Avi Peled

Avi Peled was born in 1969 in Bat Yam

Peled was born in Bat Yam on November 1, 1969, to a family of Holocaust survivors from Poland. Nine relatives of his grandparents died in the Holocaust, and others fought the Nazis with the partisans. The family moved to Lod, where he joined the Scouts.

He enlisted in 1988 and began pilot training, but was dropped and joined the Golani reconnaissance unit. He rose through command roles in Battalion 51 and the Golani training base, and studied at the Hebrew University. He later led Battalion 51 in southern Lebanon and in the withdrawal, commanded the Egoz Unit and studied at a staff college in Britain.

In 2008 he took command of the Golani Brigade and led it in Operation Cast Lead. On January 5, 2009, a tank shell hit a house used by Golani troops near Jabalia, killing 3 soldiers and lightly wounding him. He refused evacuation until the wounded were removed and returned to command the next day.

He then served as IDF attaché in India. Promoted to brigadier general in 2014, he headed the Foreign Relations Division from early 2015 and was discharged in 2017. He sat on the panel hearing Elor Azaria's appeal, and later became a businessman. In 2025 Itamar Ben Gvir announced plans to name him Jerusalem District commander.