Rafael Eitan

LIEUTENANT GENERAL RAFAEL EITAN
OFFICIAL MEDAL 2006/5766
FIRST IN THE 11-MEDAL "CHIEFS OF STAFF" OF THE ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES SERIES

This new series of medals is devoted to the Chiefs of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, who have passed away. The order of issue is from the last to the first Chief of Staff, and the first medal commemorates the late Rafael Eitan who was killed in November 2004 at the Port of Ashdod, while on duty, supervising the port expansion project. The following medals in the series will feature Mordechai Gur, David Elazar, Chaim Bar Lev, Yitzhak Rabin, Tzvi Tzur, Chaim Laskov, Moshe Dayan, Mordechai Maklef, Yigal Yadin and Yaacov Dori.

Rafael Eitan ("Raful") was born in 1929 at Moshav Tel Adashim in the Jezreel Valley. At a young age, he joined the Palmach and during the War of Independence, fought in the Harel Brigade. He was among the fighters who liberated the road to Jerusalem and was wounded in this fight.

In the 50s, he commanded the paratroopers brigade and received a decoration for his courageous fight in the Kuntila Operation in the Sinai. In 1954, Captain Eitan became commander of a Paratroops company in Unit 101. During Operation Kinereth in 1955 he was wounded, while participating in a military raid into Syria.

In the 1956 Sinai war, Major Eitan was the commander of the 890 Paratroopers battalion and participated in the October 29 parachute attack on the Mitla Pass.

During the Six Day War in early June 1967, as a Colonel he commanded the Paratroopers Brigade on the Gaza front, and received a severe head wound in combat, while approaching the Suez Canal. In 1969, he was appointed head of infantry forces and later served as a division commander. As a division commander, Brig. General Eitan stopped the Syrian attack into the Golan Heights during the October 1973 Yom Kippur War. He personally used a bazooka to destroy several advancing Syrian tanks. After the war, he was appointed Commander of the Northern Command and promoted to the rank of Major General.

In April 1978, he was appointed the 11th Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces and remained in this capacity until April 1983. He commanded the Israel Defense Forces during the raid on the Nuclear Power Station in Iraq and in the War of Galilee. He initiated the "Raful Youth" Project that enabled underprivileged youth to enlist in the IDF and integrate into Israeli society.

Rafael Eitan was a graduate of the General Command Course of the United States Army and of the National Security College.

When he retired from his military career in 1983, Rafael Eitan turned to politics and was elected a Knesset Member. He served as Minister of Agriculture and of the Environment and as Deputy Prime Minister. He was an honest and outspoken person, preferred simple basics and enjoyed manual labor, such as carpentry and olive oil making.

Obverse: On the medal face, the likeness of Lieutenant General Rafael Eitan.

Reverse: "Chief of Staffs of the Israel Defense Forces"

Edge: Smooth

Designer: Igal Gabay