Giora Lev (born 30 June 1939) ( he, גיורא לב) was the 7th mayor of

Petah Tikva Petah Tikva ( he, פֶּתַח תִּקְוָה, , ), also known as ''Em HaMoshavot'' (), is a city in the Central District (Israel), Central District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv. It was founded in 1878, mainly by Haredi Judaism, Haredi Jews of ...

(1989-1998) and

Brigadier-general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

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 ...

. He was born in

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

and studied in

Kadoorie Agricultural High School Kadoorie Agricultural High School, sometimes spelled "Kadouri" or "Kaduri", is an agricultural school and youth village in Israel situated next to Mount Tabor in the Lower Galilee, two kilometers north of Kfar Tavor. Founded in 1933, it had a po ...

. Once

conscripted Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...

, he joined the

Armored Corps An armoured corps (also mechanized corps or tank corps) is a specialized military organization whose role is to conduct armoured warfare. The units belonging to an armoured corps include military staff, and are equipped with tanks and other armou ...

where he was trained in combat roles and as a tank commander. During the

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 ...

, he commanded the 264th Battalion (under the 421st Brigade), the first tank battalion to cross the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...

during

Operation Abirey-Halev Operation Abirey-Halev or Operation Abirey-Lev (lit. ''Knights of the Heart'') also known as Operation Stouthearted Men and Operation Valiant, code-named Operation Gazelle ( he, מבצע אבירי לב, ar, ثغرة الدفرسوار), was an ...

."The Yom Kippur War: The Story of the 421st Brigade,"
''

Ynet Ynet (stylized as ynet) is one of the major Israeli news and general-content websites, and is the online outlet for the '' Yedioth Ahronot'' newspaper. However, most of Ynet's content is original work, published exclusively on the website and wri ...

'', 7 October 2005 During the

First Lebanon War The 1982 Lebanon War, dubbed Operation Peace for Galilee ( he, מבצע שלום הגליל, or מבצע של"ג ''Mivtsa Shlom HaGalil'' or ''Mivtsa Sheleg'') by the Israeli government, later known in Israel as the Lebanon War or the First L ...

, he commanded the 90th Division which fought along the eastern front, including in the

Battle of Sultan Yacoub The Battle of Sultan Yacoub was a battle between Syria and Israel during the 1982 Lebanon War, which occurred near the village of Sultan Yacoub in the Lebanese Bekaa, close to the borders with Syria. Background At the beginning of the invas ...

. Later, he also served as

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 ...

military attaché A military attaché is a military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission, often an embassy. This type of attaché post is normally filled by a high-ranking military officer, who retains a commission while serving with an embassy. Opport ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. In 1989, he was elected mayor of Petah Tikva on behalf of the

Likud Likud ( he, הַלִּיכּוּד, HaLikud, The Consolidation), officially known as Likud – National Liberal Movement, is a major centre-right to right-wing political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon ...

where he served for two terms before losing the third to Yitzhak Ochaion, an independent affiliated with

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

References

Israeli Jews Mayors of places in Israel People from Petah Tikva {{DEFAULTSORT:Lev, Giora