Gideon Shefer

Gideon Shefer was born in 1948 in Poland

Shefer was born Gideon Shporer in Poland in 1948, and his father died around the time of his birth. He came to Israel with his mother in 1950 and grew up in the Atlit and Tirat Carmel transit camps.

He finished the Air Force technical school and joined the IDF in 1966 as an electronics technician. He then trained as a pilot and flew Skyhawk and Phantom jets. In November 1973 he was shot down over the Egyptian front, was badly injured, and was held captive in Egypt for about two weeks.

After recovering he flew helicopters and later returned to fighter jets. He commanded squadrons, led Hatzor base, became Air Force chief of staff in 1994, and headed the Personnel Directorate as a major general. During his service he earned a bachelor's degree at Bar-Ilan University and took a senior management course at Harvard University.

In 1999 he became deputy head of the National Security Council and was acting head in 2000. He was among the initiators of the Geneva Initiative, a vice president at Elbit Systems, and chairs the general assembly of Achva Academic College.

In 2018 he co-founded the Achi Israeli party with Adina Bar Shalom, which later left the race. He lives in Bitzaron.