Shlomo Arel

Shlomo Arel (שלמה אראל, born 1920) was a Major General in the IDF, and the seventh Commander of the Israeli Navy.

Biography
Arel was born in Poland in 1920 and was taken to Mandate Palestine by his parents in 1926. His family moved to Petah Tikva, but eventually settled in Tel Aviv. In his youth he was member of the Betar youth movement.

With the outbreak of World War II Arel joined the British merchant marine. In January 1941 his ship was sunk by a torpedo from a German u-boat. Arel was rescued and after recuperating, he returned to the navy. After the war he was discharged from the Navy at the rank of captain. With the outbreak of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War Shlomo Arel joined the Israeli Navy and he became the captain of the Israeli Naval vessel Palmach. The Palmach was credited with many operations in the Sinai and in Lebanon including the sinking of Adolf Hitler's yacht off the coast of Beirut.

After the war, Arel continued as an IDF officer. He held many posts including being the IDF military attaché in the Israeli embassy in Italy, and commander of the Israeli Navy's missile ships. In January 1966 Arel was promoted to the rank of Aluf (Major General) and became the Commander of the Israeli Navy. In 1968 he resigned from his posts as Commander of the Israeli Navy and he retired from the IDF.

After retiring, Arel received a masters degree in administration from Columbia University. In the 1970s he became a member of the Likud party and from time to time he was brought in by Israeli leaders as an advisor of Naval issues.

Published works

 * Arel, Shlomo (2000), Diplomacy in the Depths of the Sea. Ma'ariv Publishing.