 | Chaim Laskov: Encyclopedia II - Chaim Laskov - Chief of General Staff
Chaim Laskov - Chief of General Staff
In 1958, Laskov was appointed Chief of General Staff, replacing Moshe Dayan. His appointment took place against the backdrop of the unification of Egypt and Syria as the United Arab Republic on January 31 of that year and the potential threat this posed to the security of Israel. Just two months later, on March 30, Israel and Syria exchanged heavy artillery fire across the Sea of Galilee. The clashes lasted for two days, until a ceasefire was finally achieved.
On 24 April, Laskov presided over a huge military parade in Jerusalem to mark the tenth anniversary of Israel's independence. This took place despite warnings by Jordan that such a parade would be considered an act of aggression. During the parade, Laskov displayed Israel's latest military hardware, including weapons captured from Egypt in the Sinai and from Syria during clashes in the Huleh Valley.
On 6 November, Syria resumed its artillery bombardment of the Galilee, while Israeli workers were involved in a massive project draining Lake Huleh to obtain more agricultural land for the country. Under Laskov's orders, the IDF returned fire.
One of the great scandals that occurred during Laskov's tenure, was a surprise exercise to test the mobilization of the reserves, on April 1, 1959. Known as the "Night of the Ducks" (one of the coded call-up signals broadcast over the radio was "Water Fowl"), the event caused panic throughout the country, and put the armies of the neighboring Arab states on high alert. A commission of inquiry which investigated the matter found Major General Meir Zorea, Senior Staff Officer, and Major General Yehoshafat Harkabi, Chief of Military Intelligence, responsible for the fiasco, and the two resigned their posts.
Tensions between Israel and Syria continued over the following months. On January 31, Israel attacked the Syrian village of Tawfik, overlooking the Sea of Galilee, claiming that it had been used by the Syrian army to bombard Israeli villages in the Galilee. Three Israeli soldiers were killed in the operation.
Laskov resigned his position of Chief of General Staff after a relatively peaceful tenure, marred only by clashes with the Syrians. During his term, he focused on building the strength of the IDF: Israel acquired its first submarine and its Super Mystère jets. Just before he left office, prime minister David Ben Gurion also announced that the country had built a nuclear reactor outside the desert town of Dimona. The reactor, he claimed, was built for peaceful purposes.
Other related archives1919, 1919 births, 1925, 1930, 1940, 1948, 1951, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1972, 1973, 1983, 1983 deaths, 24 April, 6 November, Agranat Commission, April 1, Arabs, Ashdod, British Army, British Mandate of Palestine, Chief of Staff, David Ben Gurion, Dimona, Egypt, Galilee, Haganah, Haifa, Israel Defense Forces, Israeli, Israeli Air Force, Israeli generals, Italian, January 31, Jerusalem, Jewish Brigade, Jews, Jews in Ottoman and British Palestine, Jordan, Latrun, List of Israel's Chiefs of the General Staff, March 30, Meir Zorea, Meteor, Moshe Dayan, Nazis, Night of the Ducks, Operation Nahshon, Orde Wingate, Rafah, Russia, Sea of Galilee, Sinai Campaign, Sinai Peninsula, Special Night Squads, Super Mystère, Syria, United Arab Republic, United Kingdom, War of Independence, World War II, Yaakov Dori, Yehoshafat Harkabi, Yom Kippur War, economics, el-Arish, major, nuclear reactor, philosophy, political science, refugee, submarine
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