Ghassan Alian

Ghassan Alian
Native name רסאן עליאן
Born (1972-03-21) 21 March 1972
Allegiance  Israel
Service/branch Israel Defense Forces
Years of service 1990–
Rank Aluf Mishne
Unit Golani Brigade
Battles/wars

Ghassan Elian, or Rasan Alian (Arabic: غسان عليان‎‎, Hebrew: רסאן עליאן‎‎; born 21 March 1972), is the commanding officer of the Golani Brigade, a colonel by rank.[1] He is the first non-Jewish commander of the brigade[1][2] and the second Druze officer to command an Israel Defense Forces infantry brigade; the first was Imad Fares, commander of the Givati Brigade.[3] Alian is the highest ranking Druze in the IDF and has served since 1990.[1]

Career

He was previously the commander of the Duchifat Battalion, a reserve unit commander with the Alexandroni Brigade,[3] and commander of the Menashe District Brigade near Jenin in the West Bank.[4] He had taken officer training at the same time as Naftali Bennett, Minister of the Economy, who praised Alian's selection as Golani Brigade commander by calling him "a brother".[4] Prior to his appointment to the post of commander, Alian served as the brigade's deputy commander along with other appointments.[4] In October 2013 Benny Gantz, the IDF's chief of staff, made the appointment.[3]

Alian was wounded in a battle on 19 July 2014 during overnight clashes in the northern Gaza Strip as part of Operation Protective Edge.[1] He was lightly injured in his eye, but his vision was not affected.[1] He was evacuated to Soroka Hospital in Beersheba and while being treated he reportedly stated, "I have a lot of soldiers over there and I need to get back to them".[1] He later returned to his soldiers after being treated.[5]

Personal

Alian is from Shefa-'Amr.[4] His wife, Shirin, works as a Hebrew teacher in a local school. They have three children.[6]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Jones, Ryan (20 July 2014). "IDF Brigade Commander Wounded Leading Troops into Battle". Israel Today. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
  2. ↑ "IDF Brigade Commander Injured in Fighting". The Jewish Press. 20 July 2014. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 Zitun, Yaov (24 October 2013). "IDF: First Druze to command Golani Brigade". Y Netnews. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Fiske, Gavriel (24 October 2013). "In first, Druze officer to lead Golani Brigade". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
  5. ↑ Pfeffer, Anshel. "In Gaza, a war of two narratives". Haaretz. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
  6. ↑ Avraham, Rachel (20 July 2014). "Wife of Wounded Golani Brigade Commander: 'I worry but he's brave'". Jerusalem Online. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
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