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 ...

(ret.) Herzl Bodinger ( he, הרצל בודינגר; born 1943) is a retired general in the Israel Defense Forces and a former Commander in Chief 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 Defens ...

. Today, Bodinger is member of the International Board of Governors of

Ariel University Ariel University ( he, אוניברסיטת אריאל), previously a public college known as the Ariel University Center of Samaria, is an Israeli university located in the urban Israeli settlement of Ariel in the West Bank. The college preced ...

.Meet Major General Herzle Bodinger - Chairman of RADA Electronics
/ref>

Military career

Bodinger was born in

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 ...

and joined the IDF in 1961. He volunteered to attend the flight academy and graduated as a fighter pilot, flying the

Dassault Mystère The Dassault MD.452 Mystère is a 1950s French fighter-bomber. Development After the success of the Ouragan, Dassault was working on a more advanced machine which would take to the air in early 1951 as the MD.452 Mystère I. The first proto ...

and

Sud Aviation Vautour The Sud-Ouest Aviation (SNCASO) S.O. 4050 Vautour II (French for ''vulture'') was a French jet-powered bomber, interceptor, and attack aircraft developed and manufactured by aircraft company Sud Aviation. The Vautour was operated by France's '' ...

. During the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states (primarily Egypt, Syria, and Jordan) from 5 to 10 Ju ...

, Bodinger served as a Vautour pilot and participated in Operation Moked, attacking airfields in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

and

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 Medit ...

and destroying 10

Tupolev Tu-16 The Tupolev Tu-16 (NATO reporting name: Badger) is a twin-engined jet strategic heavy bomber used by the Soviet Union. It has been flown for almost 70 years, and the Chinese license-built Xian H-6 remains in service with the People's Liberation ...

bombers on the ground. 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 E ...

, he was a

Mirage III The Dassault Mirage III () is a family of single/dual-seat, single-engine, fighter aircraft developed and manufactured by French aircraft company Dassault Aviation. It was the first Western European combat aircraft to exceed Mach 2 in horizonta ...

pilot, and shot down a Syrian

MiG-17 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-17; NATO reporting name: Fresco) is a high-subsonic fighter aircraft produced in the Soviet Union from 1952 and was operated by air forces internationally. The MiG-17 w ...

. During post-war conflicts, he shot down a Syrian

MiG-21 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-21; NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is a supersonic jet fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Its nickn ...

over Lebanon. Bodinger went on to command the Israeli Air Force from January 1992 to July 1996. During his 35-year career, Bodinger accumulated about 6,000 flight hour and conducted 451 aerial sorties.

Civilian career

Following his retirement from the air force, Bodinger was appointed to head the company RADA Electronic Industries. In the 2000s, Bodinger headed a committee appointed by Transportation Minister

Shaul Mofaz Shaul Mofaz ( he, שאול מופז; 4 November 1948) is a retired Israeli military officer and politician. He joined the Israel Defense Forces in 1966 and served in the Paratroopers Brigade. He fought in the Six-Day War, Yom Kippur War, 1982 Le ...

to prepare a master plan for Israel's airports.

References

Israeli aviators Israeli Air Force generals 1943 births Living people Ariel University Flight instructors Israeli Jews Israeli people of Romanian-Jewish descent Israeli chief executives Six-Day War pilots Yom Kippur War pilots Bar-Ilan University alumni {{Israel-mil-bio-stub