Aluf (Hebrew: אלוף, lit. 'champion' or "first/leader of a group" in Biblical Hebrew) is a senior military rank in the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) for officers who in other countries would have the rank of general, air marshal, or admiral. In addition to the aluf rank, four other ranks are derivatives of the word, together, constituting the five highest ranks in the IDF.
The term aluf comes from the Bible (אַלּוּף ’allūp̄): the Edomites used it as a rank of nobility, while the later books of the Tanakh use it to describe Israelite captains as well, e.g. Zachariah 9:7, 12:5-6, and later, for example Psalms 55:13, where it is used as a general term for teacher. It comes from a Semitic root meaning "thousand", making an ’allūp̄ the one who commands a thousand people. Strong[who?] however connects the word used to describe the Dukes of Edom, to a different root "alf" denoting a teacher and the root for the animal 'ox' from which the letter Aleph itself is derived, rather than eleph thousand, however they both comprise the same 3 letters.
Rav aluf is usually translated as "lieutenant general", although it is the most senior rank in the IDF. The rank is given only to the Chief of the General Staff, so there can only be one active rav aluf under normal circumstances. However this can change in a time of war. During the Yom Kippur War in 1973, retired Rav AlufHaim Bar-Lev was recalled into service, replacing Shmuel Gonen as the commander of the southern theater. Thus, along with Chief of the General Staff David Elazar (who had succeeded Bar-Lev in that position the previous year), there were two rav alufs in active service.
Israel is essentially a land and air power, with the navy receiving less than five percent of the military budget. The three forces have the same ranks, although separate naval ranks were used for a short time in the 1950s; an officer who would be a general, air marshal, or admiral elsewhere is an aluf in any of the Israeli forces.
The non-Hebrew word "general" was also adopted into Hebrew (Hebrew: גנרל), and is used to refer to the generals of foreign armies. It can also be used colloquially in reference to a senior Israeli officer, in a derogatory sense implying that the officer in question is over-officious, incompetent, or involved in internecine power struggles with other officers, sometimes referred to as the "war of the generals" (Hebrew: מלחמת הגנרלים), to the neglect of proper military duties. For example, former Israeli Labor Party chairman Amir Peretz, criticized in a speech two other party members who both held the rank of (retired) aluf: former Vice-Chief of the General Staff, AlufMatan Vilnai and former Commander of the Israeli Navy, AlufAmi Ayalon, referring to them (and other former senior officers of the IDF) as "the generals and admirals":
"I look around me, and hear the voices, I look and I don't believe. Whenever a party does not win the status of a ruling party, the most respectable post is the Defense Ministry. And I hear the generals, and the admirals say: 'Why the Defense Ministry?' I hear the voices, and I am happy with myself, because this means we succeeded in changing the agenda in the State of Israel. The revolution is that a social general is no longer ruled out from being a minister of defense, and our generals yearn to deal with social issues."
^"עושים לכם סדר בדרגות". idf.il (in Hebrew). Israel Defense Forces. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
December 15, 2023
aluf, aluf, redirects, here, military, position, held, aluf, chief, general, staff, israel, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, . Rav aluf redirects here For the military position held by a rav aluf see Chief of General Staff Israel This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Aluf news newspapers books scholar JSTOR April 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message Aluf Hebrew אלוף lit champion or first leader of a group in Biblical Hebrew is a senior military rank in the Israel Defence Forces IDF for officers who in other countries would have the rank of general air marshal or admiral In addition to the aluf rank four other ranks are derivatives of the word together constituting the five highest ranks in the IDF Former aluf Amos Yadlin Israeli Air Force note his insignia with crossed sword and palm and leafAside from being a military rank Aluf is also used in a civilian context particularly in sports meaning champion Contents 1 Etymology 2 Rank order of aluf and its derivatives 3 See also 4 ReferencesEtymology editThe term aluf comes from the Bible א ל ו ף allup the Edomites used it as a rank of nobility while the later books of the Tanakh use it to describe Israelite captains as well e g Zachariah 9 7 12 5 6 and later for example Psalms 55 13 where it is used as a general term for teacher It comes from a Semitic root meaning thousand making an allup the one who commands a thousand people Strong who however connects the word used to describe the Dukes of Edom to a different root alf denoting a teacher and the root for the animal ox from which the letter Aleph itself is derived rather than eleph thousand however they both comprise the same 3 letters Rank order of aluf and its derivatives editThis article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Aluf news newspapers books scholar JSTOR November 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Israel Defense Forces IDF form an integrated force ranks are the same in all services Rav aluf Hebrew רב אלוף lit Arch champion Aluf Hebrew אלוף lit Champion Tat aluf Hebrew תת אלוף lit Sub champion Aluf mishne Hebrew אלוף משנה lit Champion deputy Sgan aluf Hebrew סגן אלוף lit Vice champion Rank group General officers Field officers nbsp Israel Defense Forces 1 nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp רב אלוף Rav aluf אלוף Aluf תת אלוף Tat aluf אלוף משנה Aluf mishne סגן אלוף Sgan alufAbbreviation רא ל Ra al אלוף Aluf תא ל Ta al אל ם Alam סא ל Sa alEnglish equivalents Lieutenant general Major general BrigadierBrigadier general Colonel Lieutenant colonelRav aluf is usually translated as lieutenant general although it is the most senior rank in the IDF The rank is given only to the Chief of the General Staff so there can only be one active rav aluf under normal circumstances However this can change in a time of war During the Yom Kippur War in 1973 retired Rav Aluf Haim Bar Lev was recalled into service replacing Shmuel Gonen as the commander of the southern theater Thus along with Chief of the General Staff David Elazar who had succeeded Bar Lev in that position the previous year there were two rav aluf s in active service Israel is essentially a land and air power with the navy receiving less than five percent of the military budget The three forces have the same ranks although separate naval ranks were used for a short time in the 1950s an officer who would be a general air marshal or admiral elsewhere is an aluf in any of the Israeli forces The non Hebrew word general was also adopted into Hebrew Hebrew גנרל and is used to refer to the generals of foreign armies It can also be used colloquially in reference to a senior Israeli officer in a derogatory sense implying that the officer in question is over officious incompetent or involved in internecine power struggles with other officers sometimes referred to as the war of the generals Hebrew מלחמת הגנרלים to the neglect of proper military duties For example former Israeli Labor Party chairman Amir Peretz criticized in a speech two other party members who both held the rank of retired aluf former Vice Chief of the General Staff Aluf Matan Vilnai and former Commander of the Israeli Navy Aluf Ami Ayalon referring to them and other former senior officers of the IDF as the generals and admirals I look around me and hear the voices I look and I don t believe Whenever a party does not win the status of a ruling party the most respectable post is the Defense Ministry And I hear the generals and the admirals say Why the Defense Ministry I hear the voices and I am happy with myself because this means we succeeded in changing the agenda in the State of Israel The revolution is that a social general is no longer ruled out from being a minister of defense and our generals yearn to deal with social issues Amir Peretz former Defense Minister of Israel Peretz authorized to appoint Labor ministers ynetnews comSee also editIsrael Defense Forces ranks Mickey Marcus the IDF s first aluf Yaakov Dori the IDF s first rav aluf Chief of Staff References edit עושים לכם סדר בדרגות idf il in Hebrew Israel Defense Forces Retrieved 3 June 2021 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Aluf amp oldid 1189407314 Rank order of aluf and its derivatives, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
