Erez Gerstein | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Native name | ארז גרשטיין |
| Born | March 13, 1960 |
| Died | February 28, 1999 (aged 38) |
| Allegiance |  Israel |
| Branch | Israel Defense Forces |
| Years of service | 1979–1999 |
| Rank | Tat Aluf (Brigadier general) |
| Unit | Golani Brigade |
| Commands | Golani Brigade's 51 battalion, Regional Brigade in South Lebanon,Golani Brigade, the Lebanon ofIsrael Defense Forces |
| Battles / wars | |
Erez Gerstein (Hebrew:ארז גרשטיין; March 13, 1960 – February 28, 1999) was an IsraeliBrigadier General (Tat Aluf) who commanded theIsrael Defense Forces Lebanon Liaison Unit and died in the South Lebanon conflict (1985–2000) withHezbollah andLebaneseproxymilitias.[1]
Gerstein was born inAfula, and was the eldest of three children. His mother, Shula Kishik, was an immigrant fromSyria, and his father, Rafael Gerstein, was fromArgentina. He was raised in kibbutzReshafim, where he attended elementary and high school. He spent aService Year volunteering on kibbutzHarel before his military service.
Gerstein had a son named Omer, who would eventually follow in his footsteps and become an officer in the IDF.[2]
Gerstein was drafted into the IDF in 1979, and volunteered for theShayetet 13 naval commando force, but was dismissed after a year, and did his military service in theGolani Brigade. He served as a soldier, asquad leader in the brigade'sreconnaissance company. In 1981 he became aninfantry officer after completingOfficer Candidate School and return to the Golani Brigade. In the1982 Lebanon War he served as aplatoon leader in the reconnaissance company and fought at theBattle of the Beaufort. Gerstein was injured during the battle but stayed on until the fighting was done. In February 1983, he left the army as a company commander, and in June of that year, he left Israel with his girlfriend on a backpacking trip throughout the Americas. He returned to Israel after a year, and joinedShin Bet, but during his training, he dropped out.
In 1985, Gerstein returned to active military service. He led the Brigade's Reconnaissance company and Golani Brigade's 51 battalion in counter-guerrilla operations inSouth Lebanon. Afterwards, he commanded a battalion in squad leader course and a Regional Brigade in South Lebanon.
In 1995 he was appointed as the commander of the Golani Brigade.[3] He married his girlfriend that same year, and their son Omer was born in 1997. During this time, Gerstein led the brigade in a series of operations in southern Lebanon that resulted a great number ofHezbollah operatives killed. Afterwards he commanded the Lebanon Liaison Unit.[4]
On March 2, 1999 Gerstein and two Israeli soldiers, Warrant Officer Imad Abu-Rish and Staff-Sergeant Omer El-Kabetz, had been accompanyingKol Israel reporter Ilan Roeh during a brief foray into South Lebanon in an armored vehicle. AnIED laid by Hezbollah on the road between Ibl al-Saqi andKaukaba[5] exploded, killing everyone inside.[6][7][8] In February 2018, the "Al-Manar" network released a video allegedly showing the explosion that killed Gerstein.[9]
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