Aluf ''Aluf'' ( he, אלוף, lit=champion 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. ...

Eitan Ben Eliyahu (born 1944)Melman, Yossi and Javedanfar, Meir. ''The Nuclear Sphinx of Tehran.'' Basic Books, 2008. pp. 187–188. is a retired major general in the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...

and was the Commander of the

Israeli Air Force The Israeli Air Force (IAF; he, זְרוֹעַ הָאֲוִיר וְהֶחָלָל, Zroa HaAvir VeHahalal, tl, "Air and Space Arm", commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial warfare branch of the Israel Defense ...

(IAF).

Early life and military career

Eliyahu's father was born in

Khorramshahr Khorramshahr ( fa, خرمشهر , also romanized as ''Khurramshahr'', ar, المحمرة, romanized as ''Al-Muhammerah'') is a city and capital of Khorramshahr County, Khuzestan Province, Iran. At the 2016 census, its population was 170,976, in ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, and in 1922 immigrated to British-mandated Palestine; Eliyahu's mother was from Macedonia. Eliyahu himself was born in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

in 1944. During the 1973

Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egy ...

, Eliyahu shot down two

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

ian fighters as he led a squadron of

F-4 Phantom The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and Bow ...

s. June 27 1979 over Lebanon, while flying an F-15 Eagle as part of a 4 ship formation, he shot down a Syrian MiG 21 with the M61 cannon scoring the first recorded guns kill (the 3rd air to air kill) for the F-15. In 1981 he flew as fighter escort during

Operation Opera Operation Opera ( he, מבצע אופרה), 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. ...

, which resulted in the destruction of Iraq's

Osirak Operation Opera ( he, מבצע אופרה), 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. ...

nuclear reactor. Eliyahu served as commander of an F-15 squadron, member of the IAF Aerobatic Team, a base commander, head of the Operational Requirements Division, and in 1987 was appointed Head of Operations for the IAF. On July 1, 1996 Eliyahu was promoted to Commander of the IAF.Aloni, Shlomo. Holmes, Tony. ''Israeli F-4 Phantom II Aces.'' Osprey Publishing, 2004. p. 35 Over the course of his tenure Eliyahu focused on extending the range of IAF operations, especially in regard to Iran. As such, Eliyahu ordered 25

F-15I The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) F-15E Strike Eagle is an American all-weather multirole strike fighter derived from the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle. The F-15E was designed in the 1980s for long-range, high-speed interdiction without relyi ...

fighters, which had a longer range than Israel's previously purchased F-15s. Eliyahu stepped down as IAF commander on April 4, 2000.

Post-military activities

Since leaving active duty, Eliyahu founded and serves as CEO of the Sentry Technology Group, and was the president of East West Ventures Ltd. from 2000 to 2002. He serves as the Board Chairman of the

Koret Foundation The Koret Foundation is a private foundation based in San Francisco, California. Its mission is to strengthen the Bay Area and support the Jewish community in the U.S. and Israel through grantmaking to organizations involved with education, arts an ...

's Israel Economic Development Fund and of

Aeronautics Defense systems Aeronautics Ltd. ( he, אירונאוטיקס בע"מ) (formerly NETS Integrated Avionics Systems) is an Israeli company specializing in the manufacturing of Unmanned Aerial Systems for military uses. Since its establishment in 1997, the company ...

, and as the Co-Chair of the Israel National Museum of Science. Eliyahu is also on the boards of

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

, Zionism 2000, the

Israel Democracy Institute Israel Democracy Institute (IDI; he, המכון הישראלי לדמוקרטיה), established in 1991, is an independent center of research and action dedicated to strengthening the foundations of Israeli democracy. It is located in Jerusalem, ...

, and the Rabin Research Center.

Education

Eliyahu studied at

Bar Ilan University Bar-Ilan University (BIU, he, אוניברסיטת בר-אילן, ''Universitat Bar-Ilan'') is a public research university in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is Israel's second-largest academic i ...

, where he received a B.A. in

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

and

business administration Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...

. He also earned an M.A. from

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...

in strategy and

international relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such as ...

and attended Harvard's six-week Advanced Management Program.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eliyahu, Eitan Ben 1944 births Living people Israeli Air Force generals Israeli aviators Israeli Jews Yom Kippur War pilots Israeli people of Iranian-Jewish descent Israeli people of Macedonian-Jewish descent People from Jerusalem Bar-Ilan University alumni Israeli chief executives Macedonian Jews