David Lurie

David Lurie was born in 1952 in Ashdot Ya'akov Ihud

David Lurie was born in November 1952 at Kibbutz Ashdot Ya'akov Ihud. His parents, Binyamin Lurie and Yafa Yatom, came to the Land of Israel as young pioneers in 1933 and helped found the kibbutz. He grew up there and attended the Beit Yerah regional high school.

He was drafted in 1970 and volunteered for the submarine flotilla, where he served as a sonar operator. He later finished the naval officers course and rose through submarine posts, commanding INS Rahav and then the submarine flotilla. He also earned a bachelor's degree in political science at the University of Haifa through a joint military college program.

He headed the Dolphin class submarine project in Germany, commanded Haifa Base and served as head of the naval staff at Navy headquarters. After that post he fell ill with lymphatic cancer and was recognized as a disabled veteran affected by the Kishon. He retired from the IDF in September 2005.

In civilian life he managed corporate purchasing at Bank Hapoalim and was CEO of Shlomo Sixt in 2007. From 2010 he headed operations and infrastructure at the Haifa municipality, and in August 2025 he was named its director general. He is married to Shelly and they have 3 children.