Aryeh Sidon

Aryeh Sidon was born in 1939 in Haifa

Aryeh Sidon, born Zimmel, was born in Haifa on July 15, 1939. He studied at the Hebrew Reali School and at the Bosmat high school in the city.

He joined the IDF in 1957 with a Nahal group and moved to the Paratroopers Brigade. He led a platoon and a company in the Nahal paratroop battalion, commanded the paratroopers reconnaissance unit from 1963 to 1965, and was deputy commander of Battalion 890. In the Six-Day War he led the Haruv unit in the Latrun and Ramallah area.

In 1968 he took command of the Nahal paratroop battalion, and in 1971 he headed the operations branch of the General Staff. During the Yom Kippur War he was deputy to the chief infantry and paratroopers officer and helped plan the operation to capture Mount Hermon. He then led the Paratroopers Brigade from 1973.

He studied at Bar-Ilan University and became deputy commander of the Command and Staff College in 1978. Promoted to brigadier general, he set up a reserve division in Central Command and led it until his discharge in 1982.

After leaving the army he managed a business and chaired Moshav Orot. He co-founded the Bnei Avraham group, which promoted cooperation between Israel, its Arab neighbors and the Palestinians. He is married to Atara and has 4 children.