1. Amir Eshel is a former Israeli general who served as commander of the Israeli Air Force and served as Director General of the Israeli Ministry of Defense until January 2,2022.
17 Facts About Amir Eshel
1. 2.
Amir Eshel's father Yehezekel Eshel, was born in Iraq and immigrated to Mandatory Palestine in 1936.
3.
Amir Eshel fought in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War in the Givati Brigade.
4.
Amir Eshel's mother Edna was a Holocaust survivor from Russia.
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Amir Eshel holds a degree in economics from Auburn University at Montgomery, Alabama, and a degree in political science from the University of Haifa's National Security Studies Center.
6.
Amir Eshel flew the Skyhawk during the 1982 Lebanon War.
7.
Between 1993 and 1995 Amir Eshel commanded 201 Squadron at Tel Nof.
8.
Between 1997 and 1999 Amir Eshel headed the IAF's Operations Department.
9.
On December 16,1999, while ferrying an AH-64 Apache from Ramon to northern Israel, Amir Eshel carried out a routine weapons systems check on the supposedly unarmed helicopter, accidentally firing an AGM-114 Hellfire which narrowly missed a group of IAF reserve soldiers nearby.
10.
Amir Eshel led a formation of three IAF F-15 Eagles on a fly-over of the Auschwitz concentration camp in September 2003.
11.
Amir Eshel admitted that he deliberately violated an agreement with the Polish government by flying at a very low altitude.
12.
In 2004 Amir Eshel became head of the IAF's Air Group, commanding all operational assets and in January 2006 was appointed IAF Chief of Staff, a role he filled during the 2006 Lebanon War.
13.
Amir Eshel was credited with the improvements to air-ground integration implemented after the war.
14.
Amir Eshel replaced Ido Nehoshtan, which had just been appointed Commander in Chief of the IAF.
15.
On February 5,2012, Amir Eshel was announced as Nehoshtan's successor as Commander in Chief of the Israeli Air Force, when the latter completed his tenure in May 2012.
16.
Amir Eshel completed his term as commander of the IAF on August 10,2017.
17.
Amir Eshel was one of the leaders of Pnima, a campaign to institute universal national service for all Israeli citizens reaching adulthood.