Yitzhak Pundak and Benny Gantz
Photo: IDF
Yitzhak Pundak, made Maj.-Gen. at 100, dies at 104
Retired Maj. Gen. Yitzhak Pundak, who was promised to be made a Major General in the 1950s by former chief of staff Moshe Dayan, but only received the rank in 2013 at the age of 100, by then-chief of staff Benny Gantz; On Sunday, Pundak passed away at the age of 104.
Retired Major General Yitzhak Pundak died Sunday morning at the age of 104—four years after receiving the rank of major general.
His funeral will take place Monday at 5pm local time in the military section of the Kibbutz Nitzanim cemetery.
General Yitzhak recieves the rank of major general, 2013 (Photo: IDF)
Pundak is the first officer to be awarded the rank of major general after retiring from the IDF.
Pundak immigrated to Israel in 1933 when he was 19, and was a commander and fighter in the Haganah.
During the War of Independence, he commanded the 53rd Battalion of the Givati Brigade and the battle on the southern front. His battalion suffered great loses during the battle for Kibbutz Nitzanim, which he commanded and was considered a failure and embarrassing surrender.
Pundak later served in various positions in the IDF, including commanding the Armored Corps and Nahal Brigade, until in 1959 he retired from the army with the rank of colonel.
Pundak, during his command of the 53rd Battalion of the Givati Brigade (Photo: David Rubinger)
About five years before his release from the IDF, former chief of staff Moshe Dayan promised to appoint him to the rank of manor general, but did not do so.
"They took my rank in 1959. I do not want to complain about the chief of staff at the time because he is no longer alive," Pundak said in an interview with Ynet. "It wasn't right, but nothing I did helped."
Since then he has served in a number of public positions, including the head of the first council of Arad and ambassador to several countries in South America. In 1971, he accepted Defense Minister Dayan's request to return to the army and was appointed governor of the Gaza Strip with the rank of brigadier general.
In 2013, the former chief of staff, Major General (res.) Benny Gantz, decided to keep Dayan's promise and give Pundak the rank of major general.
"I'm not angry at anyone," Pundak said at the time. "I arrived in Israel in 1933 without education, without a family. Only in the State of Israel can a person reach the rank of major general at this age. So I'm not angry at anyone. I am very excited and will take pride in my new rank."
Yitzhak Pundak and Benny Gantz, at the ceremony (Photo: IDF)
The ceremony was attended by Pundak's family, former Chief of Staff Gantz, then-defense minister Moshe Ya'alon and former head of the IDF Manpower Directorate Orna Barbivai.
"Yitzhak, your great heritage has accompanied us over the years," Ganz told Pundak at the ceremony. "I feel that this is a unique and unprecedented event, an expression of thanks and appreciation for you and for your work. I'm glad I could do you justice. This is an emotional moment for you, your family and the IDF."
