The IDF’s 6st Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen.Tzvi Tzur

Tzvi (Tsera) Tzur was born in Ukraine in 1923 and made aliyah in 1925. He joined the Hagana at 1939 and was trained to be a platoon commander in 1942. During the War of Independence he fought in the ranks of the Givati Brigade.

At first he served as deputy commander of the 53rd Battalion and fought on the southern outskirts of Tel Aviv. He was later appointed commander of the 54th Battalion and took part in the battles on the road to Jerusalem and in battles on the southern front against the Egyptian army. In addition, he participated in Operation Yoav to liberate the Negev from the Egyptian siege. In 1949 he commanded the 17th Brigade, which took over villages in the northern Triangle. He later served as head of the Southern Command headquarters and served as assistant to the head of the Staff Branch, Major General Mordechai Maklef. In 1951 he studied manpower management in the United States. In 1952 he was appointed the head the manpower directorate and promoted to a Major General. During his term in office he led the periodical recruitment, set rules for promotion and promoted the education of officers in the IDF through courses and study programs. In 1956 he was appointed the head of the Central Command and in 1958 he was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff and Head of the Staff Branch. He later went to France to continue his studies he returned at 1960.

In 1961 he was ranked a Lieutenant General and became the 6th IDF Chief of Staff. His term of office was characterized by relative calm in the borders, and in light of this, he focused on strengthening the IDF's foreign relations with foreign armies, building manpower, improving the IDF’s combat doctrine and equipment: a modern helicopter system was established, and the Air Force equipped itself with advanced "Shahak". In addition, the armor system was enlarged and the training facilities were upgraded. He resigned from military service in 1963.

In 1964 he became the general manager of Mekorot, Israel's national water company. He served as assistant to Defense Minister Moshe Dayan in 1967. During his term of office, which included three wars - the Six Day War, the War of Attrition and the Yom Kippur War - he focused on building the IDF's strength both by procuring from external sources and through the local defense industries, including acquiring Skyhawks and Phantom jets from the United States. Later on he was the head of the several major companies in the Israeli economy, such as: CEO of Clal Industries, Chairman of Bezeq, Chairman of Zim (1987-1992), Chairman of Israel Aircraft Industries and member of the Atomic Energy Commission. He passed away in 2004.