Avigdor Kahalani

(1944 - )

Avigdor Kahalani was born in Israel in 1944. He was a career officer in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), achieving the rank of Brigadier-General. In the Yom Kippur War (1973), he served as commander of an armored battalion on the Golan Heights. Kahalani received the Distinguished Service Medal for service during the Six Day War, and the Medal of Valor for service during the Yom Kippur War.

He holds a B.A. degree in History from Tel-Aviv University and an M.A. in Political Science from Haifa University. He also attended the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and graduated form the National Defense College.

Elected to the Knesset for the Labor Party in 1992, he served on the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense and the Education and Culture Committees. He has been active in the Committee for the Rescue of Jews from Yemen and Chairman of the Golan Lobby in the Knesset. He is also chairman of the Friends of LIBI Foundation and president of the Israeli Association for Drug Rehabilitation.

He was one of the founders of The Third Way, a party he led in the 1996 Knesset elections.

In June 1996, Avigdor Kahalani was appointed Minister of Public Security.

He is the author of several books: The Heights of Courage: A Tank Leader's War on the Golan, On the Golan (1975) and A Warrior's Way.

Kahalani is married and has three children.