Years of service 1985 – 2011 Allegiance Israel Rank Aluf | Education Tel Aviv University Name Avichai Mandelblit | |
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Commands held Military Advocate General Battles/wars 1982 Lebanon War, First Intifada, al-Aqsa Intifada, Second Lebanon War, Operation Cast Lead Battles and wars 1982 Lebanon War, First Intifada, Second Intifada, 2006 Lebanon War, Gaza War | ||
Avichai mandelblit united states military commissions in historical perspective
Aluf Avichai Mandelblit (Hebrew: אביחי מנדלבליט; born 29 June 1963) was the Chief Military Advocate General of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) between the years 2004 and 2011. On April 2013 he was appointed Cabinet Secretary. In February 2016 he was appointed Attorney General of Israel.
Contents
- Avichai mandelblit united states military commissions in historical perspective
- Biography
- Military career
- Government career
- References
Biography
Mandelblit was born and raised in Tel Aviv. His father was an Irgun veteran and was active in right-wing politics. At age 26, Mandelblit became an Orthodox Jew and a disciple of rabbi Baruch Ashlag.
Mandelblit was allowed to postpone his mandatory military service in the Israel Defense Forces to attend Tel Aviv University as part of the Atuda program. He joined the IDF in 1985 after graduating with a bachelor's degree in law. He would later earn a master's degree and a doctorate in law from Bar-Ilan University.
Mandelblit is married to Ronit, and has six children. The family lives in Petah Tikva.
Military career
Upon joining the IDF, he held a variety of positions in the Military Prosecutor's Office and Military Defense. Between 1991 and 1992, he served as a judge in the Military Court of the Gaza region. In 1997, he was appointed Deputy President of the Military Court of the Southern Command and the Ground Forces. In 2000 he was appointed as the Head of the Chief Military Defense, and, in 2003, as the Deputy Military Advocate General.
In 2004, he was promoted to the rank of Tat Aluf (Brigadier General) and appointed as the Chief Military Advocate General. In 2009, he was promoted to the rank of Aluf.
During his service as the Chief Military Advocate General, Mandelblit frequently expressed the IDF's legal viewpoint upon different issues of the international humanitarian law. In December 2007, he declared that the IDF's use of cluster bombs during the Second Lebanon War complied with international humanitarian law. He was also a part of harsh criticism against Goldstone Report, stating: "We ourselves set up investigations into 140 complaints. It is when you read these other reports and complaints that you realize how truly vicious the Goldstone report is. He made it look like we set out to go after the economic infrastructure and civilians, that it was intentional. It’s a vicious lie."
On September 15, 2011, Mandelblit was succeeded as the Chief Military Advocate General by Danny Efroni.
Government career
After leaving the IDF, he served as a researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies and completed a doctoral thesis in law under the direction of Professor Yaffa Zilbershatz. In 2013, he was appointed Cabinet Secretary. He served in this role until becoming Attorney-General in 2016.