- Eitan Ben Eliyahu
Infobox Military Person
name= Eitan Ben Eliyahu
born= 1944
died=
placeofbirth= Jerusalem
placeofdeath=
placeofburial=
caption=
nickname=
allegiance=flagicon|IsraelIsrael
serviceyears=
rank=Aluf
branch= air force|Israel
commands=
unit=
battles=
awards=
laterwork=Aluf Eitan Ben Eliyahu (born 1944)Melman, Yossi and Javedanfar, Meir. "The Nuclear Sphinx of Tehran." Basic Books, 2008. ISBN 9780786721061 p. 187-188.] is a retired Major General in theIsrael Defense Forces and was the Commander of theIsraeli Air Force (IAF).Early life and military career
Eliyahu's father was born in
Khorramshahr ,Iran , and in 1922 immigrated to British-mandated Palestine; Eliyahu himself was born inJerusalem in 1944. During the 1973Yom Kippur War Eliyahu shot down twoEgyptian fighters as he led of a squadron ofF-4 Phantom s, and in 1981 he flew as fighter escort duringOperation Opera , which resulted in the destruction of Iraq'sOsirak nuclear reactor. Eliyahu served as commander of an F-15 squadron, a base commander, head of the Operational Requirements Division, and in 1987 was appointed Head of Operations for the IAF.cite web |title=Maj. Gen. (Res.) Eitan Ben Eliahu |url=http://www.jerusalemsummit.org/eng/short.php?speaker=201 |publisher=Jerusalem Summit |accessdate=2008-10-10] OnJuly 1 ,1996 Eliyahu was promoted to Commander of the IAF.Aloni, Shlomo. Holmes, Tony. "Israeli F-4 Phantom II Aces." Osprey Publishing, 2004. ISBN 9781841767833 p. 35] Over the course of his tenure Eliyahu focused on extending the range of IAF operations, especially with regard to Iran. As such, Eliyahu ordered 25 F-15I fighters, which had a longer range than Israel's previously purchased F-15s. Eliyahu stepped down as IAF commander onApril 4 ,2000 .Post-military activities
Since leaving active duty, Eliyahu founded and serves as CEO of the Sentry Technology Group, and was the president of East West Ventures Ltd. from 2000 to 2002.cite web |title=Museum Co-Chair Eitan Ben Eliahu |url=http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:8vZe-ZhuuDMJ:www.madatech.org.il/pages/MenuItemPage.aspx%3FContentItem%3D1546+Rabin+Research+Center+eliahu&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=5&gl=us |publisher=The Israel National Museum of Science |accessdate=2008-10-11] He serves as the Board Chairman of the Koret Foundation Israel Economic Development Fund and the Co-Chair of the Israel National Museum of Science. Eliyahu is also on the boards of
Hebrew University of Jerusalem , Zionism 2000, theIsrael Democracy Institute , and the Rabin Research Center.Education
Eliyahu studied at
Bar Ilan University , where he received a B.A. ineconomics andbusiness administration . He also earned an M.A. [cite web |title=2003 Conference Speakers |url=http://www.herzliyaconference.org/Eng/_Articles/Article.asp?ArticleID=537&CategoryID=50 |publisher=Herzliya Conference |accessdate=2008-10-10] fromTel Aviv University in strategy andinternational relations and completed Harvard's Advanced Management Program. [cite web |title=Maj. Gen. (Res.) Eitan Ben Eliahu - Director |url=http://www.iafc-foundation.org/about/boardeitan.html |publisher=Israel Air Force Center Foundation |accessdate=2008-10-10]References
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