Brig. Gen. (ret.) Dr. Aharon Davidi

Aaron David is an Israeli hero. Aaron began his military career in 1944 as a young radio operator, already as a cadet he participated in the conquest of the city of Be'er Sheva as part of 'Operation Yoav' and upon his return to the Negev Brigade he participated in Operations “Horev” and “Uvdah”.

He was a fighter at the forefront of the IDF. In the early fifties he served in the Paratroopers Brigade and participated in a number of military operations. For his role in “Operation Black Arrow” in the Gaza Strip, he received the Medal of Honor of the Chief of the General Staff for that year and in 1973 he received the Medal of Courage. Davidi was appointed as the first Chief Infantry and Paratroopers Officer and during the Six Day War he commanded a special unit of Infantry and Paratroopers. In 1977 Davidi moved to the Golan Heights where he was responsible for all activities in the community centers of the Golan Heights and the Jordan Valley.

In the summer of 1982, the IDF's Operation Peace for Galilee took the men from the fields, leaving the fruit of the Golan to rot on the trees. In a creative initiative, tent cities were set up and volunteers from America were brought to fill the void. This led to the establishment of Sar-El, with volunteers from around the world coming to work on army bases in order to ease the load of IDF soldiers, while actually connecting with Zionism and the Jewish people. Aharon Davidi has led the organization for 27 years. Sar-El is now represented in 30 countries and every year about 5,000 volunteers come from overseas to serve for a few weeks on different IDF bases. Their jobs are mainly in logistics, maintenance, supplies and medicine.

This volunteering allows the army to turn its soldiers to missions on the main frontlines significantly aids in the manpower shortage currently felt throughout the IDF. The enterprise continues to this day; the IDF has created a special Sar-El unit which continues to develop these values.

In addition, this activity creates strong ties for the volunteers to Israel in general and the IDF in particular. From its establishment until today, the Sar-El organization under the leadership of Aharon Davidi has recruited over 100,000 volunteers to the IDF, 6% of whom made Aliyah and became Israeli citizens.