Menahem was born to a religious family in Jerusalem on 18.9.1932, a seventh-generation native of the Land of Israel. His parents were Sarah and Noah, and the family had a daughter and four sons. They lived in Makor Baruch. The father worked in the office of the Talmud Torah and Bikur Holim. Menahem studied in Talmud Torah Etz Hayim, led by Rabbi Aryeh Levin. In 1945, at age thirteen, he went to study in Yeshivat Etz Hayim in Bnei Brak, living in the dormitory there.

As a yeshiva student, in 1946, he joined the Lehi Youth and received the nom de guerre Gideon. He put posters, then was trained with light firearms in Pardes Hannah. He learned how to use pistols, submachine guns and Bren machine guns. When the dean of the yeshiva learned of this activity, he was expelled. Menahem then stayed in the orchard near Petah Tikva where he had been trained.

He was appointed to guard the camp. In early 1948, he would patrol the Yemenite settlement next to Kfar Avraham, across from an Arab village.

On Passover Eve 5708, when Jerusalem was besieged, he joined the caravan from Kibbutz Huldah, as an armed escort. The caravan set out in the morning. It contained a number of Lehi vehicles (private automobiles, a truck and an armored vehicle). The driver of the armored vehicle was Meshulam Mackover, a Jerusalem resident. They were attacked along the way by Arabs, and the armored vehicle protected the rest until they could get to Shaar HaGai. There they were stopped by a stone roadblock and attacked from both sides with live fire. They were ordered to get out and take positions, and they spent the day fighting. As the sun set, the armored vehicle picked him up. In it was an injured fighter, who was being taken for treatment in Kibbutz Maaleh HaHamisha. The caravan then continued to Jerusalem, and Menahem returned to his parents’ home.

In Jerusalem, he continued his activity at the Lehi camp in Sheikh Badr. In 1950, he enlisted in the IDF, where he trained Artillery Corps soldiers. In 1952, after demobilization, he had different jobs.

In 1954, he married Penina Brandwine (sister of Yael Ben-Dov). He completed his studies over the years, learning automotive engineering in a technical college; he went on to take a course for engineering teachers, while he worked in the public sector until he retired.

Penina and Menahem have one son and numerous grandchildren.