David Elkana Ivry (; born 1934) is a Major General (retired) in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). 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 ...

(IAF) he played a key role in

Operation Opera Operation Opera (), also known as Operation Babylon, was a surprise airstrike conducted by the Israeli Air Force on 7 June 1981, which destroyed an unfinished Iraqi nuclear reactor located southeast of Baghdad, Iraq. The Israeli operation ca ...

, the destruction of the Iraqi nuclear reactor located from Israel, in 1981. In 1999, Ivry was appointed first director of the Israeli National Security Council. From 2003 to 2021, he served as the Vice President of

Boeing The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...

International and president of Boeing Israel. Ivry was the Israeli Ambassador to the United States from 2000 to 2002.

Biography

David Ivry was born in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

, to Abraham and Shoshana Kruiz In 1952 he was recruited to the Israeli Air Force to flight course No. 14, where he served as a pilot of a

P-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter aircraft, fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in 1940 by a team headed ...

. Following the Czech-Egyptian arms deal, he decided to continue his service in the IAF. Ivry resides in Ramat Hasharon. He is married to Ofra, with whom he has 3 children. His son, Gil Ivry, was an F-16 pilot who died in a training accident in 1987. In 2008 he was awarded honorary member of his home town, Ramat Hasharon.

Airforce career

In 1956 he was sent to a special flight-instructors course in the UK, and became an instructor in the IAF's academy in Tel Nof Airbase. During the Sinai Campaign he served as an Ouragan pilot. In 1957 he was appointed as deputy commander of the 113th squadron. In 1959 he ejected from his Dassault Super Mystère during an engagement with an Egyptian Mig-17. In 1960 he was appointed commander of the basic squadron at the IAF academy, and in 1961 he was a member of the IAF delegation to France to onboard the IAF's Mirage III fighters. In 1962, he became the deputy commander of the first

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

i squadron of the French Dassault Mirage. In 1963 he was appointed as commander of the 109th Mystere squadron, and in 1964 he became commander of the 117th squadron, the first jet squadron in the IAF. In 1966 he became commander of the IAF academy and its first commander after the move from Tel Nof base to Hazerim base. In the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states, primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June ...

, Ivry served as a Mirage pilot and the commander of the Mystère squadron. In October 1968 he became head of the Air Division 3 and in 1969 was promoted to colonel. In 1970 he became commander of the Tel Nof base. In 1977 he was promoted to major general and from October 1977 to December 1982, he served as the ninth commander of the IAF. While he was in command, the IAI bases were moved from Sinai to the

Negev The Negev ( ; ) or Naqab (), is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The region's largest city and administrative capital is Beersheba (pop. ), in the north. At its southern end is the Gulf of Aqaba and the resort town, resort city ...

, the air force took part in Operation Litani and

. He was in command of Operation Mole Cricket 19 in the early stages of 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 ...

Public service and diplomatic career

In 1982 he left the service and became Chairman of the Israeli Aerospace Industry (IAI) for a short period. In 1983 he returned to service and become deputy Head of the General Staff and Head of the IDFs Operations Division. in 1985 he was appointed again as Chairman of the IAI and during 1986-1996 was the Director General of the Ministry of Defense. He served as head of the Israeli National Security Counsel between March 1999 - January 2000. In 2002-2002, Ivry was Israel's ambassador to the United States. On September 2, 2003, Boeing named Ivry as vice president of Boeing International and president of Boeing Israel. He represented the company’s business interests and coordinated company-wide business activities in Israel. He retired in 2021 and was succeeded by Ido Nehoshtan, who also served as the commander of the Israeli Air Force (2008-2012).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ivry, David 1934 births Living people Israeli Jews Israeli Air Force generals Israeli aviators Six-Day War pilots Jews from Mandatory Palestine Ambassadors of Israel to the United States Diplomats from Tel Aviv Businesspeople from Tel Aviv