Shlomi Binder (; February 1975) is an IDF officer at the rank of

Aluf ( or "first/leader of a group" in Biblical Hebrew) is a senior military rank in the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) for officers who in other countries would have the rank of general, air marshal, or admiral. In addition to the ''aluf'' rank, fo ...

(equivalent to major general), who serves as the Head of the IDF Intelligence Directorate (Aman). Previously, he served, among other positions, as the Head of the in the IDF Operations Directorate, commander of the Galilee (91st) Division, commander of the

Golani Brigade The 1st "Golani" Brigade (, ''Hativat Golani'') is an Israeli military infantry brigade. It is subordinated to the 36th Division and traditionally associated with the Northern Command. It is one of the five infantry brigades of the regular Is ...

, the commander of

Sayeret Matkal Sayeret Matkal () (formerly Unit 269 or Unit 262) (English: General Staff Reconnaissance Unit), is the special reconnaissance unit (''sayeret'') of Israel's General Staff (''matkal''). It is considered one of the premier special forces units of ...

, and the commander of Egoz Unit.

Biography

Binder was born, raised, and educated in

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...

. In his youth, he studied at the Leo Beck High School in his hometown and was a member and guide of the

Scout Movement Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including ...

. After a year of service in the Golan Heights, he enlisted in the IDF in November 1993 and volunteered for

. After completing paratroopers' basic training, he underwent fighter training in the unit and then attended an infantry officers' course. Upon completing the course, he returned to the unit and was appointed team commander. He participated in combat in Southern Lebanon. In 1999, he was severely injured by an explosive device during a training exercise. After several months of recovery, he returned to service in the unit. He later served as a company commander and led several operations during the

Second 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 ...

. He was then appointed as the deputy commander of the unit. In 2010, he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and appointed as the commander of the Egoz Unit, serving in this role until July 15, 2012. He later served in a General Staff role between 2012 and 2013. On May 21, 2013, he was appointed as the commander of Sayeret Matkal, and on May 23, he was promoted to the rank of colonel. He led the unit in Operation Protective Edge, among other operations, for which the unit received a commendation from the Chief of General Staff. He served in this position until March 16, 2016. At the end of his term, the unit received an additional commendation from the Chief of General Staff for operations conducted during his command. On September 4, 2016, he was appointed as the commander of the Golani Brigade and served in this role until May 24, 2018. After completing his term, he took a year of study in Washington, D.C., USA. On August 5, 2019, he was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General and on August 12, entered his role as the commander of the Galilee Formation, serving in this position until April 26, 2022. On October 3, 2022, he was appointed as the head of the Operations Division. On May 2, 2024, it was agreed by the Minister of Defense and the Chief of General Staff that Binder would be appointed as the head of the

Intelligence Directorate Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. It can be described as the ...

and promoted to the rank of major general. He assumed his office on August 21, 2024.

Personal life

Binder is married to Yael and is the father of three children. He lives in Ma'ale Gamla. He holds a bachelor's degree in

agronomy Agronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants by agriculture for food, fuel, fiber, chemicals, recreation, or land conservation. Agronomy has come to include research of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and ...

from the

Hebrew University The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. It is the second-ol ...

of Jerusalem and a master's degree in Strategy from the

National Defense University National Defence (or Defense) University (or College) may refer to: :''Alphabetical by country'' University * Marshal Fahim National Defense University, Afghanistan * National Defense University (Azerbaijan) * People's Liberation Army National Defe ...

in Washington, D.C., USA.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Binder, Shlomi 1975 births Israeli generals Living people