Gideon Schocken

Gideon Schocken (also spelled Shocken; ; December 28, 1919 – November 24, 1981) was a German-born Haganah fighter, major in the British Army during World War II, and aluf (major general) in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). He served as the head of the Manpower Directorate from February 1956 to April 1961.

Biography Gideon Schocken was born to Zerline "Lilli" and Salman Schocken, the co-founder of Schocken Books, an established publishing company in Germany. He immigrated to Israel with his family in 1934, graduating from Gymnasia Rehavia the following year. In 1936, Schocken joined the Haganah, and in 1943 he passed the platoon commanders' course.

Schocken studied at Hebrew University and Oxford University. During World War II, he volunteered for the British Army and served in the Jewish Brigade after its establishment. He served in North Africa and Italy. Schocken had two daughters: Yael Miron and Tamar Schocken. Schocken's son, Shimon Schocken, is a professor of computer science at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya.