Yehuda Fox (also Yehuda Fuchs, ; born 10 April 1969) is an Israeli major general who commands the Central Command of the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

(IDF). Previously, he commanded the

Gaza Division The 143rd "Fire Fox" Division also known as Gaza Division (''Ugdat Aza'') is a division subordinated to Israeli Southern Command. Its area of operation is the border with the Gaza Strip and surrounding area. The division's commander is Brigad ...

of the (IDF).

Military career

Fox is the son of Rabbi David Fox, a native of Chicago. His cousins are film director

Eytan Fox Eytan Fox (; born on August 21, 1964) is an Israeli film director. Biography Eytan Fox was born in New York City. His family Aliyah, immigrated to Israel when he was two. His father, Seymour Fox, was a Conservative Judaism, Conservative rabbi an ...

and lawyer David Fox. He was drafted into the IDF in 1987. He volunteered as a paratrooper in the

Paratroopers Brigade The 35th Paratroopers Brigade (, ''Hativat HaTzanhanim'') is an Israeli military airborne infantry brigade. It is a selective unit, which accepts new recruits following physical tryouts and interviews, and consists of volunteers. It forms a m ...

. He served as a soldier and a

squad leader ''Squad Leader'' is a tactical level board war game originally published by Avalon Hill in 1977. It was designed by John Hill and simulates on infantry combat in Europe during World War II. One of the most complex war games of its time, ''Squ ...

. He became an

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

officer after completing

Officer Candidate School An officer candidate school (OCS) is a military school which trains civilians and Enlisted rank, enlisted personnel in order for them to gain a Commission (document), commission as Commissioned officer, officers in the armed forces of a country. H ...

. Afterwards, he transferred to the

Nahal Brigade The 933rd "Nahal" Brigade is one of the Israel Defense Forces' main infantry brigades. It has operated in all major wars and large-scale operations since its inception in 1982, playing key roles during the 1982 and the 2006 Lebanon Wars and t ...

and served as a

platoon leader A platoon leader (NATO) or platoon commander (more common in Commonwealth militaries and the US Marine Corps) is the officer in charge of a platoon. This person is usually a junior officer – a second or first lieutenant or an equivalent rank ...

and as a

company commander A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 100–250 soldiers and usually commanded by a major or a captain. Most companies are made up of three to seven platoons, although the exact number may vary by country, unit type, and struc ...

. Fox led the Brigade's

anti-tank Anti-tank warfare refers to the military strategies, tactics, and weapon systems designed to counter and destroy enemy armored vehicles, particularly tanks. It originated during World War I following the first deployment of tanks in 1916, and ...

company in

counter-guerrilla Counter-Guerrilla () is a Turkish branch of Operation Gladio, a clandestine stay-behind Anti-communism, anti-communist initiative backed by the United States as an expression of the Truman Doctrine. The founding goal of the operation was to erect ...

operations in

South Lebanon Southern Lebanon () is the area of Lebanon comprising the South Governorate and the Nabatiye Governorate. The two entities were divided from the same province in the early 1990s. The Rashaya and Western Beqaa districts, the southernmost distr ...

, commanded a Nahal battalion in counter-terror operations in the

Second Intifada The Second Intifada (; ), also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada, was a major uprising by Palestinians against Israel and its Israeli-occupied territories, occupation from 2000. Starting as a civilian uprising in Jerusalem and October 2000 prot ...

. Later he commanded the Judea Regional Brigade (434th Territorial Brigade "Yehuda" of the

Judea and Samaria Division The Israeli 877th "Judea and Samaria" Division (, ; also known as the West Bank Division) is a regional Division (military), division of the Israeli Central Command, Central Command. It is responsible for Israeli military activity in the Judea ...

), IDF's Officer Candidate School, and the Nahal Brigade. In 2014, he was appointed head of the Paratroopers and Infantry Corps, and in 2016, commander of the

. In 2019, Fox was appointed IDF's next

military attaché A military attaché or defence attaché (DA),Defence Attachés
''Geneva C ...

in the United States. In 2021, he replaced the outgoing commander of Central Command. In April 2024, Israeli media has announced he is stepping down from his position in the summer; however, it did not specify the reason behind Fox’s planned resignation, which was announced hours after Aharon Haliva resigned over his failure to predict the

Hamas attack The history of Hamas is an account of the Palestinian nationalist and Islamist – described by some as fundamentalist – socio-political organization based in the Gaza strip with an associated paramilitary force, the Ezzedeen al-Qassam Briga ...

Retirement

In his retirement speech in July 2024, Fox described his feelings of guilt in the face of the army’s failure in preventing

October 7 massacre On October 7, 2023, Hamas and several other Palestinian militant groups launched coordinated armed incursions from the Gaza Strip into the Gaza envelope of southern Israel, the first invasion of Israeli territory since the 1948 Arab–Israeli ...

. He also criticised some of the

Israeli settler Israeli settlements, also called Israeli colonies, are the civilian communities built by Israel throughout the Israeli-occupied territories. They are populated by Israeli citizens, almost exclusively of Jewish identity or ethnicity, and hav ...

leaders in the occupied

West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

: : “The great majority of settlers are law-abiding citizens who live in the shadow of the threat of terror... Unfortunately, in recent months, nationalist crime has reared its head under the cover of war and has led to revenge and sowed calamity and fear in Palestinian residents who do not pose any threat. To my dismay, the local leadership and the spiritual leadership for the most part did not see the threat as we did. It is intimidated and has not found the strength to come out openly and act in accordance with the values of Judaism... Even if the perpetrators are few in number, those who have remained silent have failed to isolate them and their actions from the majority. This isn’t Judaism in my eyes – at least it’s not the one I grew up with in my father’s and mother’s house.”Amos Harel: In His Retirement Speech, Israel's Top Officer in the West Bank Revealed the Hidden Truth. In: ''Haaretz'', 9 July 2024.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fox, Yehuda 1969 births Living people Israeli Jews Israeli generals