem Begin in 1981.

References

1. "Charley Chalom ATTALI : ingénieur" (PDF). Association des Juifs Originaires du Constantinois (in French). 2021-05-15. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-10-26. Retrieved 2024-06-29.
2. Bardenstein, Eli (2005-05-11). "איש הטילים" [The Rocket Man]. Maariv (in Hebrew). No. 57 Independence Day Special.
3. "Les 4 Copains du Satellite" [The 4 Satellite Friends]. Paris Match (in French). No. 870. 1965-12-11.
4. "לגיונר של כבוד שהניח את התשתית לתעשיית המטוסים" [Legion of Honour Recipient who Laid the Foundation for the Aircraft Industry]. הארץ (in Hebrew). 2006-05-10. Archived from the original on 2024-06-29. Retrieved 2024-06-29.
5. Varnoteaux, Philippe (2020-11-26). "Quand Diamant assurait à la France son indépendance spatiale" [When Diamant assured France of its spatial independence]. Air & Cosmos (in French). Archived from the original on 2021-01-23. Retrieved 2024-06-30.
6. Elder, Donald C.; Rothmund, Christophe (2001-05-01). History of Rocketry and Astronautics (PDF). 28th and 29th History Symposia of the International Academy of Astronautics: Jerusalem, Israel, 1994 & Oslo, Norway, 1995. AAS History Series, Volume 23. American Astronautical Society. pp. 51–57. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2024-07-01. Retrieved 2024-07-01.
7. "קהילת יוצאי אלג'יריה ודור ההמשך" [The community of Algerian Jewry and the next generation]. Eretz Zion and Jerusalem (in Hebrew). 2020-11-19. Archived from the original on 2021-03-04. Retrieved 2024-07-01.
8. Charvit, Yossef (2014-02-01). "Le « Procès public » des Juifs d'Algérie à Jérusalem (1963)" [The "Public Trial" of Algerian Jews in Jerusalem (1963)]. Pardès (in French) (56): 285–294. doi:10.3917/parde.056.0285. Archived from the original on 2023-11-24. Retrieved 2024-07-01.
9. Charvit, Yossef (2018-06-21). "עליית יהודי אלג'יריה – מחדל או הישג?" [The immigration of Algerian Jews - a failure or an achievement?]. Makor Rishon (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2024-07-01.

External links

• L'Aventure Spatiale [Space Adventure] (Audio CD) (in French). Frémeaux & Associés. 2005. Event occurs at track 45. Archived from the original on 2023-12-03. Retrieved 2024-07-01.
• "Israel at the technological forefront". Morashá (58 ed.). 2007-09-01. Archived from the original on 2024-07-01. Retrieved 2024-07-01.
• Hershco, Tsilla (2013-07-01). שיתוף הפעולה הביטחוני בין ישראל לבין צרפת במאה העשרים ואחת [The security cooperation between Israel and France in the twenty-first century] (PDF) (Report) (in Hebrew). Begin–Sadat Center for Strategic Studies. p. 46. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2024-04-26. Retrieved 2024-07-01.
• "Il y a 50 ans, Diamant A au service de l'indépendance et de la grandeur de la France" [50 years ago, Diamant A at the service of the independence and greatness of France] (PDF). Espace & Temps (in French). No. 15. Institut Français d’Histoire de l’Espace. 2015-10-01. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-10-22. Retrieved 2024-07-01.
• "Les dîners-débats de l'IFHE" [Dinner debates at IFHE] (PDF). Espace & Temps (in French). No. 18. Institut Français d’Histoire de l’Espace. 2016-09-01. p. 29. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-08-19. Retrieved 2024-07-01.
• "Souvenirs… souvenirs… de + de 60ans" [Memories of over 60 years] (PDF). Amical 'Echos (in French). No. 19. Amicale des Anciens d'Aerospatiale. 2019-06-01. p. 27. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2023-03-23. Retrieved 2024-07-01.
• Distribution Solennelle des Prix [Solemn Distribution of Prizes] (PDF) (Report) (in French). Lycée de Garçons de Constantine. 1939-07-05. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-03-24. Retrieved 2024-07-01.