Talk:Mordechai Gur

= Rank Misconception =

Forgive the play on words, could not resist it. From your own website...............................

"The ranks are derived from those of the paramilitary Haganah developed in the Mandate period to protect the Yishuv. This origin is reflected in the slightly-compacted rank structure; for instance, the Chief of Staff (Ramatkal) is seemingly only equivalent to a Lieutenant General in other militaries. ▪ In the IDF, the same ranks are used throughout the military, including the Israeli Air Force and Israeli Navy. This contrasts with many other armed forces that have a separate rank system for different branches. [1] ▪ As the ranks of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) are traditionally translated one-to-one to Western ranks then the rank of Aluf (אלוף) is translated as Major General, and Rav Aluf (רב אלוף) is translated as Lieutenant General. However, a more proper translation (in terms of both language and organizational role) of Aluf would be to full General (four-star, in American terms). Similarly, as the Hebrew prefix Rav is equivalent to the English prefix arch- (as in archangel), a more fitting translation for the rank of Rav-Aluf would be Arch-General, or, more conventionally, Field Marshal or five-star General". I knew Motta Gur, he was a real gentleman. In civilian life not at all like the archetypical general. A quiet, kind man who wrote a children's bedtime story. As Chief of staff, and would have had the rank of Rav Aluf. You cannot translate Israeli ranks, not only because of the "Compact structure" of the IDF, but because the entire IDF is structured unlike any other. If, however he was to meet with a General from, say, the USA or UK, his seniority would be that of a 5* (USA), Field Marshall (UK) not a 2* Major-General. The article needs an edit. Incidentally, in the Haganah during the war of independence, he and his platoon (Pluga) was the last officer out of Eastern Jerusalem in the face of Jordanian advances, and the first to the Western wall in 1967. Historygypsy (talk) 22:05, 3 March 2012 (UTC)

External link to interview on nuclear policy?

Would an interview with Mordekhai Gur from 1987 be useful here as an external link? Focus of conversation is nuclear weapons policy. http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_D5A213D971304BD59AC90F868F5C43D4 (I helped with the site, so it would be conflict of interest for me to just add it.) Mccallucc (talk) 21:27, 23 March 2016 (UTC)