Aluf
Encyclopedia
Aluf is the term used for General
and Admiral
in the Israel Defense Forces
(IDF). In addition to the Aluf rank itself, there are four other ranks which are derivatives of the word. Together, they constitute the five highest ranks
in the IDF.
Rav Aluf is usually translated as "Lieutenant General", but is often considered to equate to a Field Marshal or five-star General, since it is the most senior rank in the IDF. The rank is given only to the Chief of General Staff (Ramatkal), so there can only be one active Rav Aluf under regular circumstances. However this could change in a time of war. During the Yom Kippur War
in 1973, retired Rav Aluf Haim Bar-Lev was called back into service, replacing Shmuel Gonen
as the commander of the southern theater. Thus, along with chief of the general staff David Elazar
(who succeeded Bar-Lev in that position the previous year), there were two people in active service holding the rank of Rav Aluf simultaneously.
Israel is essentially a land
and air
power, with the navy
being apportioned less than five percent of the military budget
. Consequently, there are no separate naval ranks (although they were introduced for a brief spell in the 1950's), and Aluf can be an Admiral as well as a General.
The term Aluf is taken from the Bible
, where it was a rank of nobility among the Edom
ites, ancient Judea
's neighbors (and often, enemies) to the south. It comes from an archaic root meaning "thousand"; "Aluf" is the one who commands a thousand people.
The non-Hebrew word "general" was also adopted into Hebrew (גנרל), and is used to refer to the generals of foreign armies. It can also be used colloquially in reference to a senior Israeli officer, in a derogatory sense—implying that the officer in question is over-officious, incompetent, or involved in internecine power struggles with other officers, sometimes referred to as the "war of the generals" , to the neglect of proper military duties. For example, in a speech made by the former Israeli Labor Party chairman Amir Peretz
, he criticized two other party members who both hold the rank of "Aluf" (ret.): former Vice-Chief of General Staff, Aluf Matan Vilnai
and former Commander of the Israeli Navy, Aluf Ami Ayalon
, referring to them (and other former senior officers of the IDF) as "the generals and admirals":
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
and Admiral
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
in the Israel Defense Forces
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
(IDF). In addition to the Aluf rank itself, there are four other ranks which are derivatives of the word. Together, they constitute the five highest ranks
Israel Defense Forces ranks
Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces have a unique rank structure. Because the IDF is an integrated force, ranks are the same in all services The ranks are derived from those of the paramilitary Haganah developed in the Mandate period to protect the Yishuv...
in the IDF.
Rank order of Aluf and its derivatives
- Rav AlufRamatkalThe Chief of the General Staff, also known as the Commander-in-Chief of the Israel Defense Forces is the supreme commander and Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces. At any given time, the Chief of Staff is the only active officer holding the IDF's highest rank, Rav Aluf , which is usually...
: the highest rank in IDFIsrael Defense ForcesThe Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
(Chief of the General StaffIsraeli General StaffThe Israeli General Staff , abbreviated Matkal , is the supreme command of the Israel Defense Forces. It is based in the Kirya compound in Tel Aviv.-Members:...
Rank), literally Arch-Aluf, Lieutenant GeneralLieutenant GeneralLieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....
/GeneralGeneralA general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
/Field MarshalField MarshalField Marshal is a military rank. Traditionally, it is the highest military rank in an army.-Etymology:The origin of the rank of field marshal dates to the early Middle Ages, originally meaning the keeper of the king's horses , from the time of the early Frankish kings.-Usage and hierarchical... - Aluf: Major GeneralMajor GeneralMajor general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
(arms, branches, and regional commands)
-
-
- Tat Aluf ,literally Sub-Aluf, : Brigadier GeneralBrigadier GeneralBrigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
(divisionalDivision (military)A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...
and corpsCorpsA corps is either a large formation, or an administrative grouping of troops within an armed force with a common function such as Artillery or Signals representing an arm of service...
-level)
-
- Aluf Mishne , literally Secondary-Aluf, : ColonelColonelColonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
(brigadeBrigadeA brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...
-level)
-
- Sgan Aluf , literally Vice-Aluf, : Lieutenant ColonelLieutenant colonelLieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
(battalionBattalionA battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
-level)
- Sgan Aluf , literally Vice-Aluf, : Lieutenant Colonel
- Aluf Mishne , literally Secondary-Aluf, : Colonel
- Tat Aluf ,literally Sub-Aluf, : Brigadier General
-
Rav Aluf is usually translated as "Lieutenant General", but is often considered to equate to a Field Marshal or five-star General, since it is the most senior rank in the IDF. The rank is given only to the Chief of General Staff (Ramatkal), so there can only be one active Rav Aluf under regular circumstances. However this could change in a time of war. During the Yom Kippur War
Yom Kippur War
The Yom Kippur War, Ramadan War or October War , also known as the 1973 Arab-Israeli War and the Fourth Arab-Israeli War, was fought from October 6 to 25, 1973, between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria...
in 1973, retired Rav Aluf Haim Bar-Lev was called back into service, replacing Shmuel Gonen
Shmuel Gonen
Shmuel "Gorodish" Gonen was an Israeli general and Chief of the Southern Command of the Israel Defense Forces during the Yom Kippur War.-Early life:...
as the commander of the southern theater. Thus, along with chief of the general staff David Elazar
David Elazar
David "Dado" Elazar was the ninth Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, serving in that capacity from 1972 to 1974. He was forced to resign in the aftermath of the Yom Kippur War.-Early life:...
(who succeeded Bar-Lev in that position the previous year), there were two people in active service holding the rank of Rav Aluf simultaneously.
Israel is essentially a land
GOC Army Headquarters
The Israeli GOC Army headquarters , known unofficially as Mazi, is a multi-corps command headquarters created in 1998, which amalgamates the ground forces of the Israel Defense Forces...
and air
Israeli Air Force
The Israeli Air Force is the air force of the State of Israel and the aerial arm of the Israel Defense Forces. It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Independence...
power, with the navy
Israeli Sea Corps
The Israeli Navy is the naval arm of the Israel Defense Forces, operating primarily in the Mediterranean Sea theater as well as the Gulf of Aqaba and the Red Sea theater. The current commander in chief of the Israeli Navy is Aluf Ram Rothberg.-History:...
being apportioned less than five percent of the military budget
Military budget
A military budget of an entity, most often a nation or a state, is the budget and financial resources dedicated to raising and maintaining armed forces for that entity. Military budgets reflect how much an entity perceives the likelihood of threats against it, or the amount of aggression it wishes...
. Consequently, there are no separate naval ranks (although they were introduced for a brief spell in the 1950's), and Aluf can be an Admiral as well as a General.
The term Aluf is taken from the Bible
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible is a term used by biblical scholars outside of Judaism to refer to the Tanakh , a canonical collection of Jewish texts, and the common textual antecedent of the several canonical editions of the Christian Old Testament...
, where it was a rank of nobility among the Edom
Edom
Edom or Idumea was a historical region of the Southern Levant located south of Judea and the Dead Sea. It is mentioned in biblical records as a 1st millennium BC Iron Age kingdom of Edom, and in classical antiquity the cognate name Idumea was used to refer to a smaller area in the same region...
ites, ancient Judea
Judea
Judea or Judæa was the name of the mountainous southern part of the historic Land of Israel from the 8th century BCE to the 2nd century CE, when Roman Judea was renamed Syria Palaestina following the Jewish Bar Kokhba revolt.-Etymology:The...
's neighbors (and often, enemies) to the south. It comes from an archaic root meaning "thousand"; "Aluf" is the one who commands a thousand people.
The non-Hebrew word "general" was also adopted into Hebrew (גנרל), and is used to refer to the generals of foreign armies. It can also be used colloquially in reference to a senior Israeli officer, in a derogatory sense—implying that the officer in question is over-officious, incompetent, or involved in internecine power struggles with other officers, sometimes referred to as the "war of the generals" , to the neglect of proper military duties. For example, in a speech made by the former Israeli Labor Party chairman Amir Peretz
Amir Peretz
Amir Peretz is an Israeli politician and member of the Knesset for the Labour Party. He is a former Defense Minister of Israel and former leader of the Labour Party, having left those positions in June 2007....
, he criticized two other party members who both hold the rank of "Aluf" (ret.): former Vice-Chief of General Staff, Aluf Matan Vilnai
Matan Vilnai
Matan Vilnai is an Israeli politician and a former Major General in the Israel Defense Forces . He is currently Minister for Home Front Defense and a member of the Knesset for Independence.-Biography:...
and former Commander of the Israeli Navy, Aluf Ami Ayalon
Ami Ayalon
Amihai "Ami" Ayalon is an Israeli politician and a former member of the Knesset for the Labor Party. He was previously head of the Shin Bet, Israel's secret service, and commander-in-chief of the Navy...
, referring to them (and other former senior officers of the IDF) as "the generals and admirals":
See also
- Israel Defense Forces ranksIsrael Defense Forces ranksIsrael Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces have a unique rank structure. Because the IDF is an integrated force, ranks are the same in all services The ranks are derived from those of the paramilitary Haganah developed in the Mandate period to protect the Yishuv...
- Mickey MarcusMickey MarcusDavid Daniel "Mickey" Marcus was a United States Army colonel who assisted Israel during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and who became Israel's first general . He was killed by friendly fire, when he was mistaken for an enemy infiltrator while returning to Israeli positions at night.Marcus is the best...
- the IDF's first Aluf. - Yaakov DoriYaakov DoriYaakov Dori was the first Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces .Born in the present day Ukraine as Yakov Dostrovsky , son of Tzvi and Myriam, his family emigrated to Ottoman Palestine following the anti-Jewish pogrom in Odessa in 1905...
- the IDF's first Rav AlufRamatkalThe Chief of the General Staff, also known as the Commander-in-Chief of the Israel Defense Forces is the supreme commander and Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces. At any given time, the Chief of Staff is the only active officer holding the IDF's highest rank, Rav Aluf , which is usually...
(Chief of Staff)