Defensive Shield: An Israeli Special Forces Commander on the Frontline of Counterterrorism

Israel Defense Force Brigadier General Gal Hirsch has taken part in all of Israel’s military confrontations since 1982, leaving a unique signature on a wide scope of strategic thinking owing to his deep understanding of operational art and military planning.

In 2009, Hirsch’s autobiographical book in Hebrew, War Story, Love Story, was published and instantly appeared on the Israeli bestseller list where it stayed for many months. The description of his own personal journey offers deep, open-minded, and critical insights into the most significant milestones in Israel’s defense in the past 30 years, in which he played a key role.This new, revised, and reconceived English edition of the book offers international readers a comprehensive, one-of-a-kind, contextual description of Israeli national defense developments, serving as a valuable tool for understanding contemporary security challenges in the Middle East.The book has been praised as a lesson in leadership, bravery, and endurance. It is a remarkable testimony to the bond between the Jewish people and its Bible and land.

Gal Hirsch was born in a remote town in the Negev Desert of Israel and has dedicated himself to a military career since childhood. After graduating from a military academy with honors, he volunteered for and was accepted into a prestigious elite commando reconnaissance unit of the Paratroopers Brigade. Rising in the ranks of the IDF, he served among other posts as Chief of Operations in Central Command and Commandant of the IDF officers training school. He was promoted to Brigadier General in 2005 and appointed Commander of the Galilee Division in Northern Command, the position he held during the 2006 Second Lebanon War. After his resignation, Hirsch established Defensive Shield Holdings, which specializes in innovative technologies in defense and security-related sectors for governments and major corporations. From 2012 to 2015, Hirsch was called back to serve in the IDF as a full active reservist, appointed as Deputy Commander of the new IDF Depth Corps. He also teaches at various IDF leadership programs and serves as Chairman of the Israel Leadership Institute.