Avigdor Ben-Gal, Israeli general, Died at 79

Avigdor “Yanush” Ben-Gal/ אביגדור בן-גל‎ was born in 1936 and died on February 13, 2016.

He was a former Israeli general.

Avigdor Ben-Gal was drafted into the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), A few years after Israel became independent and had won the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.

Ben-Gal first combat experience came during the 1956 Suez War with Egypt.

Following the Six-Day War in 1967, Avigdor was the operations chief of a brigade that broke through Egyptian fortifications in the Sinai.

Avigdor Ben-Gal lost half his right foot when his jeep struck a mine.

As of 1972, Avigdor Ben-Gal had been appointed the commander of a brigade.

During the Yom Kippur War in 1973, Ben-Gal commanded the 7th Armored Brigade and oversaw the defense of the Golan Heights against Syrian attack.

General Ben-Gal had foreseen the war two weeks before it began and had begun preparing his brigade.

As the threat of war wasn’t being taken seriously in Israel at the time, he had been branded a “madman”.

Nonetheless, following the war broke out, his brigade was the only IDF unit in a state of full readiness.

And the heroic stand of the 7th Armored Brigade and Yanush Ben-Gal’s personal heroism and leadership are believed by many to be decisive factors in the Israeli victory over the Syrians.

Ben-Gal was appointed the head of the Northern Command, in 1977.

The General served in this position until late-summer 1981, when he was replaced by General Amir Drori.

Avigdor Ben-Gal passed away at 79 yrs old.