Aharon Ze'evi-Farkash

Aharon Ze'evi-Farkash is an Israeli major general who headed the IDF Military Intelligence Directorate until 2006.

born 1948Heading IDF Military IntelligenceCommanding Unit 8200Founding FST21

Born: 7 March 1948, Beclean
Occupation: businessperson, military officer
Education: Harvard University, Harvard Business School, Tel Aviv University
Rank: general
Wars: Entebbe raid, War of Attrition, Yom Kippur War, 1982 Lebanon War

Aharon Ze'evi-Farkash was born in 1948 in Beclean

Ze'evi-Farkash was born in 1948 in Beclean, in Transylvania, Romania. His parents, Dov and Hana, were religious Holocaust survivors. The family moved to Israel in 1962 and settled in Safed, and he studied at the Ben Yakir religious youth village.

He earned a bachelor's degree in Middle East studies and a master's degree in Middle East history at Tel Aviv University. In 1996 he attended a senior executive program at Harvard Business School.

He joined the IDF in 1966 and moved to air force intelligence after leaving pilot training. He later commanded Unit 8200, served as deputy head of the Planning Branch, and headed the Technological and Logistics Branch. He then led the Military Intelligence Directorate and was replaced by Amos Yadlin in 2006.

In 2006 he founded FST21, a company that developed biometric security technology, and it closed in 2018. From 2009 he served as president of the Jewish People Policy Institute, and from 2022 he has chaired the Intelligence Heritage Center. In 2024 he joined a team set up to review the events of October 7.

Aharon Ze'evi-Farkash's life in 10 milestones

1948
Born in Beclean, Romania.
1962
Moved to Israel with his family.
1966
Enlisted in the IDF for pilot training.
1990
Became commander of Unit 8200.
1998
Promoted to major general and named head of the Technological and Logistics Branch.
2006
Left the IDF and founded FST21.
2009
Became president of the Jewish People Policy Institute.
2018
His company FST21 closed.
2022
Became chairman of the Intelligence Heritage Center.
2024
Joined the team reviewing the October 7 massacre.

Aharon Ze'evi-Farkash served in Unit 8200

He served in intelligence roles, took part in the War of Attrition, the Yom Kippur War, the Lebanon War and Operation Entebbe, and commanded Unit 8200 from 1990 to 1993. As a major general he headed the Technological and Logistics Branch from 1998 to 2001 and then the Military Intelligence Directorate until 2006.

Unit 8200