Avigdor Ben-Gal

Avigdor Ben-Gal was born in 1936 in Łódź

Ben-Gal was born in Łódź, Poland, in 1936 as Janusz Ludwig Goldlust. After World War II began, his family fled to the Soviet Union, and his mother died of typhus in 1942. He and his sister Ilana reached the Land of Israel with the Tehran Children in 1943.

He joined the IDF in 1955 and served in the Armored Corps. From 1962 to 1964 he studied command and strategy at a military school in France. He was wounded twice, once losing part of his foot and once suffering severe burns when his vehicle hit a mine.

In the Yom Kippur War he commanded the 7th Armored Brigade, which helped stop the Syrian attack on the Golan Heights. He led the Northern Command from 1977 to 1981 and played a role in Operation Litani. In the First Lebanon War he commanded a corps on the eastern front, and he left the IDF in 1983.

After the army he worked in business. He headed Tahal from 1988 to 1996 and chaired Israel Aerospace Industries from 1996 to 1999. From 2009 he chaired NSO Group, and he died on February 13, 2016.