Gideon Schocken
Gideon Schocken (Also spelled Gideon Shocken; ; December 28, 1919 – 1981) was a Haganah fighter, major in the British Army during World War II, and aluf (major general) in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). He served as the head of the Manpower Directorate from February 1956 to April 1961. Biography Gideon Schocken was born to Lily and Salman Schocken, the co-founder of Schocken Books, an established publishing company in Germany. He immigrated to Israel with his family in 1934, graduating from Gymnasia Rehavia the following year. In 1936, Schocken joined the Haganah, and in 1943 he passed the platoon commanders' course. Schocken studied at Hebrew University and Oxford University. During World War II, he volunteered for the British Army, later serving in the Jewish Brigade fighting in North Africa and Italy. In 1946, he was discharged from the British Army as a major. Following the war, he went to the United States to help his father move their publishing business to New York. By 1949, Schocken had returned to Israel, joining the IDF, where he was appointed the deputy head of the Manpower Directorate. He served as the head of staff of the Operations Directorate from 1953 until 1955,