Major General (Res.) Yitzhak Gershon has more than 32 years of distinguished military experience. Gen. Gershon commanded top combat units in the Israel Defense Forces, with much of his service on the front lines in Lebanon and Judea/Samaria. Gen. Gershon coordinated numerous special operations during the first Lebanon War and the “Defensive Shield” operation during the second Intifada, and led the Home Front Command in the second Lebanon war.

Military service

Gershon was drafted into the IDF in 1977. He volunteered to

Sayeret Shaked Special forces units in the Israel Defense Forces encompass a broad definition of specialist units. Such units are usually a regiment or a battalion in strength. Sayeret ( he, סיירת, pl.: ''sayarot''), or ''reconnaissance'' units in the I ...

. He served as a soldier and a

squad leader ''Squad Leader'' is a tactical level board war game originally published by Avalon Hill in 1977. It was designed by John Hill and simulates on infantry combat in Europe during World War II. One of the most complex war games of its time, ''Squa ...

and fought in

Operation Litani The 1978 South Lebanon conflict (codenamed Operation Litani by Israel) began after Israel invaded southern Lebanon up to the Litani River in March 1978, in response to the Coastal Road massacre near Tel Aviv by Lebanon-based Palestinian mil ...

. Later on he became an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

officer after completing Officer Candidate School and returned to the

Paratroopers Brigade The 35th Brigade ( he, חֲטִיבַת הַצַּנְחָנִים, ''Hativat HaTzanhanim''), also known as the Paratroopers Brigade, is an infantry brigade unit of paratroopers within the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), and forms a major part of ...

as a platoon leader in the 890 "Efe" (Echis) paratroop battalion. In the

1982 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 ...

Gershon

led A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor Electronics, device that Light#Light sources, emits light when Electric current, current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy i ...

a paratroopers company of the 890 battalion during heavy fighting against

PLO The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ar, منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية, ') is a Palestinian nationalist political and militant organization founded in 1964 with the initial purpose of establishing Arab unity and s ...

operatives and the

Syrian Army " (''Guardians of the Homeland'') , colors = * Service uniform: Khaki, Olive * Combat uniform: Green, Black, Khaki , anniversaries = August 1st , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles = 1948 Arab–Israeli War Six ...

. In Operation Law and Order Gershon commanded the 202 Paratroop Battalion. Gershon commanded a Regional Brigade in South Lebanon and later on commanded the

55th Paratroopers Brigade 55th Paratroopers Brigade, also known as "''Tip of The Spear Brigade''" ( he, עֻצְבַּת חוד החנית, ''Utzbat Hod Ha-Hanit''), is a reserve-service infantry Brigade in the Israeli Defense Forces. History The 55th Paratrooopers Brigad ...

and the 35th Paratroopers Brigade. Afterwordfs he commanded the

98th Paratroopers Division The 98th "HaEsh" Paratroopers Division, also known as the Fire Formation ( he, עֻצְבַּת הָאֵשׁ, ''Utzbat HaEsh''), is a reserve-service infantry division in the Israel Defense Forces. It is subordinate to the Central Regional Comm ...

. In the

Second Intifada The Second Intifada ( ar, الانتفاضة الثانية, ; he, האינתיפאדה השנייה, ), also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada ( ar, انتفاضة الأقصى, label=none, '), was a major Palestinian uprising against Israel. ...

Gershon commanded Judea and Samaria Division during

Operation Defensive Shield Operation "Defensive Shield" ( he, מִבְצָע חוֹמַת מָגֵן, ''Mivtza Homat Magen'', literally "Operation Shield Wall") was a large-scale military operation conducted by the Israel Defense Forces in 2002 during the Second Intifada ...

. In the years 2005-2008 he served as the Commander of Home Front Command, which he led through 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 ...

.Hanan Greenberg
Chief of Home Front Command retires from IDF

Ynetnews 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 ...

, 03 January 2008. In November, 2008, Maj. Gen. Gershon joined Friends of the IDF as the National Director and CEO. Gen. Gershon earned a BA and MA in Political Science from Haifa University.

References

External links

Bio from the FIDF
Living people Israeli generals 1958 births {{Israel-bio-stub