Yaakov Or

Yaakov Or was born in 1946 in Tel Aviv

Yaakov Or was born in 1946 in Tel Aviv to Binyamin and Adina, under the name Yaakov Mendelson. He grew up in Tel Aviv and Holon.

He joined the Golani Brigade in 1964 and fought in the Six-Day War, the War of Attrition and the Yom Kippur War. In 1969 the army sent him to Tel Aviv University, where he studied Middle East studies and geography. He later commanded the Golani reconnaissance unit, infantry brigades, the Judea and Samaria Brigade and Division 80.

During the First Intifada he commanded forces in the Gaza Strip. In 1992 he set up the IDF Doctrine and Training Division, and in 1994 he represented the IDF in talks in Egypt on the Oslo Accords. From 1997 to 2001 he was Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, with the rank of major general.

In 2001 he became head of defense audits at the State Comptroller's office, writing reports including one on the Harpaz document. After retiring he worked with the Ometz movement against corruption and taught state audit at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya. He is married with 3 children and lives in Kfar Saba.