Meir Zorea Israeli military and political figure, general in the Israel Defense Forces. Date of Birth: 19.03.2014 Country: Israel

1. Meir Zorea: Israeli Military and Political Leader
2. Military Career
3. Israeli Independence War and Aftermath
4. Intelligence and Operations
5. Political Career
6. Later Life and Legacy

Meir Zorea: Israeli Military and Political Leader

Meir Zorea (born Meir Zarodinsky) was a prominent Israeli military commander and politician. Born in 1923 in Chișinău, Bessarabia, he immigrated to British-occupied Palestine with his family in 1925.

Military Career

At age 16, Zorea joined the Haganah, the underground Jewish defense organization. He served in guard units in Kiryat Haim and was a founding member of Kibbutz Maagan Michael. In 1942, he joined the Jewish Brigade in the British Army and fought in World War II. He was awarded the British Military Cross for his actions in the Battle of the Senio River Valley in 1945.

After the war, Zorea engaged in clandestine arms smuggling for the Jewish underground, facilitated illegal Jewish immigration to British Mandate Palestine, and assisted in tracking down Nazi war criminals. He was discharged from the British Army in 1946 after carrying out operations against Nazi collaborators.

Israeli Independence War and Aftermath

During the Israeli War of Independence, Zorea commanded the 62nd Battalion of the Etzioni Brigade and participated in the Battle for Nabi Samwil. Following the war, he became head of the training department of the General Staff.

He commanded the Haim Laskov Officers' School and served as head of the Directorate of Doctrine and Instruction of the IDF General Staff. Zorea retired from the military in 1953 but rejoined in 1956, becoming deputy commander and then commander of the armored corps.

Intelligence and Operations

In 1958-1959, Zorea headed the General Staff's Operations Directorate, responsible for military intelligence. He participated in the capture of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann in Argentina. From 1959-1962, he commanded the Northern Military Command.

Political Career

Zorea retired from the military in 1962 with the rank of major general. With the outbreak of the Six-Day War, he commanded the armored units that breached into the Sinai Peninsula and liberated Sharm el-Sheikh. He served on the Agranat Commission, established to investigate the war.

In 1976-1977, Zorea joined Yigal Yadin to form the centrist Dash party, which campaigned for a constitutional amendment. He was elected to the Knesset as a representative of Dash from 1977-1978, serving on the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee and the Finance Committee.

Later Life and Legacy

After leaving the Knesset, Zorea headed a body overseeing the Israeli Ministry of Defense from 1981-1984. He passed away in his kibbutz in 1995. A street in Haifa was named in his honor. His sons, Yonatan and Yoav, were killed in Israeli wars, while his eldest son, Giora, became a general in the IDF.