Joseph Avidar

Joseph Avidar was born in 1906 in Kremenets

Avidar was born Yosef Rochel in 1906 in Kremenets, in the Russian Empire. His parents were Joshua and Shprinza Rochel. He grew up in a Zionist home and later moved to the Land of Israel.

In 1931 he lost his right hand in an accident while training recruits with grenades. During treatment in Vienna he met Yemima Tchernovitz, later the author Yemima Avidar-Tchernovitz, and married her. He later earned a doctorate in Russian studies from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

In the Haganah he took part in founding the Ayalon Institute, an underground bullet factory. He headed the military industry and served as Haganah deputy chief of staff. During the War of Independence he led the quartermaster branch, and he took the name Avidar from his two daughters' names.

In the IDF he was among the first generals. He commanded the Northern Command and then the Central Command, and headed the Operations Directorate before his discharge.

He was ambassador to the Soviet Union from 1955 to 1958 and to Argentina from 1961 to 1965. He also served as director general of the Labor Ministry and as head of the Government Companies Authority. In 1968 he became the first comptroller of the Histadrut, and he died in 1995.