Bank, and then in August 1993 was appointed commander of the Field
Units Training Center and commander of an armored division. In
1995 he was promoted to the rank of major general and appointed the
director of Military Intelligence(DMI). He served in this position
until 1998, when he was made head of the Central Command. In 2000
Ya’alon was appointed deputy chief of the General Staff, and on 9 July
2002 was promoted to lieutenant general upon becoming the 17th IDF
chief of the General Staff. Ya’alon ended this position and concluded
his military service on 31 May 2005.YA’ARI, AVIEZER (AVIK) (1930– ).The Israeli-born son of Meir
Ya’ari, a leader of the United Workers party (Mapam), Aviezer Ya’ari
in 1948 joined the Haganah underground militia. After the establish-
ment of the State of Israel in May 1948, he fought in the War of Inde-
pendence. During the 1967 Six-Day War, Ya’ari served in the re-
serves as the intelligence officer of the Eighth Brigade, which took
part in the battles in the Sinai Desert. After the war, he remained in the
regular army and was appointed head of Branch 5, the Syria and
Lebanon desk in Military Intelligence(MI), with the rank of lieu-
tenant colonel. Ya’ari, contrary to the prevailing view in MI, believed
that Syria in a coordinated move with Egypt intended to launch a war
against Israel. Because Ya’ari connected Syrian intentions with Egypt-
ian intentions, the key role in formulating the assessment regarding
the likelihood of war was given to the head of Branch 6(the Egypt-
ian desk), Lieutenant Colonel Yonah Bendman.
On the evening of 25 September 1973, two weeks before the out-
break of the Yom Kippur War, Lieutenant Colonel Zusia Knizer
conveyed to Ya’ari the contents of King Hussein’s warningthat
Syria, in coordination with Egypt, intended to start a war against Is-
rael. Knizer was not authorized to convey Hussein’s message to any-
one because of its secrecy. Ya’ari was not authorized to convey it ei-
ther, but immediately after learning its content he treated it with the
utmost seriousness and passed the warning on to the intelligence of-
ficer of the Northern Command, Lieutenant Colonel Hagai Mann.
Again on 30 September, following new information, he delivered a
warning to Mann and to the commander of 252 Division in the Sinai
Desert, Major General Albert Mendler; for this act, he was repri-
manded by his commander, Brigadier General Aryeh Shalev. Fol-310 • YA’ARI, AVIEZER06-102 (04) Q-Z.qxd 3/24/06 7:26 AM Page 310