Eliezer (Eli) Marom ("Chayni") ( he, אליעזר "אלי" מרום "צ'ייני", born in 1955,

Sde Eliezer Sde Eliezer ( he, שְׂדֵה אֱלִיעֶזֶר, lit. ''Eliezer's Field'') is a moshav in northern Israel. Located in the Hula Valley, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mevo'ot HaHermon Regional Council. In it had a population of . History ...

Upper Galilee The Upper Galilee ( he, הגליל העליון, ''HaGalil Ha'Elyon''; ar, الجليل الأعلى, ''Al Jaleel Al A'alaa'') is a geographical-political term in use since the end of the Second Temple period. It originally referred to a mountai ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

) is the former Commander of the

Israeli Navy The Israeli Navy ( he, חיל הים הישראלי, ''Ḥeil HaYam HaYisraeli'' (English: The Israeli Sea Corps); ar, البحرية الإسرائيلية) is the naval warfare service arm of the Israel Defense Forces, operating primarily in ...

serving from 2007–2011. As of 2015 he serves as the head of the

Israel Airports Authority The Israel Airports Authority (IAA, he, רשות שדות התעופה בישראל, ''Reshut Sdot HaTe'ufa BeYisra'el''; ar, سلطة المطارات في إسرائيل) was founded in 1977 as a Government-owned corporation, public corporatio ...

. Born in

, Israel, Marom is of

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

descent. He held the rank of

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. ...

in the Israeli Navy.

Early life and family

Marom was born and raised on

moshav A moshav ( he, מוֹשָׁב, plural ', lit. ''settlement, village'') is a type of Israeli town or settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists between 1904 an ...

, in the

Hula Valley The Hula Valley ( he, עמק החולה, translit. ''Emek Ha-Ḥula''; also transliterated as Huleh Valley, ar, سهل الحولة) is an agricultural region in northern Israel with abundant fresh water, which used to be Lake Hula, prior t ...

. His father Erik was a German-born Jew and his mother Leah (originally Chai Li) was born in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, the daughter of a

Russian-Jewish The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest pop ...

woman and a

Han Chinese The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctive va ...

man who had

converted to Judaism Conversion to Judaism ( he, גיור, ''giyur'') is the process by which non-Jews adopt the Jewish religion and become members of the Jewish ethnoreligious community. It thus resembles both conversion to other religions and naturalization. " ...

. His parents met when his father escaped to China as a refugee from

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He was the seventh of his parents' eight children and was born weeks after his family immigrated to Israel. Marom studied Marine Engineering in the Israel Nautical College in

Akko Acre ( ), known locally as Akko ( he, עַכּוֹ, ''ʻAkō'') or Akka ( ar, عكّا, ''ʻAkkā''), is a city in the coastal plain region of the Northern District of Israel. The city occupies an important location, sitting in a natural harb ...

. While he studied there, one of his commanders called him "Chayni" because of his eyes, and that became his nickname. He began his career in the

in 1975 after completing a naval officers course.

Career

Over the course of his career, Marom has held most of the senior positions in the Israeli Navy. According to ''

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner f ...

'', Marom is widely praised for his abilities as a commander, but concerns about his character led to him being passed over as head of the Navy in 2004. However, Marom was finally appointed to the post in 2007. He was charged with rehabilitating the Navy after the

2006 Lebanon War The 2006 Lebanon War, also called the 2006 Israel–Hezbollah War and known in Lebanon as the July War ( ar, حرب تموز, ''Ḥarb Tammūz'') and in Israel as the Second Lebanon War ( he, מלחמת לבנון השנייה, ''Milhemet Leva ...

, in the wake of a

Hezbollah Hezbollah (; ar, حزب الله ', , also transliterated Hizbullah or Hizballah, among others) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group, led by its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah since 1992. Hezbollah's parami ...

missile strike on INS ''Hanit''. In March 2009, Marom was embroiled in a scandal after he was caught partying at a

strip club A strip club is a venue where strippers provide adult entertainment, predominantly in the form of striptease or other Erotic dancing, erotic or exotic dances. Strip clubs typically adopt a nightclub or Bar (establishment), bar style, and can also ...

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

. MK

Nachman Shai Nachman Shai ( he, נחמן שי; born Nachman Shaykevich on 28 November 1946) is an Israeli journalist and politician serving as Israel's Minister of Diaspora Affairs. He previously served as a member of the Knesset and its Deputy Speaker, as w ...

called for Marom's resignation and IDF Chief of Staff

Gabi Ashkenazi Gabriel "Gabi" Ashkenazi (; born 25 February 1954) is an Israeli politician and former military leader. He previously served as the Foreign Minister of Israel, Minister of Foreign Affairs. He was the Chief of General Staff (Israel), Chief of Ge ...

verbally rebuked him for his behavior. Ashkenazi did not, however, attach a reprimand to Marom's personal file. Marom was still head of the navy during the 2010

Gaza flotilla raid The Gaza flotilla raid was a military operation by Israel against six civilian ships of the " Gaza Freedom Flotilla" on 31 May 2010 in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Nine activists and no Israelis were killed on one ship dur ...

. In June 2011, as the

Free Gaza Movement The Free Gaza Movement (FGM) is a coalition of human rights activists and pro-Palestinian groups formed to break Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip and publicise the situation of the Palestinians there. FGM has challenged the Israeli–Egyptian ...

was preparing to launch Freedom Flotilla II to Gaza, Marom was quoted as calling the action a 'hate flotilla'. After leaving the navy in 2011, he became involved in many projects, and serves as Senior Director at Seagull Maritime Security. In October 2013, he was briefly detained for questioning over his role in the Gaza flotilla raid when he arrived at

Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others be ...

, during a visit to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

.Former Navy chief Marom detained at Heathrow
- Ynetnews. 14 October 2013

Personal life

Eliezer Marom is married to Ora and has three children.

Timeline

* Israel Navy Advanced Command Course * National Defense College * U.S. Navy Senior International Defense Management Program *

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA p ...

* MA in Social Sciences from

Haifa University The University of Haifa ( he, אוניברסיטת חיפה Arabic: جامعة حيفا) is a university located on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. Founded in 1963, the University of Haifa received full academic accreditation in 1972, becoming Is ...

* 1975 Joins Israeli Navy as

Engine Officer An engineering officer or simply engineer, is a licensed mariner qualified and responsible for operating and maintaining the propulsion plants and support systems for a watercraft and its crew, passengers and cargo.Wise Geek''What is the Engine D ...

* 1999 promoted as Rear Admiral and appointed Commander of the

Haifa Naval Base The Haifa naval base is a base of Israeli Navy, located in Haifa, Israel, and constitutes the main naval base of the Israel Defense Forces. The base is the hub of Israel's naval force. The naval base has submarines, missile boats and other vessel ...

and the North Arena * 2001 appointed the Head of Naval Operations of the Israel Navy * 2003 appointed Chief of Staff of the Israel Navy * 2004-2005 IDF representative at the

United States Joint Forces Command United States Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM) was a Unified Combatant Command of the United States Department of Defense. USJFCOM was a functional command that provided specific services to the military. The last commander was Army Gen. Ray Odi ...

. * August 2005 appointed Defense Armed Forces Attache at the Embassy of Israel in Singapore * October 9, 2007 promoted to vice admiral and Commander in Chief of the Israel Navy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marom, Eli 1955 births Living people Harvard Business School alumni Israeli Jews Israeli Navy generals Israeli people of Chinese descent Israeli people of German-Jewish descent Israeli people of Russian-Jewish descent University of Haifa alumni Naval attachés