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Yiftah Ron-Tal (; born 1956) is the director of the
Israel Electric Corporation Israel Electric Corporation (IEC; ) is the largest supplier of electrical power in Israel and the Palestinian territories. The IEC builds, maintains, and operates power generation stations, sub-stations, as well as transmission and distribution ...
, former head of the Israel Port Authority and former major general in 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).


Biography

Ron-Tal was born on Netiv HaLamed-Heh, a kibbutz in the
Elah valley The Valley of Elah, Ella Valley ("Valley of the terebinth"; from the ), or Wadi es-Sunt (), is a long, shallow valley in the Shephelah area of Israel. It is best-known from the Hebrew Bible incident where David defeated Goliath (1 Samuel 17:2 an ...
in central
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 ...
. Drafted in 1974 into the Israeli Armored Corps, he became commander of the IDF Ground Forces Command. After leaving the military, Ron-Tal headed the Israel Port Authority and, as of 2011, he was serving as head of the Israel Electric Corporation.


Controversy

On October 4, 2006, he said publicly that IDF Chief of Staff
Dan Halutz Dan Halutz (, ; born August 7, 1948) is an Israeli Air Force lieutenant general and former Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces and commander of the Israeli Air Force. Halutz served as chief of staff in 2005–2007. Biography Halutz was ...
should accept responsibility for malfunctions in the Israel-Hezbollah War and accept the consequences. He hinted that
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 PM
Ehud Olmert Ehud Olmert (; , ; born 30 September 1945) is an Israeli politician and lawyer who served as the prime minister of Israel from 2006 to 2009. The son of a former Herut politician, Olmert was first elected to the Knesset for Likud in 1973, at th ...
should do the same. "Those who directed this war must take responsibility," Ron-Tal said on Israel Radio, "We did not win this war, and it is proper that those who directed it should take responsibility". He also said that employing the IDF to evacuate settlers from the Gaza Strip Israeli Settlements in 2005 was a grave mistake because it had seriously degraded the army's combat capabilities. Following these remarks, he was discharged from the IDF while on leave after 33 years of service, two months prior to retirement. The Israeli media reported though that Ron-Tal had sent a letter of resignation prior to being fired. While the comments themselves were not the most vitriolic heard since the end of the Israel-Hezbollah war, Ron-Tal was roundly criticized for making them while still in uniform. Even though Ron-Tal was on a final leave of absence before leaving the army, orders state that active soldiers are forbidden from giving interviews to the media without permission from the
IDF Spokesperson's Unit The IDF Spokesperson's Unit (, ''Dover Tzahal'', abbr. Dotz) is the unit in the IDF Operations Directorate, responsible for information policy and media relations. The unit is led by the IDF Spokesperson, a brigadier general and member of the ...
, especially resenting opinions about the army and politics. He was the second general officer to criticize Halutz while in uniform over the war, the first being Ilan Harari. In a previous controversial interview in 2003, he had advocated the liquidation of
PLO The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ) is a Palestinian nationalist coalition that is internationally recognized as the official representative of the Palestinian people in both the occupied Palestinian territories and the diaspora. ...
chairman
Yasser Arafat Yasser Arafat (4 or 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), also popularly known by his Kunya (Arabic), kunya Abu Ammar, was a Palestinian political leader. He was chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) from 1969 to 2004, Presid ...
.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ron-Tal, Yiftah Israeli generals 1956 births Living people Israeli businesspeople Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni Kibbutzniks