Mordechai Maklef

Maklef was born in Jerusalem in January 1920, the youngest son of Aryeh Leib Makleff. He received a religious education and attended the Reali school in Haifa, from which he graduated in 1938; he also attended the Haifa Technion that year.[3][4] His childhood was shaped by the 1929 violence in Motza, where members of his family were killed and he survived.[4][2]

The accounts differ on the details of his escape. The Jewish Virtual Library’s biographical entry says he took shelter in a neighbor’s home, while a Jerusalem Post account says that nine-year-old Maklef survived by jumping from a second-story window.[4][8] A Jewish Review of Books discussion recounts two possible explanations for his rescue: an elderly rabbi may have saved him, or an Arab may have spared him because he was a small child; the reviewer allows that both accounts could be true.[2] The specific circumstances remain unresolved in the sources gathered here.

Maklef entered security service through the Jewish Settlement Police and also served in the Special Night Squads led by Orde Wingate, whose activity the cited source characterizes as directed against “Arab terrorists.”[3][4] The bundle does not provide a fuller account of his personal role in particular operations.

In 1940, Maklef joined the British Army and attended officers’ school. He later served in the Jewish Brigade in Italy during World War II, attaining the rank of major in the British Eighth Army before age 25.[3][4] These experiences preceded his service in the Haganah and the IDF during the transition from British rule to Israeli statehood.

During the War of Independence, Maklef held command and negotiating responsibilities. A concise biographical account says that in 1948 he commanded the Haganah unit that captured Haifa and represented the Haganah in negotiations with the city’s Arabs.[4] The same account records his later participation in the battle for Mishmar ha-Yarden and in an operation to capture eastern Galilee, which it describes as a “lightning operation.”[4] These summaries document his roles but do not provide a full account of the operations or negotiations.

Maklef headed Israel’s delegation to armistice talks with Lebanon and Syria in 1948–1949.[3] In June 1948, he was among senior commanders present at an IDF swearing-in ceremony. The ceremony took place on June 27, and Chief of Staff Jacob Dori was absent because of illness.[9]

After the War of Independence, Maklef commanded the IDF’s Northern Division in 1949–1950.[3] He was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff in October 1949, and Yigael Yadin appointed him head of Agam, a General Staff branch, the following month.[6] The chronology in the sources varies: the American Jewish Archives entry lists his deputy tenure as 1950–1953, while the INSS account dates his appointment to October 1949.[3][6]

The combined deputy-and-branch-head role shaped the position for decades. Maklef’s appointment established the arrangement in which the Deputy Chief of Staff also headed Agam.[6] The deputy served as second in command and acted for the Chief of Staff when necessary while also leading a General Staff branch. As branch head, the deputy was responsible for directing and coordinating General Staff branches and subordinate bodies, shaping security doctrine in accordance with government policy, maintaining readiness and preparing operational plans, and overseeing force development, preparedness, training, and fitness.[6]

This arrangement made the Deputy Chief of Staff both a command-chain link and a participant in the development of the armed forces. The deputy coordinated operational activity while also working on force development. INSS characterizes the arrangement as a command anomaly: unlike other IDF headquarters, where the deputy commander was not part of the operational chain, the Deputy Chief of Staff at General Staff level coordinated operational work even as the Chief of Staff directly activated other staff branches.[6] Maklef’s appointment therefore marked an institutional development beyond his individual promotion.

The broader IDF command structure was still taking shape. Establishment of the General Staff began in the second half of 1947 and continued during the War of Independence. Yadin led the Operations Branch, which guided the General Staff, while Prime Minister and Defense Minister David Ben-Gurion dealt directly with General Staff branch heads.[6] Maklef’s appointment came within this evolving structure, where senior command responsibilities and the organization of the staff were being defined together.

Maklef became the IDF’s third Chief of Staff after Yigael Yadin resigned. On December 4, 1952, Ben-Gurion announced at a cabinet meeting that Yadin had resigned and that his deputy, Maklef, would replace him.[5] Maklef is also identified as the IDF’s third chief in a Jewish Review of Books account.[2]

The sources do not give a single consistent set of service dates. The Jewish Virtual Library roster places Maklef’s term in 1952–1953, following Yadin’s 1949–1952 term and preceding Moshe Dayan’s 1953–1958 term.[10] A Ministry of Education document says Maklef served for one year at his own request, without specifying exact dates.[1] The American Jewish Archives and the U.S. Department of State list his chief-of-staff service as 1953–1954.[11][3] Other accounts place his accession in 1952.[8][5] The sources thus differ in how they date the short tenure, though they agree that he served after Yadin and before Dayan.

Maklef left the post in December 1953, when Dayan became Chief of Staff.[5] One explanation reported for his departure was that he had accepted the appointment on the condition that he serve for one year. A later explanation linked his decision to Ben-Gurion’s departure as prime minister and defense minister: as a trusted associate of Ben-Gurion, Maklef may not have wished to serve under a different prime minister. The account says the one-year explanation was never fully disproved.[5]

During his tenure, Maklef ordered the establishment of Unit 101 and devoted substantial effort to improving the standard of IDF infantry units.[12] A separate account attributes the unit’s establishment to Major Ariel Sharon in August 1953, describing it as a small, guerrilla-style force intended to address fedayeen incursions from Egypt and Jordan after existing units had proved ineffective.[13] The accounts differ over how to assign responsibility for establishing the unit; they can be presented as separate descriptions of the decision and its implementation rather than treated as identical claims.

The unit’s operations also became a subject of serious controversy. At its peak, it had 50 combatants and officers. In 1953, it carried out the Qibya raid, which destroyed dozens of homes, killed dozens of civilians, drew international condemnation, and prompted moral debate.[13] The same account says Unit 101 merged with the paratroopers five months after its establishment.[13] These details concern the unit’s history and the controversy surrounding the raid, not a claim that Maklef personally directed that particular operation.

One account connects Maklef and Jerusalem Brigade head Colonel Mishael Shacham with the recruitment of Sharon in 1953 to lead a special reconnaissance operation associated with Unit 101 and called the “Avengers.” It describes the raids as intended to quell attacks on Israelis that had claimed hundreds of lives in the early 1950s.[14] Maklef also reportedly proposed the Hebrew term “maon rishmi,” or the acronym “ma’ar,” for military headquarters. The suggestion, supported by the first Chief of Staff Yaakov Dori, did not catch on.[15]

A letter dated December 8, 1952, shows Ben-Gurion addressing Maklef as Chief of Staff about balancing military requirements with civilian economic needs. Ben-Gurion argued that Israel’s security depended not only on military capability but also on the economy and the strength of society. He directed that personnel unnecessary for military purposes be released to support the civilian economy, calling for the dismissal of at least 3,000 civilian employees serving in the army and a reduction of 2,000 in the standing army.[16] The letter illustrates the demands placed on the IDF leadership as the state weighed force readiness against the needs of the civilian economy.

An Encyclopedia.com account groups Maklef with Yadin and Haim Laskov as professional soldiers who did not belong to a political party, contrasting them with Moshe Dayan and Zvi Tzur, whom it describes as active members of Ben-Gurion’s party.[17] After leaving the military, Maklef pursued public and business management rather than entering the Knesset.[12]

After leaving military service, Maklef moved into civilian management and industry. He joined the executive board of Israel Electric Corporation Ltd. in 1954.[3] He also served as a manager at the corporation, although the available account does not provide dates for that position.[12]

Maklef became managing director of the Dead Sea Works in 1958 and, ten years later, director of Israel’s Citrus Marketing Board.[4] Another account identifies him as chief executive of the Citrus Marketing Board, alongside management roles at the Israel Electric Corporation and Dead Sea Works, but does not date all of these appointments.[12]

His later career included leadership at Israel Chemicals Ltd. Maklef was appointed chief executive of the company in 1974 and remained in the position until his death in 1978.[7] The company was seeking to coordinate industrial operations that had previously been separate. A former colleague recalled that Maklef used his authority to help bring the divisions together.[7] The account presents this as part of his contribution to the company’s organization, linking his executive work to the coordination of its component operations.

The sequence of his civilian posts reflects a transition from military command to senior responsibilities in major Israeli enterprises and marketing institutions. His roles spanned electricity, mineral production, citrus marketing, and chemicals, although the available sources do not supply a complete chronology for every appointment.[4][12]

Maklef’s institutional legacy is especially visible in the General Staff structure. His appointment as Deputy Chief of Staff and head of Agam helped establish a combined role that persisted for decades. The position brought operational coordination together with responsibilities for doctrine, readiness, planning, training, and force development.[6] This arrangement made the deputy a distinctive participant in the IDF’s command chain rather than solely a stand-in for the Chief of Staff.[6]

His place in the early IDF is also marked by his short tenure as the force’s third Chief of Staff. He served for approximately one year between Yadin’s leadership and Dayan’s, although sources differ on the precise dates assigned to the tenure.[1][2] The Jewish Virtual Library gives 1952–1953, while a contemporary appointment account and the report of his December 1953 departure support a tenure beginning in late 1952.[10][5]

Maklef’s career extended beyond the military. His movement from senior command into executive positions at the Israel Electric Corporation, Dead Sea Works, Citrus Marketing Board, and Israel Chemicals connected his public service with the management of civilian institutions and industry.[3][4] At Israel Chemicals, a former colleague remembered him as using his authority to help coordinate previously separate operations.[7]

Maklef died in February 1978 and was buried in the military section of Kiryat Shaul cemetery.[1] His biography combines the early stages of Israel’s military organization with later executive work in the civilian economy.

The most direct biographical uncertainty concerns Maklef’s rescue during the 1929 violence in Motza. Sources agree that he survived the attack on his family but differ over whether he sheltered in a neighbor’s home or escaped through a second-story window.[4][8] The Jewish Review of Books describes possible rescuers and says that the accounts need not be mutually exclusive.[2] The available material does not resolve the details.

The sources also differ over the dates of Maklef’s chief-of-staff tenure. The Jewish Virtual Library roster gives 1952–1953.[10] The American Jewish Archives and the U.S. Department of State list 1953–1954.[11][3] Other accounts describe his appointment in December 1952 and departure in December 1953.[5] The bundle does not establish a single date convention that reconciles these entries.

There is a separate discrepancy in descriptions of Unit 101’s founding. One account says Maklef ordered its establishment during his tenure, while another says Sharon established it in August 1953.[12][13] The Qibya raid is described as causing civilian deaths and destruction and as drawing international condemnation and moral debate.[13] The supplied material does not establish Maklef’s personal direction of that operation.