Aluf is a senior military rank in the Israel Defence Forces for officers who in other countries would have the rank of general, air marshal, or admiral. In addition to the aluf rank itself, there are four other ranks which are derivatives of the word. Together, they constitute the five highest ranks in the IDF. Aside from being a military rank, "Aluf" is also used in a civilian context, particularly in sports, meaning "champion".
Etymology
The term aluf comes from the Bible : the Edomites used it as a rank of nobility, while the later books of the Tanakh use it to describe Israelite captains as well, e.g. Zachariah 9:7, 12:5-6, and later, for example Psalms 55:13, where it is used as a general term for teacher. It comes from a Semitic root meaning "thousand", making an ’allūp̄ the one who commands a thousand people. Strong however connects the word used to describe the Dukes of Edom, to a different root "alf" denoting a teacher and the root for the animal 'ox' from which the letter Aleph itself is derived, rather than eleph thousand, however they both comprise the same 3 letters.
Rav aluf is usually translated as "lieutenant general", although it is the most senior rank in the IDF. The rank is given only to the Chief of General Staff, so there can only be one active rav aluf under regular circumstances. However this could change in a time of war. During the Yom Kippur War in 1973, retired Rav AlufHaim Bar-Lev was recalled up into service, replacing Shmuel Gonen as the commander of the southern theater. Thus, along with chief of the general staffDavid Elazar, there were two people in active service holding the rank of rav aluf simultaneously. Israel is essentially a land and air power, with the navy receiving less than five percent of the military budget. The three forces have the same ranks, although separate naval ranks were used for a short time in the 1950s; an officer who would be a general, air marshal, or admiral elsewhere is an aluf in any of the Israeli forces. The non-Hebrew word "general" was also adopted into Hebrew, and is used to refer to the generals of foreign armies. It can also be used colloquially in reference to a senior Israeli officer, in a derogatory sense implying that the officer in question is over-officious, incompetent, or involved in internecine power struggles with other officers, sometimes referred to as the "war of the generals", to the neglect of proper military duties. For example, in a speech made by the former Israeli Labor Party chairman Amir Peretz, he criticized two other party members who both hold the rank of aluf: former Vice-Chief of General Staff, AlufMatan Vilnai and former Commander of the Israeli Navy, AlufAmi Ayalon, referring to them as "the generals and admirals":
