Shlomo Erell

Shlomo Arel( born 1920) was a Major General in the IDF, and of the Commanders of the Israeli Navy.

Biography Shlomo Arel was born in Poland in 1920 and he emigrated (aliyah) to the Land of Israel with his parents in 1926. His family moved to Petach Tikva, but eventually settled in Tel-Aviv. In his youth he was member of the Betar Youth Movement. He and his friends resisted the British occupation of the Land of Israel.

With the outbreak of WWII Shlomo Arel joined the Royal Navy in an effort to defeat the Nazis. In January of 1941 Shlomo Arel's ship was sunk by a torpedo from a German u-boat. Shlomo Arel was rescued and after healing he went back to the Royal Navy. After WWII he was discharged from the Navy at the rank of Captain(nautical). With the outbreak of the Israeli War of Independence Shlomo Arel joined the 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 Hitler's yacht off the coast of Beirut.

After the Israeli War of Independence, Shlomo 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 of 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.

Afterwards 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.