Ilan Hershkovits

Ilan Hershkovits was born in 1957 in Yad Eliyahu

Ilan Hershkovits was born in Haifa on November 11, 1957, and grew up in the Yad Eliyahu neighborhood of Tel Aviv. He attended the Etzion school there and later the Nehalim yeshiva high school. He was a member of the Bnei Akiva branch in Yad Eliyahu.

He enlisted in 1975, first in the Golani Brigade, and then entered the flight course. He flew Cobra and Defender attack helicopters and survived a crash during an observation flight near Mount Dov. He later commanded a Cobra squadron, was diagnosed with leukemia twice, and recovered both times, the second time with a bone marrow donation.

He holds a bachelor's degree in Land of Israel studies and computer science from Bar-Ilan University and a master's degree in political science from the University of Haifa. He is also a graduate of the National Security College.

After his discharge he became chief pilot at the company Europower, and since 2009 he has owned a private helicopter tour company. He was lightly injured in a helicopter crash in 2010. After the Second Lebanon War he served as an assistant to the Winograd Commission.

He served in the reserves as a pilot and flight instructor until 2018. When the Swords of Iron War began, he volunteered again and coordinated air strikes at the Southern Command and later the Northern Command. He is married to Ava, has 3 sons, and lives in Hoshaya.