Shlomo Gazit ( he, שלמה גזית; 22 October 1926 – 8 October 2020) was an Israeli military officer and academic. A

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

in the Israel Defense Forces, he headed Israel's Military Intelligence Directorate. He later served as President of

Ben-Gurion University Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) ( he, אוניברסיטת בן-גוריון בנגב, ''Universitat Ben-Guriyon baNegev'') is a public research university in Beersheba, Israel. Ben-Gurion University of the Negev has five campuses: the ...

and Director General of the

Jewish Agency The Jewish Agency for Israel ( he, הסוכנות היהודית לארץ ישראל, translit=HaSochnut HaYehudit L'Eretz Yisra'el) formerly known as The Jewish Agency for Palestine, is the largest Jewish non-profit organization in the world. ...

Biography

Shlomo Weinstein (later Gazit) was born in

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

, to a Ukrainian Jewish family which later moved to Palestine. His older brother was Mordechai Gazit. In 1942, while still in high school, he joined the Haganah, and the Palmach in 1944. He was assigned to Company H. He was initially based in

Kiryat Anavim Kiryat Anavim ( he, קִרְיַת עֲנָבִים, ''lit.'' City of Grapes) is a kibbutz in the Judean Hills of Israel. It was the first kibbutz established in the Judean Hills. It is located west of Jerusalem, and falls under the jurisdiction o ...

. He passed a commander's course and was appointed a platoon leader, serving in the

Ramat HaKovesh Ramat HaKovesh ( he, רָמַת הַכּוֹבֵשׁ, , Conqueror's heights) is a kibbutz in central Israel. Located approximately 7 kilometers north of Kfar Saba, it falls under the jurisdiction of the Drom HaSharon Regional Council. In i ...

and Givat HaShlosha areas. He participated in the

Night of the Bridges The Night of the Bridges (formally Operation Markolet) was a Haganah venture on the night of 16 to 17 June 1946 in the British Mandate of Palestine, as part of the Jewish insurgency in Palestine (1944–7). Its aim was to destroy eleven bridges l ...

and the Night of the Trains.

Military career

During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Gazit served in the Harel Brigade, and initially took part in fighting the

Arab Legion The Arab Legion () was the police force, then regular army of the Emirate of Transjordan, a British protectorate, in the early part of the 20th century, and then of independent Jordan, with a final Arabization of its command taking place in 1 ...

, participating in the

Battles of Latrun The Battles of Latrun were a series of military engagements between the Israel Defense Forces and the Jordanian Arab Legion on the outskirts of Latrun between 25 May and 18 July 1948, during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Latrun takes its name fro ...

. He later took part in

Operation Yoav Operation Yoav (also called ''Operation Ten Plagues'' or ''Operation Yo'av'') was an Israeli military operation carried out from 15–22 October 1948 in the Negev Desert, during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Its goal was to drive a wedge between th ...

. He served as the head of the assessment department in IDF intelligence before the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states (primarily Egypt, Syria, and Jordan) from 5 to 10 Ju ...

, but then took leave to study for a master's degree in history. Gazit's studies were interrupted in the summer of 1967, when he was appointed by Defense Minister Moshe Dayan to be in charge of a committee tasked with running the political, security, and later economic affairs in the newly captured territories. This group would later be renamed "The Unit for the Coordination of Operations in the Territories". After seven years, Gazit was promoted to head of the Military Intelligence Directorate, a position he held from 1974 to 1978.

Academic and public career

Upon his retirement from the IDF, he served as President of the Ben Gurion University in

Beersheba Beersheba or Beer Sheva, officially Be'er-Sheva ( he, בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע, ''Bəʾēr Ševaʿ'', ; ar, بئر السبع, Biʾr as-Sabʿ, Well of the Oath or Well of the Seven), is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. ...

for two four-year terms, following

Yosef Tekoah Yosef Tekoah ( he, יוסף תקוע, 4 March 1925 – 14 April 1991) was a senior Israeli diplomat and the President of the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (1975–1981). He was instrumental in the Israeli settlement in disputed DMZ territori ...

. In 1985, he was followed by President

Chaim Elata use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = , death_cause = , body_discovered = , resting_place = , resting_place_coordinates = ...

. Since 1988 he was a member of the staff of Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies at the

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...

. In 1985 Gazit was appointed director general of the

Jewish Agency for Israel The Jewish Agency for Israel ( he, הסוכנות היהודית לארץ ישראל, translit=HaSochnut HaYehudit L'Eretz Yisra'el) formerly known as The Jewish Agency for Palestine, is the largest Jewish non-profit organization in the world. ...

and served in this capacity till 1987.

Published works

*''The Middle East Military Balance, 1988-1989: A Comprehensive Data Base & In-Depth Analysis of Regional Strategic Issues'', Westview Press, 1990. *''The Middle East Military Balance, 1990-91'', Westview Press, 1992. *''The Middle East Military Balance 1992-1993'', Westview Press, 1994. *''The Middle East Military Balance 1993-1994'', Westview Press, 1995. *''The Palestinian refugee problem'', Tel Aviv University, 1995. *''The Carrot and the Stick: Israel's Policy in Judaea and Samaria, 1967-68 '', B'nai B'rith Book Service, 1995. *''Trapped Fools; Thirty Years of Israeli Policy in the Territories'', Frank Cass, 2003. *''The Arab-Israeli Wars: War and Peace in the Middle East'', Vintage, 2005.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gazit, Shlomo 1926 births 2020 deaths Ben-Gurion University of the Negev faculty Directors of the Military Intelligence Directorate (Israel) Israeli generals Israeli people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Tel Aviv University alumni Turkish Ashkenazi Jews Presidents of universities in Israel