Moshe Nativ

Moshe Nativ was born in 1932 in Romania

Nativ was born Moise Vegh in 1932 in Petrova, a village in central Transylvania, Romania. His parents, Tzila and Yitzchak Vegh, were Orthodox Jews, and the family later moved to Botoșani. Drawn to Zionism, he left home and reached Israel through the Youth Aliyah in 1946, and his parents and brother followed in 1951.

He enlisted in the IDF in 1949 and held many posts in the Armored Corps, including operations officer of the 7th Brigade and tank company commander. He served under Israel Tal in the Six-Day War and was assistant chief armored officer in the Yom Kippur War. During his service he studied at the National Security College and earned a bachelor's degree in history from Tel Aviv University.

After the Yom Kippur War he moved to the Manpower Directorate, where he was deputy head from 1975 to 1978 and head from 1978 to 1983. In 1982 he led a committee that reviewed the military justice system and recommended reforms.

After leaving the army he was CEO of Hevrat HaOvdim and later Director General of the Jewish Agency, during the immigration from the former Soviet Union in the 1990s. He held many public roles, including president of the Council for a Beautiful Israel, chairman of the Jerusalem borders inquiry committee from 2000 to 2002, and director of Israel Aerospace Industries from 2005. He died in 2008, survived by his wife and three children.