David Ben-Besht

David Ben-Besht was born in 1950 in Israel

David Ben-Besht was born in Israel in 1950 and grew up in Kiryat Haim. He is married to Miriam and has 3 daughters. He lives in Caesarea.

He holds a bachelor's degree in economics and business administration from the University of Haifa and a master's degree in business administration. He also graduated from the US Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island.

He joined the naval officers course in 1970 and completed it in 1971. In the 1970s he commanded Saar 2 and Saar 4 missile boats, and later held training and personnel posts. He became Navy Chief of Staff in 2002 and Navy commander in September 2004.

He led the Navy during the Second Lebanon War, when a Hezbollah missile hit the INS Hanit and 4 soldiers were killed. An internal inquiry found several failures but drew no conclusions against him. He asked to step down in July 2007 and left the post in October 2007.

Since leaving the IDF he has served as a volunteer chairman of the Navy association.