Laskov, Chaim

(1919-82)

   Born in Russia, he immigrated (see ALIYA) to Palestine with his parents in 1925. His father was murdered by Arabs in 1930 in Haifa, where he studied in the Reali High School. He joined the Hagana at a young age and entered Orde Wingate's "Special Night Squadrons." Following the outbreak of World War II, Laskov joined the British army and served in North Africa and Europe. He was released from the army with the rank of major. After the war, he helped organize the purchasing of weapons in Europe to be smuggled into Israel. When he returned to Israel, he became the chief training and education officer of the Hagana. He commanded the first armored battalion of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in the War of Independence (1948^49) and later the Seventh Brigade during the battles to free Galilee.

   After the war, Laskov attained the rank of major general and became the head of the training and education branch of the IDF. He was appointed head of the air force in 1953, the armored corps in 1956, the commander of a division in the Sinai War (1956), and later the commander of the southern command. He served as chief of staff of the IDF between 1958 and 1961, and in November 1972, he became the commissioner of soldiers' complaints in the Defense Ministry. He was a member of the Agranat Commission of Inquiry that was established after the Yom Kippur War (1973).