Dan Harel
Encyclopedia
Aluf
Aluf is the term used for General and Admiral in the Israel Defense Forces . In addition to the Aluf rank itself, there are four other ranks which are derivatives of the word...
Dan Harel (born 1955) is a general in the Israel Defense Forces
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
and is currently the Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the IDF. Born in Haifa
Haifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
, Harel began his military career in 1974 at the Israeli Air Force
Israeli Air Force
The Israeli Air Force is the air force of the State of Israel and the aerial arm of the Israel Defense Forces. It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Independence...
flight school
Flight training
Flight training is a course of study used when learning to pilot an aircraft. The overall purpose of primary and intermediate flight training is the acquisition and honing of basic airmanship skills....
, but in 1976 switched to the Israeli Artillery Corps. As he advanced up the chain of command Harel participated in the 1982 Lebanon War
1982 Lebanon War
The 1982 Lebanon War , , called Operation Peace for Galilee by Israel, and later known in Israel as the Lebanon War and First Lebanon War, began on 6 June 1982, when the Israel Defense Forces invaded southern Lebanon...
as a battalion commander. He left the Artillery Corps in 1993 to become the Head of the Operations Department for the General Staff
Israeli General Staff
The Israeli General Staff , abbreviated Matkal , is the supreme command of the Israel Defense Forces. It is based in the Kirya compound in Tel Aviv.-Members:...
, but returned in 1995 as its overall commander. He then served successively as Military Assistant to the Minister of Defense in 1998, an Armored Division commander in 2000, and head of the Operations Directorate
Israeli Operations Directorate
The Israeli Operations Directorate is a branch in the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, established in 1999, and alongside the regional commands, the Air Force and Sea corps and General Staff directorates, is responsible in planning for the exercising of military force...
in 2001. During this time Harel attended the US Advanced Artillery Officers' Course and the IDF Brigade Commanders' Course, and also received a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Haifa
University of Haifa
The University of Haifa is a university in Haifa, Israel.The University of Haifa was founded in 1963 by Haifa mayor Abba Hushi, to operate under the academic auspices of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem....
.
Harel was later appointed head of the Southern Command
Israeli Southern Command
The Israeli Southern Command , often abbreviated to Padam is a regional command of the Israel Defense Forces. It is responsible for the Negev, the Arava, and Eilat. It is currently headed by Aluf Tal Russo.-History:...
, a position he held from 2003 to 2006. In this capacity he not only implemented counterterrorism measures, but was also the commander in charge of Israel's
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
Gaza pull-out
Israel's unilateral disengagement plan
Israel's unilateral disengagement plan , also known as the "Disengagement plan", "Gaza expulsion plan", and "Hitnatkut", was a proposal by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, adopted by the government on June 6, 2004 and enacted in August 2005, to evict all Israelis from the Gaza Strip and from...
in the summer of 2005. The withdrawal was largely non-violent, although there was a last-stand of Israeli protesters at the community of Kfar Darom
Kfar Darom
Kfar Darom was a kibbutz and an Israeli settlement within the Gush Katif bloc in the Gaza Strip.-Original kibbutz:Kfar Darom was founded on 250 dunams of land purchased in 1930 by Tuvia Miller for a fruit orchard on the site of an ancient Jewish settlement of the same name mentioned in the Talmud...
. While he did not aspire to conduct the operation, Harel carried out the assignment as a self-described "envoy of Israeli democracy". He later credited the mission's success to the nobility of the settlers and the restraint of the IDF troops, stating that now "the unity begins". Yet as rocket and mortar attacks have continued to be launched from the Gaza Strip against Israel, some Israeli papers have begun to criticize him for not planning for this predicted aftermath.
Though it was expected that he would retire after the disengagement, Harel was appointed Israel's Defense & Defense Cooperation attaché to Washington in January 2006, replacing Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin
Amos Yadlin
Aluf Amos Yadlin is a former general in the Israeli Air Force and was the head of the Israeli Military Intelligence Directorate, known as Aman. Before being promoted to head of Aman, Yadlin was the Israel Defense Forces military attaché to Washington, D.C.. Previously in his career he headed...
. On October 1, 2007 he became Deputy Chief of the General Staff replacing Maj. General Moshe Kaplinsky
Moshe Kaplinsky
Maj. Gen. Moshe Kaplinsky , is the CEO of Better Place Israel. Most recently, he was Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces. He was previously head of the Israel Defense Force's Central Command, whose area of responsibility includes the West Bank...
.
As of 2011, Harel is the CEO of the Israeli Ministry of Transportation.