[Times-UK] Lt.-Gen. Moshe Levi, former Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (1983-87), was born in Tel Aviv to parents who had moved there from Baghdad, Iraq. Levi was popular with the Israeli public for his straightforward manner and reputation for visiting bases and chatting with low-ranking soldiers. He served in the Six-Day War of 1967 as commanding officer of the Paratroopers Brigade. In 1981 he became Deputy Chief of Staff and Chief of Operations, posts he held during the 1982 Lebanon war. The standard move for top military brass in Israel is into politics, but Levi went back to plowing the wheat fields with a tractor on his kibbutz. Later he headed a committee to build Israel's first toll road spanning the country from north to south - Highway 6.
2008-01-18 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive