Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) was established in 1948 as the armed forces of the newly established State of Israel. It incorporated a number of pre-state Jewish paramilitary organizations, including the Haganah, Palmach, Irgun and Lehi.[1]
People
Chiefs of Staff
- Lt. Gen. Yaacov Dori (1947-49)
- Lt. Gen. Yigal Yadin (1949-52)
- Lt. Gen. Mordechai Maklef (1952-53)
- Lt. Gen. Moshe Dayan (1953-58)
- Lt. Gen. Chaim Laskov (1958-61)
- Lt. Gen. Tzvi Tzur (1961-64)
- Lt. Gen. Yitzhak Rabin (1964-68)
- Lt. Gen. Chaim Bar Lev (1968-72)
- Lt. Gen. David Elazar (1972-74)
- Lt. Gen. Mordechai Gur (1974-78)
- Lt. Gen. Rafael Eitan (1978-83)
- Lt. Gen. Moshe Levi (1983-87)
- Lt. Gen. Dan Shomron (1987-91)
- Lt. Gen. Ehud Barak (1991-95)
- Lt. Gen. Amnon Lipkin-Shahak (1995-98)
- Lt. Gen. Shaul Mofaz (1998-2002)
- Lt. Gen. Moshe Ya'alon (2002-05)
- Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz (2005-07)
- Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi (2007-11)[2]
- Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz[3]
Chabad and the IDF
Norton Mezvinsky and Joshua Kolb write that in 1972 Menachem Mendel Schneerson sent two hundred emissaries to the Egyptian border and the Golan Heights to persuade soldiers to put on tefillin, and that in 1973 he urged, through an emissary to Moshe Dayan, that the army capture Damascus.[4] Chabad of Hebron describes its main work as serving "thousands of IDF Soldiers protecting the region" every week.[5] In October 2023 Chabad.org reported that Chabad centres near bases in Eilat, Hebron and Metula were supplying troops, and that the whole rabbinate of Chabad of Hebron was on reserve duty.[6] See also Chabad in occupied Palestine and Chabad and Israeli politics.
Related Pages
- Aman | Civil Administration in Judea and Samaria | Coordinator of Government Operations in the Territories | IDF Spokesperson's Unit | National Urban Training Center | Unit 8200
IDF Units
- Alpinist Unit
- Oketz Unit
- Unit for Underwater Fighting
- Sayeret Matkal
- Unit 669
- Shayetet 13
- Yahalom Unit
- Shaldag Unit
- Skylark Unit
89th "Oz" Brigade
- Unit 212 – Maglan – a commando unit which specializes in operating behind enemy lines.
- Unit 217 – Duvdevan – mistaravim unit.
- Unit 621 – Egoz – counter-guerrilla unit.
See also
Notes
- ↑ History of the IDF, Israel Defence Forces, accessed 3 August 2012.
- ↑ Past Chiefs of Staff, Israel Defence Forces, accessed 3 August 2012.
- ↑ General Staff, IDF, accessed 15 March 2013.
- ↑ Norton Mezvinsky and Joshua Kolb, "Eyes Upon the Land: Chabad Lubavitch on Israel", Religious Studies and Theology, vol. 32, no. 1 (2013), pp. 7–21.
- ↑ Chabad of Hebron, About Us chabadhebron.com, accessed 25 October 2026.
- ↑ Bruria Efune, Chabad Centers Near IDF Bases Provide Lifelines for Soldiers Headed to War Chabad.org, 10 October 2023, archived by the Wayback Machine on 18 March 2026 at this address, accessed 26 October 2026.