Eli Amitai

Eli Amitai was born in 1957 in Megadim

Eli Amitai was born on April 26, 1957, and grew up in Moshav Megadim. His birth name was Eliyahu Amsalem. His family was traditional and came from Morocco.

He joined the IDF in 1976 and volunteered for the Paratroopers, serving in Battalion 890 as an officer and later deputy battalion commander. He fought in Operation Peace for Galilee and was wounded in a clash in Lebanon. He later commanded Battalion 932 of Nahal, Battalion 50, several brigades, and the Nahal Brigade from 1994.

In 1996 he became a brigadier general and commander of the Lebanon Liaison Unit, a period of fighting against Hezbollah. He then commanded Division 370 and was badly hurt in a road accident in 1998. He returned to lead the Lebanon unit in 1999 and ended his service as head of the General Staff Operations Division.

After leaving the army in 2002, he became director general of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority. In 2011 Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan sought his removal, and under a compromise he left in July 2011. He ran the Galim Youth Village from 2015 to 2017. He holds a bachelor's degree in Middle Eastern studies and a master's in security studies from Tel Aviv University.