Ron Huldai

Ron Huldai
רון חולדאי‎
Huldai in 2018
10thMayorofTel Aviv
Incumbent
Assumed office November 10, 1998
Preceded by	Roni Milo
Personal details
Born	(1944-08-26)26 August 1944 Hulda,Mandatory Palestine
Political party	Labor(1998–present) The Israelis(2020)
Military service
Allegiance	State of Israel
Branch/service	Israeli Air Force
Years of service	1963–1989
Rank	Brigadier General(Tat Aluf)

Ron Huldai(Hebrew:רון חולדאי;born 26 August 1944) is an Israeli politician and businessman who has beenMayor of Tel Avivsince 1998. Before taking office as mayor, Huldai served as afighter pilotand commander in theIsraeli Air Force.After leaving theIsrael Defense Forceas abrigadier general,he entered the business world and was later headmaster of theHerzliya Hebrew Gymnasiumin Tel Aviv.

Early life

He was born in 1944 inHulda(his surname is derived from the name of thekibbutz), one of three brothers born toPolish Jewishimmigrant parents who moved to Palestine fromŁódź.His father Ozer Obarzański was among the founders of the kibbutz and the principal of its school, while his mother Hana was a teacher and headed the organization of performances at the kibbutz.Huldai grew up in the kibbutz. He studied atTel Aviv University,Auburn University at Montgomery,theAir War CollegeatMaxwell Air Force Basein Montgomery, Alabama, and the Advanced Management Program at theWharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Military service

Huldai was conscripted into theIsrael Defense Forcesin 1963, and joined theIsraeli Air Force,serving as a combat pilot and becoming a career officer. During theSix-Day War,he participated inOperation Focus,and participated in numerous missions in which and he shot down three enemy aircraft.He subsequently participated in theWar of Attritionand after that, he was appointed as the deputy commander of the105 Squadron.

When theYom Kippur Warbroke out, he assumed the role of acting commander for the201 Phantom Squadron,filling in for Yiftach Zemer, who was temporarily in the United States. Huldai led the Squadron inOperation Model 5,a mission that resulted in significant damage to the unit, until he was replaced byEitan Ben Eliyahu.On the thirteenth day of the war, he led an attack against an EgyptianSAMbattery, and during this mission, his aircraft was hit by a missile, leading to an emergency landing at Rephidim Airbase. On the eighteenth day of the conflict, Huldai led a quartet of covert aircraft in a mission targeting fuel facilities in northern Syria. During this operation, he engaged in adogfightand successfully shot down aMiG-21.In total, he shot down three enemy aircraft during the war.

Subsequently, he was appointed as the commander of the140 Douglas A-4 Skyhawk Squadron,and later, he assumed the role of commander for the105 Squadron.Huldai held several key senior command positions, including as the commander ofNevatim Airbase,Hatzerim Airbase,the Air Force Pilots Training School, and a coordinator of the government authorities and supervisor of civilian construction projects for the IAF. He left the IAF in 1989 with the rank ofBrigadier General.

Following his retirement from active duty in 1989, he entered the private sector. After spending two years selling air conditioners inNigeria,he returned to Israel and managed the closure of a construction plant inRamla.He then became headmaster of the prestigiousHerzliya Hebrew High Schoolfor six years until 1998.

Political career

The Israelis הישראלים‎
Leader	Ron Huldai
Founded	29 December 2020
Split from	Labor
Ideology	Labor Zionism Social liberalism Progressivism Egalitarianism Two-state solution
Political position	Centre-left
Knesset	0 / 120
Politics of Israel Political parties Elections

Huldai is a member of theLabor Party.In 1998, Huldai entered themayoral elections for Tel Avivfollowing the announcement by the incumbent mayor,Roni Milo,that he would not seek another term. Huldai ran as an independent candidate under the party name "Tel Aviv 1", with the support of the Labor Party. He was elected with approximately 50% of the votes, while his primary rival,Doron Rubin,received around 25% of the votes. His party won five seats on the city council.

Huldai was re-electedin 2003with 62% of the vote,againin 2008with 50.6%,in 2013 with 53%and yet againin 2018with 46%.He planned to run for the Knesset in the2021 Israeli legislative electionas part of a new left-wing party named The Israelis.The party was joined byJustice MinisterAvi Nissenkornand MKEinav Kabla,both of whom had left theBlue and Whiteparty.However, Nissenkorn left the party on 31 January 2021, reportedly as a prerequisite byIsraeli Labor PartyleaderMerav Michaelifor a merger between both parties,and on 4 February 2021 Huldai announced that the party would not contest the elections, having failed to reach an electoral agreement with other parties.