Dan Halutz

Dan Halutz (help·info) (Hebrew: דן חלוץ‎) (born August 7, 1948) is an Israeli Air Force Lt. General and former Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces and commander of the Israeli Air Force. Halutz was appointed as Chief of Staff on June 1, 2005. On January 17, 2007 he announced his resignation. He has a degree in economics. He was born to a Mizrahi Jewish family with origins in Iran and Iraq. He is Chairman of the Etgarim special-needs charity. Halutz joined the Israeli Air Force (IAF) in 1966 and graduated from combat flight school in 1968. In 1969, he joined the first F-4 Phantom squadron of the IAF. During the War of Attrition, Halutz carried out 40 operational flights. After the war, he left the IDF in order to study, but...