Rafael "Raful" Eitan (Hebrew: רפאל "רפול" איתן, born 11 January 1929 - 23 November 2004) was an Israeli general, former Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces and later a politician, a Knesset member government minister. Born in Afula during the Mandate era, Eitan was raised in Tel Adashim, where he spent most of his life.
He was born in Afula in 1929. His father Eliyahu was one of the founders of Hashomer. Rafael was raised in the Tel Adas...
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Rafael "Raful" Eitan (Hebrew: רפאל "רפול" איתן, born 11 January 1929 - 23 November 2004) was an Israeli general, former Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces and later a politician, a Knesset member government minister. Born in Afula during the Mandate era, Eitan was raised in Tel Adashim, where he spent most of his life.
He was born in Afula in 1929. His father Eliyahu was one of the founders of Hashomer. Rafael was raised in the Tel Adashim. His father gave him, and his brothers and sisters a strict education. Rafael himself married Miriam, and together they had five children. They later divorced, and he married Ofra Meirson.
Eitan was a junior officer in the Palmach, the Haganah's elite strike force and took part in the Israel's War of Independence. He fought in Jerusalem and received a head wound in the battle for the San Simon Monastery in April 1948. Later he served with the 10th Infantry Battalion in the Lachish-Negev region.
In 1954, Captain Eitan became commander of a...
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