Aluf

"Rav aluf" redirects here. For the military position held by a rav aluf, see Chief of General Staff (Israel).

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.

Aluf Amos Yadlin (Israeli Air Force); note his insignia with crossed sword and palm and leaf

Aside from being a military rank, "aluf" is also used in a civilian context, particularly in sports, meaning "champion".

Etymology

The term aluf comes from the Bible (Hebrew: אַלּוּף, romanized: ’allup̄): the Edomites used it as a rank of nobility and the later books of the Bible use it to describe Israelite captains as well, e.g. Zechariah 9:7, 12:5-6, and later and Psalms 55:13, where it is used as a general term for teacher. It comes from a Semitic root meaning "thousand," making an ’allup̄ the one who commands a thousand people. Strong's Christian Bible Concordance, 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; the same 3 letters comprise them both, however.

Rank order of aluf and its derivatives

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) form an integrated force; ranks are the same in all services.

• Rav aluf (Hebrew: רב-אלוף, lit. 'Arch champion'): Chief of the General Staff (Israel)
• Aluf (Hebrew: אלוף, lit. 'Champion'): Arms, Branches, Regional commands
• Tat aluf (Hebrew: תת-אלוף, lit. 'Sub champion'): Corps, Divisions
• Aluf mishne (Hebrew: אלוף משנה, lit. 'Champion deputy'): Brigades
• Sgan aluf (Hebrew: סגן-אלוף, lit. 'Vice champion'): Battalions

Rank group	General officers			Field officers
Israel Defense Forces[1]
	רב-אלוף Rav aluf	אלוף Aluf	תת-אלוף Tat aluf	אלוף משנה Aluf mishne	סגן-אלוף Sgan aluf
Abbreviation	רא״ל Ra'al	אלוף Aluf	תא״ל Ta'al	אל״ם Alam	סא״ל Sa'al
English equivalents	Lieutenant general	Major general	Brigadier Brigadier general	Colonel	Lieutenant colonel

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 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 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 OF-7, major general, air vice-marshal, or rear 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.com

See also

• Israel Defense Forces ranks
• Mickey Marcus - the IDF's first aluf.
• Yaakov Dori - the IDF's first rav aluf (Chief of Staff)

References

1. "עושים לכם סדר בדרגות". idf.il (in Hebrew). Israel Defense Forces. Retrieved 3 June 2021.