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{{Short description|Israeli soldier and politician}}
{{BLP sources|date=February 2013}}
{{BLP sources|date=February 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox Politician
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix = [[Tat Aluf]]
| honorific-prefix = [[Tat Aluf]]
|name=Avigdor Kahalani
| name = Avigdor Kahalani
| image = Avigdor Kahalani receives the medal of valor, May 1975 IV.jpg
|image=Festivalyoter1.jpg
| alt = Photo of Kahalani smiling
⚫
|office1=[[Ministry of Public Security (Israel)|Minister of Internal Security]]
| caption = Kahalani receiving the Medal of Valor (1975)
⚫
|term_start1=18 June 1996
⚫
| office1 = [[Ministry of Public Security (Israel)|Minister of Internal Security]]
⚫
|term_end1=6 July 1999
⚫
| term_start1 = 18 June 1996
⚫
|primeminister1=[[Benjamin Netanyahu]]
⚫
| term_end1 = 6 July 1999
⚫
|preceded1=[[Moshe Shahal]]
⚫
| primeminister1 = [[Benjamin Netanyahu]]
⚫
|succeeded1=[[Shlomo Ben-Ami]]
⚫
| preceded1 = [[Moshe Shahal]]
⚫
|office2=Member of the [[Knesset]]
⚫
| succeeded1 = [[Shlomo Ben-Ami]]
⚫
|term_start2=23 June 1992
⚫
| office2 = Member of the [[Knesset]]
⚫
|term_end2=17 May 1999
⚫
| term_start2 = 23 June 1992
⚫
|birth_date= {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1944|06|16}}
⚫
| term_end2 = 17 May 1999
|party = [[Third Way (Israel)|Third Way]]<br>[[Israeli Labor Party|Labor Party]] (formerly)
⚫
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1944|06|16}}
⚫
|birth_place= [[Ness Ziona]], [[British Mandate of Palestine|Mandate Palestine]]
| party = [[Third Way (Israel)|Third Way]]
|caption= Brigadier General, Avigdor Kahalani
⚫
| birth_place = [[Ness Ziona]], [[Mandatory Palestine|israel]]
|nickname=
| nickname =
|allegiance= {{flag|Israel}}
| allegiance = {{flag|Israel}}
|serviceyears= 1962-1992
| serviceyears = 1962–1992
|rank= [[Brigadier General]]
| rank = [[Brigadier General]]
|current position=
| current position =
|commands=[[77 Battalion]]<br/>[[7th Armored Brigade (Israel)|7th Armored Brigade]]<br/>[[36th Division (IDF)|36th Division]]
| commands = [[77 Battalion]]<br/>[[7th Armored Brigade (Israel)|7th Armored Brigade]]<br/>[[36th Division (IDF)|36th Division]]
|Not military jobs=[[minister of internal security]]
| Not military jobs = [[minister of internal security]]
|unit=
| unit =
|battles=[[Six-Day War]]<br/>[[Yom Kippur War]]
| battles = [[Six-Day War]]<br/>[[Yom Kippur War]]
|awards= [[Medal of Distinguished Service|Distinguished Service Medal]]<br/>[[Medal of Valor (Israel)|Medal of Valor]]
| mawards = [[Medal of Valor (Israel)|Medal of Valor]]<br/>[[Medal of Distinguished Service|Distinguished Service Medal]]<br/> [[President's Medal (Israel)|President's Medal]]
}}
}}


Brigadier-General ([[Tat Aluf]]) '''Avigdor Kahalani''' ({{lang-he-n|אביגדור קהלני}}, born 16 June 1944) is a former Israeli soldier and politician.
[[Tat Aluf#Rank order of aluf and its derivatives|Tat Aluf]] ([[Brigadier General]]) '''Avigdor Kahalani''' ({{lang-he|אביגדור קהלני}}, born 16 June 1944) is a former Israeli soldier and politician.


==Background==
==Early life==
Avigdor Kahalani was born in [[Ness Ziona]] during the [[Mandatory Palestine|Mandate era]]. His parents, Moshe and Sarah Kahalani, were [[Yemenite Jews|Yemenite-Jewish]] immigrants originally from [[Sana'a]]. Kahalani studied mechanics at the [[ORT Israel|ORT School]] in [[Jaffa]]. He gained a [[Bachelor of Arts|B.A.]] in History from [[Tel Aviv University]] and an [[Master of Arts|M.A.]] in Political Science from [[University of Haifa|Haifa University]]. He also attended the [[Command and General Staff College]] at [[Fort Leavenworth]], [[Kansas]], and graduated from Israel's National Defense College.
Avigdor Kahalani was born in [[Ness Ziona]] during the [[Mandatory Palestine|Mandate era]]. His parents, Moshe and Sarah Kahalani, were [[Yemenite Jews|Yemenite-Jewish]] immigrants originally from [[Sana'a]].


Kahalani studied mechanics at the [[ORT Israel|ORT School]] in [[Jaffa]]. He gained a [[Bachelor of Arts|B.A.]] in History from [[Tel Aviv University]] and an [[Master of Arts|M.A.]] in Political Science from [[University of Haifa|Haifa University]]. He also attended the [[Command and General Staff College]] at [[Fort Leavenworth]], [[Kansas]], and graduated from Israel's National Defense College.
⚫
==IDF career==
⚫
Kahalani was conscripted into the [[Israel Defense Forces]] (IDF) in 1962, and joined the [[7th Brigade (Israel)|7th Brigade]] of the [[Armored Corps (Israel)|IDF Armored Corps]]. He started as a regular soldier, but later completed a tank commander's course with honors. He then completed an officer's course with honors at [[Bahad 1]], and became a career officer in the IDF. In 1964, he was part of an IDF delegation to [[West Germany]] to receive the IDF's first [[M48 Patton]] tanks.


⚫
==Military career==
⚫
During the [[Six-Day War]], Kahalani commanded a company of Patton tanks from the 79th Battalion. He was awarded the [[Medal of Distinguished Service]] for service during the [[Six-Day War]], where he was badly wounded when his [[M48 Patton|M-48 Patton tank]] caught fire.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Kahalani|first1=Avigdor|title=The heights of courage : a tank leader's war on the Golan|date=1992|publisher=Praeger|location=New York|isbn=978-0275942694|pages=About the Author|edition=Paperback|url=https://books.google.co.il/books?id=7aIXJkFzqe8C&pg=PR17}}</ref> When the [[Yom Kippur War]] broke out in 1973, Kahalani was a 29-year-old [[lieutenant Colonel]] and battalion commander. He served as commander of the Centurion-equipped 77th Armored Battalion of the 7th Brigade on the [[Golan Heights]]. Kahalani's battalion – along with other elements of the 7th Armored Brigade – engaged in fierce defensive fighting against a vastly superior [[Syrian Armed Forces|Syrian]] [[Armoured warfare|mechanized]] force, consisting of more than 50,000 men and 1,200 [[tank]]s. The battle proved to be one of the turning points of the war. After the war, the valley where it took place was littered with hundreds of destroyed and abandoned Syrian tanks and was renamed "Emek Ha-Bacha" ("[[The Valley of Tears]]"). For his actions during the war Kahalani received the highest Israeli military decoration, the [[Medal of Valor (Israel)|Medal of Valor]].<ref name="bamahane">{{cite magazine|author=Tal Zagreba|magazine=[[Bamahane]]|title=We Were Like a Wounded Animal that Was Discarded and Fights for Its Life|date=31 October 2008|issue=42nd Edition (2008)|pages=54–55}}</ref>
[[File:Avigdor Kahalani during the Yom kippur War, 1973.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Kahalani during the Yom Kippur War]]
⚫
Kahalani was conscripted into the [[Israel Defense Forces]] (IDF) in 1962, and joined the [[7th Brigade (Israel)|7th Brigade]] of the [[Armored Corps (Israel)|IDF Armored Corps]]. He started as a regular soldier, but later completed a tank commander's course with honors. He then completed an officer's course with honors at [[Bahad 1]], and became a career officer in the IDF. In 1964, he was part of an IDF delegation to [[West Germany]] to receive the IDF's first [[M48 Patton]] tanks.

During the [[Six-Day War]], Kahalani commanded a company of Patton tanks from the 79th Battalion. He was awarded the [[Medal of Distinguished Service]] for his service during the war, where he was badly wounded when his M-48 Patton caught fire.<ref>{{cite book |last= Kahalani |first= Avigdor |title= The heights of courage: a tank leader's war on the Golan |date= 1992 |publisher= Praeger |location= New York |isbn= 9780275942694 |pages= About the Author |edition= Paperback |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=7aIXJkFzqe8C&pg=PR17}}</ref>

⚫
When the [[Yom Kippur War]] broke out in 1973, Kahalani was a 29-year-old [[lieutenant colonel]] and battalion commander. He served as commander of the [[Centurion tank|Centurion]]-equipped 77th Armored Battalion of the 7th Brigade on the [[Golan Heights]]. Kahalani's battalion – along with other elements of the 7th Armored Brigade – engaged in fierce defensive fighting against a vastly superior [[Syrian Armed Forces|Syrian]] [[Armoured warfare|mechanized]] force of more than 50,000 men and 1,200 [[tank]]s. The battle proved to be one of the turning points of the war. After the war, the valley where it took place was littered with hundreds of destroyed and abandoned Syrian tanks and was renamed "Emek Ha-Bacha" ("[[Valley of Tears]]"). For his actions, Kahalani was awarded the highest Israeli military decoration, the [[Medal of Valor (Israel)|Medal of Valor]].<ref name="bamahane">{{cite magazine |first= Tal |last= Zagreba |magazine=[[Bamahane]] |title= We Were Like a Wounded Animal that Was Discarded and Fights for Its Life |date= 31 October 2008 |issue= 42nd Edition (2008) |pages= 54–55}}</ref>


==Political career==
==Political career==
After leaving the IDF, Kahalani made his way into politics. He served as Deputy Mayor of [[Tel Aviv]], and was elected to the Knesset as a member of the [[Israeli Labor Party|Labor Party]] in the [[Israeli legislative election, 1992|1992 election]], he served on the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense and the Education and Culture Committees. He has been active in the Committee for the Rescue of Jews from Yemen and Chairman of the Golan Lobby in the Knesset. He is also chairman of the Friends of LIBI Foundation and president of the Israeli Association for Drug Rehabilitation.
After leaving the IDF, Kahalani made his way into politics. He served as Deputy Mayor of [[Tel Aviv]], and was elected to the Knesset as a member of the [[Israeli Labor Party|Labor Party]] in the [[1992 Israeli legislative election|1992 election]]. He served on the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense and the Education and Culture Committees. He was active in the Committee for the Rescue of Jews from Yemen and Chairman of the Golan Lobby in the Knesset, and was chairman of the Friends of LIBI Foundation and president of the Israeli Association for Drug Rehabilitation. He was a candidate in the [[1993 Tel Aviv mayoral election]], finishing second to [[Roni Milo]] with 42.5% of the vote.


During the Knesset session, Kahalani broke away from the Labor Party and founded [[Third Way (Israel)|The Third Way]] with [[Emanuel Zisman]]. The new party won four seats in the [[Israeli legislative election, 1996|1996 elections]], and joined [[Binyamin Netanyahu]]'s coalition, with Kahalani made [[Internal Security Minister of Israel|Minister of Internal Security]].
During the Knesset session, Kahalani broke away from the Labor Party and founded [[Third Way (Israel)|The Third Way]] with [[Emanuel Zisman]]. The new party won four seats in the [[1996 Israeli legislative election|1996 elections]], and joined [[Benjamin Netanyahu]]'s coalition, with Kahalani made [[Internal Security Minister of Israel|Minister of Internal Security]]. However, in the [[1999 Israeli legislative election|1999 elections]] the party failed to cross the [[Election threshold|electoral threshold]] and Kahalani lost his seat.


However, in the [[Israeli legislative election, 1999|1999 elections]] the party failed to cross the [[Election threshold|electoral threshold]] and Kahalani lost his seat. He later joined Likud, and was placed 43rd on the party's list for the [[Israeli legislative election, 2003|2003 elections]],<ref>[http://info.jpost.com/C002/Supplements/Elections2003/pp_likud.html Police probe Likud members about alleged corruption in primary race] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080906161836/http://info.jpost.com/C002/Supplements/Elections2003/pp_likud.html |date=6 September 2008 }} The Jerusalem Post, 17 December 2002</ref> but missed out on a seat when the party won only 38.
He later joined [[Likud]], and was placed 43rd on the party's list for the [[2003 Israeli legislative election|2003 elections]],<ref>[http://info.jpost.com/C002/Supplements/Elections2003/pp_likud.html Police probe Likud members about alleged corruption in primary race] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080906161836/http://info.jpost.com/C002/Supplements/Elections2003/pp_likud.html |date=6 September 2008 }} The Jerusalem Post, 17 December 2002</ref> but missed out on a seat when the party won only 38.


Since November 2007, Kahalani has been serving as chairman of the [[Organization for the Soldier]].
From 2007 to 2015, Kahalani served as chairman of the [[Association for Wellbeing of Israeli Soldiers]].

In 2023 he was chosen to light a [[torch]] at the beacon lighting ceremony on [[Mount Herzl]] on the occasion of the 75th year of the State of Israel.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/s1xvt9ym2 | title=אסייג, קהלני, בלאט, מפקד דובדבן ונערה שנאבקת בשיימינג: אלו משיאי המשואות | newspaper=Ynet | date=16 April 2023 | last1=Ynet | first1=כתבי }}</ref>


==Published works==
==Published works==
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==References==
==References==
{{reflist|30em}}
{{reflist}}


==External links==
==External links==
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{{Israeli Internal Security Ministers}}
{{Israeli Internal Security Ministers}}

{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}


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[[Category:Third Way (Israel) politicians]]
[[Category:Third Way (Israel) politicians]]
[[Category:Israeli Labor Party politicians]]
[[Category:Israeli Labor Party politicians]]
[[Category:Ministers of Public Security of Israel]]
[[Category:Ministers of public security of Israel]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Distinction of Israel]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Distinction of Israel]]
[[Category:Members of the 13th Knesset (1992–96)]]
[[Category:Members of the 13th Knesset (1992–1996)]]
[[Category:Members of the 14th Knesset (1996–99)]]
[[Category:Members of the 14th Knesset (1996–1999)]]
[[Category:Israeli people of the Yom Kippur War]]
[[Category:Israeli people of the Yom Kippur War]]
[[Category:Israeli people of Yemeni-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:Israeli people of Yemeni-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:Deputy Mayors of Tel Aviv-Yafo]]
[[Category:Deputy mayors of Tel Aviv-Yafo]]

Revision as of 16:01, 27 August 2024

Tat Aluf
Avigdor Kahalani
Photo of Kahalani smiling
Kahalani receiving the Medal of Valor (1975)
Minister of Internal Security
In office
18 June 1996 – 6 July 1999
Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu
Preceded byMoshe Shahal
Succeeded byShlomo Ben-Ami
Member of the Knesset
In office
23 June 1992 – 17 May 1999
Personal details
Born (1944-06-16) 16 June 1944 (age 80)
Ness Ziona, israel
Political partyThird Way
Military service
Allegiance Israel
Years of service1962–1992
RankBrigadier General
Commands77 Battalion
7th Armored Brigade
36th Division
Battles/warsSix-Day War
Yom Kippur War
AwardsMedal of Valor
Distinguished Service Medal
President's Medal

Tat Aluf (Brigadier General) Avigdor Kahalani (Hebrew: אביגדור קהלני, born 16 June 1944) is a former Israeli soldier and politician.

Early life

Avigdor Kahalani was born in Ness Ziona during the Mandate era. His parents, Moshe and Sarah Kahalani, were Yemenite-Jewish immigrants originally from Sana'a.

Kahalani studied mechanics at the ORT School in Jaffa. He gained a B.A. in History from Tel Aviv University and an M.A. in Political Science from Haifa University. He also attended the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and graduated from Israel's National Defense College.

Military career

Kahalani during the Yom Kippur War

Kahalani was conscripted into the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in 1962, and joined the 7th Brigade of the IDF Armored Corps. He started as a regular soldier, but later completed a tank commander's course with honors. He then completed an officer's course with honors at Bahad 1, and became a career officer in the IDF. In 1964, he was part of an IDF delegation to West Germany to receive the IDF's first M48 Patton tanks.

During the Six-Day War, Kahalani commanded a company of Patton tanks from the 79th Battalion. He was awarded the Medal of Distinguished Service for his service during the war, where he was badly wounded when his M-48 Patton caught fire.[1]

When the Yom Kippur War broke out in 1973, Kahalani was a 29-year-old lieutenant colonel and battalion commander. He served as commander of the Centurion-equipped 77th Armored Battalion of the 7th Brigade on the Golan Heights. Kahalani's battalion – along with other elements of the 7th Armored Brigade – engaged in fierce defensive fighting against a vastly superior Syrian mechanized force of more than 50,000 men and 1,200 tanks. The battle proved to be one of the turning points of the war. After the war, the valley where it took place was littered with hundreds of destroyed and abandoned Syrian tanks and was renamed "Emek Ha-Bacha" ("Valley of Tears"). For his actions, Kahalani was awarded the highest Israeli military decoration, the Medal of Valor.[2]

Political career

After leaving the IDF, Kahalani made his way into politics. He served as Deputy Mayor of Tel Aviv, and was elected to the Knesset as a member of the Labor Party in the 1992 election. He served on the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense and the Education and Culture Committees. He was active in the Committee for the Rescue of Jews from Yemen and Chairman of the Golan Lobby in the Knesset, and was chairman of the Friends of LIBI Foundation and president of the Israeli Association for Drug Rehabilitation. He was a candidate in the 1993 Tel Aviv mayoral election, finishing second to Roni Milo with 42.5% of the vote.

During the Knesset session, Kahalani broke away from the Labor Party and founded The Third Way with Emanuel Zisman. The new party won four seats in the 1996 elections, and joined Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition, with Kahalani made Minister of Internal Security. However, in the 1999 elections the party failed to cross the electoral threshold and Kahalani lost his seat.

He later joined Likud, and was placed 43rd on the party's list for the 2003 elections,[3] but missed out on a seat when the party won only 38.

From 2007 to 2015, Kahalani served as chairman of the Association for Wellbeing of Israeli Soldiers.

In 2023 he was chosen to light a torch at the beacon lighting ceremony on Mount Herzl on the occasion of the 75th year of the State of Israel.[4]

Published works

  • The Heights of Courage: A Tank Leader's War on the Golan (1975)
  • A Warrior's Way (1989)

References

  1. ^ Kahalani, Avigdor (1992). The heights of courage: a tank leader's war on the Golan (Paperback ed.). New York: Praeger. pp. About the Author. ISBN 9780275942694.
  2. ^ Zagreba, Tal (31 October 2008). "We Were Like a Wounded Animal that Was Discarded and Fights for Its Life". Bamahane. No. 42nd Edition (2008). pp. 54–55.
  3. ^ Police probe Likud members about alleged corruption in primary race Archived 6 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine The Jerusalem Post, 17 December 2002
  4. ^ Ynet, כתבי (16 April 2023). "אסייג, קהלני, בלאט, מפקד דובדבן ונערה שנאבקת בשיימינג: אלו משיאי המשואות". Ynet.
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