The Most Famous

MILITARY PERSONNELS from Israel

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This page contains a list of the greatest Israeli Military Personnels. The pantheon dataset contains 2,058 Military Personnels, 11 of which were born in Israel. This makes Israel the birth place of the 24th most number of Military Personnels behind Saudi Arabia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Israeli Military Personnels of all time. This list of famous Israeli Military Personnels is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Israeli Military Personnels.

Photo of Yigael Yadin

1. Yigael Yadin (1917 - 1984)

With an HPI of 65.13, Yigael Yadin is the most famous Israeli Military Personnel.  His biography has been translated into 31 different languages on wikipedia.

Yigael Yadin (Hebrew: יִגָּאֵל יָדִין [jigaˈel jaˈdin]; 20 March 1917 – 28 June 1984) was an Israeli archeologist, soldier and politician. He was the second Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces and Deputy Prime Minister from 1977 to 1981.

Photo of Israel Tal

2. Israel Tal (1924 - 2010)

With an HPI of 64.58, Israel Tal is the 2nd most famous Israeli Military Personnel.  His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Israel Tal (Hebrew: ישראל טל; 13 September 1924 – 8 September 2010), also known as Talik (Hebrew: טליק), was an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) general known for his knowledge of tank warfare and for leading the development of Israel's Merkava tank.

Photo of Khalil al-Wazir

3. Khalil al-Wazir (1935 - 1988)

With an HPI of 62.63, Khalil al-Wazir is the 3rd most famous Israeli Military Personnel.  Her biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Khalil Ibrahim al-Wazir (Arabic: خليل إبراهيم الوزير, also known by his kunya Abu Jihad أبو جهاد—"Jihad's Father"; 10 October 1935 – 16 April 1988) was a Palestinian leader and co-founder of the nationalist party Fatah. As a top aide of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Chairman Yasser Arafat, al-Wazir had considerable influence in Fatah's military activities, eventually becoming the commander of Fatah's armed wing al-Assifa. Al-Wazir became a refugee when his family was expelled from Ramla during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and began leading a minor fedayeen force in the Gaza Strip. In the early 1960s he established connections for Fatah with Communist regimes and prominent third-world leaders. He opened Fatah's first bureau in Algeria. He played an important role in the 1970–71 Black September clashes in Jordan, by supplying besieged Palestinian fighters with weapons and aid. Following the PLO's defeat by the Jordanian Army, al-Wazir joined the PLO in Lebanon. Prior to and during Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon, al-Wazir planned numerous attacks inside Israel against both civilian and military targets. He prepared Beirut's defense against incoming Israeli forces. Nonetheless, the Israeli military prevailed and al-Wazir was exiled from Lebanon with the rest of the Fatah leadership. He settled in Amman for a two-year period and was then exiled to Tunis in 1986. From his base there, he started to organize youth committees in the Palestinian territories; these eventually formed a major component of the Palestinian forces in the First Intifada. However, he did not live to command the uprising. On 16 April 1988, he was assassinated at his home in Tunis by Israeli commandos.

Photo of Uzi Narkiss

4. Uzi Narkiss (1925 - 1997)

With an HPI of 61.58, Uzi Narkiss is the 4th most famous Israeli Military Personnel.  His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Uzi Narkiss (Hebrew: עוזי נרקיס; January 6, 1925 – December 17, 1997) was an Israeli general. Narkiss was commander of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) units in the Central Region during the 1967 Six-Day War. Narkiss appears in the famous photograph of Defense Minister Moshe Dayan flanked by Chief of Staff Yitzhak Rabin taken in the Old City of Jerusalem shortly after its capture from Jordanian forces.

Photo of Dan Halutz

5. Dan Halutz (b. 1948)

With an HPI of 61.41, Dan Halutz is the 5th most famous Israeli Military Personnel.  His biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Dan Halutz (Hebrew: דן חלוץ, ; born August 7, 1948) is an Israeli Air Force lieutenant general and former Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces and commander of the Israeli Air Force. Halutz served as chief of staff in 2005–2007.

Photo of Yitzhak Hofi

6. Yitzhak Hofi (1927 - 2014)

With an HPI of 61.17, Yitzhak Hofi is the 6th most famous Israeli Military Personnel.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Yitzhak Hofi (Hebrew: יצחק חופי‎; 25 January 1927 – 15 September 2014) was a member of the Palmach, IDF General, chief of the Northern Command (Israel), and director of the Mossad.

Photo of Hasan Salama

7. Hasan Salama (1912 - 1948)

With an HPI of 60.67, Hasan Salama is the 7th most famous Israeli Military Personnel.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Hasan Salama (also spelled Hassan Salameh; Arabic: حسن سلامة, Ḥasan Salāmah; 1913 – 2 June 1948) was a Palestinian Arab nationalist guerrilla leader and commander who led the Palestinian Holy War Army (Jaysh al-Jihad al-Muqaddas, Arabic: جيش الجهاد المقدس) in the 1948 Palestine War along with Abdul Qadir al-Husseini.

Photo of Avraham Adan

8. Avraham Adan (1926 - 2012)

With an HPI of 59.58, Avraham Adan is the 8th most famous Israeli Military Personnel.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Avraham "Bren" Adan (Hebrew: אברהם "ברן" אדן‎; (1926-10-05)5 October 1926 – (2012-09-28)28 September 2012) was an Israeli major-general and author. Prior to Israel's independence, he served with the Palmach, an elite formation within the Haganah paramilitary force of the Yishuv community in British Mandatory Palestine. Adan fought under the Haganah and later under the newly formed Israel Defense Forces during the First Arab–Israeli War, and was photographed while raising the Israeli Ink Flag at the site of what is now Eilat to mark the end of the war. He served with the Israel Defense Forces from 1948 to 1977, and fought in all of the major Arab–Israeli wars that occurred during that period.

Photo of Dan Shomron

9. Dan Shomron (1937 - 2008)

With an HPI of 59.11, Dan Shomron is the 9th most famous Israeli Military Personnel.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Lieutenant General Daniel Shomron (Hebrew: דן שומרון; August 5, 1937 – February 26, 2008) was the 13th Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), from 1987 to 1991.

Photo of Gilad Shalit

10. Gilad Shalit (b. 1986)

With an HPI of 55.48, Gilad Shalit is the 10th most famous Israeli Military Personnel.  His biography has been translated into 40 different languages.

Gilad Shalit (Hebrew: גלעד שליט, Gilˁad Šaliṭ ; born 28 August 1986) is a former MIA soldier of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) who, on 25 June 2006, was captured by Palestinian militants in a cross-border raid via tunnels near the Israeli border. Hamas held him captive for over five years until his release on 18 October 2011 as part of a prisoner exchange deal. During his captivity, Hamas rejected requests from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to visit Shalit, claiming that such visits could compromise his location. Several human rights organizations criticized this position, asserting that the conditions of Shalit's confinement were in violation of international humanitarian law. The Red Cross stated, "The Shalit family have the right under international humanitarian law to be in contact with their son." In the early months, the sole means of communication was through an intermediary, who claimed that a low-ranking Hamas official, Ghazi Hamad, asked him to convey to Shalit's parents the assurance that Shalit was "alive and was treated according to Islam's laws regarding prisoners of war. In other words, he had been given shelter, food, and medical care." The United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict called for Shalit's release in its September 2009 report. In the G8's Deauville Declaration of May 27, 2011, they demanded Shalit's release. Many sources have categorized Shalit's capture as both a kidnapping and an abduction. During his captivity, he was denied visits from the Red Cross and any communication with family members, both of which he was entitled to as a captured soldier under the Geneva Conventions. Furthermore, his captors demanded a form of ransom, although not necessarily of a monetary nature, in exchange for his release. The only instances of contact between Shalit and the outside world during his captivity, prior to his eventual release, consisted of three letters, an audio tape, and a DVD. These were provided to Israel in exchange for the release of 20 female Palestinian prisoners. Shalit was captured near the Kerem Shalom crossing in Israel and was held by Hamas at an undisclosed location within the Gaza Strip. Hamas' initial demands, which included the release of all female and underage Palestinians, as well as Marwan Barghouti, were not met. On 18 October 2011, Shalit was eventually released in a negotiated agreement, securing his freedom after more than five years in isolation and captivity. In exchange, 1,027 Palestinian prisoners were released, some of whom were convicted of multiple murders and carrying out attacks against Israeli civilians. According to Israeli government sources, these released prisoners were collectively responsible for 569 Israeli deaths. Shalit became the first Israeli soldier to be captured by Palestinian militants since the incident involving Nachshon Wachsman in 1994. Shalit held the rank of Corporal in the IDF's Armor Corps at the time of his capture, and he was subsequently promoted to Sergeant, Staff Sergeant, and Sergeant First Class just before his release. He holds dual Israeli and French citizenship, the latter via his grandmother.

People

Pantheon has 11 people classified as Israeli military personnels born between 1912 and 1986. Of these 11, 2 (18.18%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Israeli military personnels include Dan Halutz, and Gilad Shalit. The most famous deceased Israeli military personnels include Yigael Yadin, Israel Tal, and Khalil al-Wazir. As of April 2024, 11 new Israeli military personnels have been added to Pantheon including Yigael Yadin, Israel Tal, and Khalil al-Wazir.

Living Israeli Military Personnels

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Deceased Israeli Military Personnels

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Newly Added Israeli Military Personnels (2024)

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Overlapping Lives

Which Military Personnels were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 8 most globally memorable Military Personnels since 1700.