Avraham Joffe
Avraham Joffe ( Hebrew אברהם יפה; * October 25, 1913 in Jawneel ; † April 12, 1983 ) was an Israeli major general ( Aluf ), member of the Knesset and environmental politician. He is best known for his role as commander in the Six Day War .
Life
Joffe was trained in Mikveh Israel , the first modern Jewish agricultural settlement in Palestine. Like many other members of the Hagana , he joined the British Army at the outbreak of World War II . There he served under Orde Wingate . In 1947 he left the British Army in the rank of captain ( Captain ). Back in the Hagana, he set up an infantry battalion in the Jordan Valley. In the Israeli War of Independence he fought in the north on the border with Lebanon, later in the Golani Brigade of the Israeli Armed Forces and as an operations officer of the regiment. He was involved in the conquest of the Beit Shan valley and Nazareth. At the end of the war, he was wounded in action during Operation Chiram in Northern Galilee .
After the war he left the Golani Brigade and took command of the 89th Battalion of the 8th Brigade. In 1951 he led a course for brigade commanders. In 1953 he became the commander of 9th Brigade 9, which he also led in the Sinai campaign of 1956. Here he conquered Sharm El Sheikh . After the war, he became commander of the officers' school and head of the training department with the rank of major general ( Hebrew אלוף- Aluf ) (1957-1958). He was then commander of the Southern Command between 1958 and 1962. In 1962 he finally became the commander of the northern command.
After his time in the Tzahal , he was the first director of the Nature Reserves Authority , which he founded, from 1964 and later its chairman. He also founded the Khai-Bar animal park in Jotwata , to which he brought animals from biblical times. During the Six Day War he was reactivated as the commander of a reserve division for the army. His division was deployed centrally on the Sinai front (between the divisions of Generals Israel Tal and Ariel Sharon ) and managed to push through Wadi Haroudin , which until then was considered impassable for mobile troops because of the sand. His task was to attack the Egyptian troops inside the Sinai. Joffe captured the Bir-Lafhan connection and was able to cut off supplies from the Egyptian army.
After the Six Day War he embarked on a political career and founded the Movement for a Greater Israel , which wanted to annex the conquered areas and became a faction of the Likud which was being founded. After the 1973 Yom Kippur War , he was elected to the 8th Knesset for Likud. There he was a member of the Foreign and Defense Committee and the Interior and Environment Committee.
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| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Joffe, Avraham |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Israeli general and politician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 25, 1913 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Jawneel |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 12, 1983 |