Amir Eshel (; born 1959) is a former Israeli general who served as commander of the
Israeli Air Force
The Israeli Air Force (IAF; , commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial and space warfare branch of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Indep ...
and served as Director General of the
Israeli Ministry of Defense until January 2, 2022.
Biography
Amir Eshel was born in
Jaffa
Jaffa (, ; , ), also called Japho, Joppa or Joppe in English, is an ancient Levantine Sea, Levantine port city which is part of Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel, located in its southern part. The city sits atop a naturally elevated outcrop on ...
. His father
Yehezekel (Hezi) Eshel (originally Batat), was born in
Iraq
Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
and
immigrated to
Mandatory Palestine
Mandatory Palestine was a British Empire, British geopolitical entity that existed between 1920 and 1948 in the Palestine (region), region of Palestine, and after 1922, under the terms of the League of Nations's Mandate for Palestine.
After ...
in 1936. He fought in the
1948 Arab-Israeli War
Events January
* January 1
** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated.
** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...
in the
Givati Brigade. His mother Edna was a
Holocaust
The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...
survivor from
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
.
Eshel is married and a father of three. He holds a degree in economics from
Auburn University at Montgomery, Alabama, and a degree in political science from the
University of Haifa
The University of Haifa (, ) is a public research university located on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. Founded in 1963 as a branch of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the University of Haifa received full academic accreditation as an inde ...
’s National Security Studies Center.
[
]
Air force career
Eshel was drafted into the IDF in 1977. After graduating from the IAF Flight Academy as a fighter pilot in 1979, Eshel flew the A-4 Skyhawk, first out of Etzion and then from Ramon. He also flew the Skyhawk during the 1982 Lebanon War
The 1982 Lebanon War, also called the Second Israeli invasion of Lebanon, began on 6 June 1982, when Israel invaded southern Lebanon. The invasion followed a series of attacks and counter-attacks between the Palestine Liberation Organization ...
. After serving with the flight academy as a combat instructor, Eshel went on to fly the F-16
The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American single-engine supersonic multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it e ...
out of Ramat David Airbase. Between 1993 and 1995 Eshel commanded 201 Squadron at Tel Nof.[ Flying the ''Kurnass 2000'' variant of the ]F-4 Phantom II
The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber that was developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and Bower ...
, Eshel led the squadron during Operation Grapes of Wrath. Between 1997 and 1999 Eshel headed the IAF's Operations Department.[
In 1999 Eshel was assigned command of Ramon Airbase. On December 16, 1999, while ferrying an AH-64 Apache from Ramon to northern Israel, Eshel carried out a routine weapons systems check on the supposedly unarmed helicopter, accidentally firing an AGM-114 Hellfire which narrowly missed a group of IAF reserve soldiers nearby. The incident, for which he fined himself, was written up in his record, but did not prevent further promotion.][ In 1999 Eshel was assigned command of Tel Nof.][
Eshel led a formation of three IAF F-15 Eagles on a fly-over of the ]Auschwitz concentration camp
Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) d ...
in September 2003. As it flew above the camp, Eshel broadcast a message to an IDF ceremony taking place below:
Eshel later explained that "We're talking about a personal dream of 15 years ... This is the most significant expression of the rebirth of this nation. As the IAF, we are the most concrete expression of the might of the Jewish people and there's no one better than us to express it". He also admitted that he deliberately violated an agreement with the Polish government by flying at a very low altitude. He was quoted saying to other pilots: "We listened to the Polish for 800 years. Today, we don’t have to listen anymore". The spokesman of Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum criticized the fly-over stating that it was not consulted with the Museum and that "It's a cemetery, a place of silence and concentration" and that "Flying the F-15s is a demonstration of military might which is an entirely inappropriate way to commemorate the victims". The Israeli delegation had been in Poland on the occasion of the Polish Air Force
The Polish Air Force () is the aerial warfare Military branch, branch of the Polish Armed Forces. Until July 2004 it was officially known as ''Wojska Lotnicze i Obrony Powietrznej'' (). In 2014 it consisted of roughly 26,000 military personnel an ...
's 85th anniversary and had participated in the Radom Air Show
The Radom Air Show (, International air shows – Radom Air Show) is a biannual celebration in the city of Radom, Poland, which began in 2000 (to continue in 2001, 2002, 2003 and then 2005). Every other year during the last weekend of August, mili ...
.[
In 2004 Eshel became head of the IAF's Air Group, commanding all operational assets and in January 2006 was appointed IAF Chief of Staff, a role he filled during the ]2006 Lebanon War
The 2006 Lebanon War was a 34-day armed conflict in Lebanon, fought between Hezbollah and Israel. The war started on 12 July 2006, and continued until a United Nations-brokered ceasefire went into effect in the morning on 14 August 2006, thoug ...
.[ Eshel was subsequently credited with the improvements to air-ground integration implemented after the war.
On March 27, 2008, he was promoted to the rank of Major General and appointed head of the IDF's Planning Directorate. He replaced Ido Nehoshtan, which had just been appointed Commander in Chief of the IAF. On February 5, 2012, Eshel was announced as Nehoshtan's successor as Commander in Chief of the Israeli Air Force, when the latter completed his tenure in May 2012.][ The other candidates were the ]Military Secretary to the Prime Minister
The military secretary to the Prime Minister (, ''HaMazkir HaTzva'i Shel Rosh'' ''HaMemshala''), is the senior military adviser to the Prime Minister of Israel on military and national security issues. As a member of the Staff (military), Militar ...
, Maj. Gen. Yochanan Locker, and IAF Chief of Staff, Brig. Gen. Nimrod Sheffer.[
Eshel completed his term as commander of the IAF on August 10, 2017. He was succeeded by Aluf Amikam Norkin.
]
Public sector career
He was one of the leaders of Pnima, a campaign to institute universal national service for all Israeli citizens reaching adulthood. He told the Times of Israel
''The Times of Israel'' (ToI) is an Israeli multi-language online newspaper that was launched in 2012 and has since become the largest English-language Jewish and Israeli news source by audience size. It was co-founded by Israeli journalist Dav ...
that " e IDF isn’t really a people’s army. It’s a half-of-the-people’s army."
On August 31, 2020, Eshel became Director General of the Israeli Ministry of Defense after being appointed to this position by the Minister of Defense Benny Gantz
Benjamin Gantz ( ; born 9 June 1959) is an Israeli politician and retired army general. He served as a Minister without portfolio#Israel, minister without portfolio from 2023 to 2024, as the Ministry of Defense (Israel), minister of defense bet ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eshel, Amir
Israeli Air Force generals
Israeli aviators
Israeli Mizrahi Jews
Auburn University alumni
University of Haifa alumni
1959 births
Living people
People from Jaffa
Israeli people of Iraqi-Jewish descent
Israeli people of Russian-Jewish descent