Moshe Bar-Kochba; Resigned in Protest as Leader in Israeli Army

Maj. Gen. Moshe Bar-Kochba, a decorated soldier who often clashed with colleagues over his hawkish views, has died of a heart attack. He was 62.

Bar-Kochba died Thursday night at his Tel Aviv home.

He had retired in protest from the army two years ago. At the time, he was a senior adviser to the general staff but complained that his recommendations were being ignored.

He was reprimanded by the chief of staff at the time, Lt. Gen. Dan Shomron, for publicly complaining that the military command did not learn from mistakes and was ill-prepared for war.

Bar-Kochba, widely known as “Brill,” was born in Poland in 1930 and immigrated to pre-state Palestine 12 years later. At the age of 16, he joined Etzel, the ultranationalist underground group headed by the late Menachem Begin, a former Israeli prime minister.

He joined the newly formed Israel Defense Forces in 1948 and fought in every Arab-Israeli war.

Bar-Kochba received a medal of valor as an armor company commander in the 1956 Sinai Campaign against Egypt.

During the 1967 Middle East war he commanded a tank brigade and was wounded in a decisive battle with the Jordanians that led to the capture of the northern West Bank. He refused to be evacuated and later led his brigade against the Syrians in the battle for the Golan Heights.

Bar-Kochba filled various senior command positions, including head of the Armored Corps.

After his retirement from military service, Bar Kochba joined the right-wing Likud Party and was appointed director general of the Israel Railroad Authority.

He is survived by his wife, a son and two daughters. He was buried at the Kiryat Shaul military cemetery in Tel Aviv.