The One-Legged General Who Says Today’s Soldiers Would Make Israel's Founders Proud
Former Chief Education Officer Brig. Gen. (Res.) Ofir Levius sat down with Netanel Isaac at the Srugim studio for a personal conversation. From the formative battle of Saluki to the injury that cost him his leg, Levius discusses his journey of recovery and the hope he finds in today’s warriors.
For Brig. Gen. (Res.) Ofir Levius, Memorial Day 2026 is a whirlpool of conflicting emotions. A former commander of Golani’s 13th Battalion, Levius survived the Saluki disaster in South Lebanon, was later critically wounded in Gaza, losing a leg in an IED blast, and eventually returned to command the Jordan Valley Brigade before serving as the IDF’s Chief Education Officer.
"We are in historic moments," Levius shares. "I live my people constantly, so I am pained on one side and filled with awe on the other. Not a day goes by where these feelings don't intertwine."
"I Tried": Roots of Strength
Levius credits his resilience to his mother, who passed away four years ago. He recalls her final days as a lesson in dying with dignity. "Every day I told her... all that's left of you is goodness and grace. She would open her eyes and say: 'Ayuni (my dear), I tried.'"
"She didn’t say 'I was good,' she said 'I tried.' I strive to meet that standard, from one effort to the next, even if there are many failures along the way."
The Face of Responsibility: The Saluki Battle
As a young company commander in Golani, Levius led his men through the Saluki battle in Lebanon. After his force killed several terrorists, an accidental fire triggered by helicopter strikes swept through the dry brush, killing five of his soldiers and wounding seven others, including himself.
"It was the first time I truly understood the meaning of responsibility," he recalls. "Taking a force of 15 warriors and returning with only five standing on their feet."
He remembers looking in a mirror for the first time after 12 hours of combat: "My face was mostly soot with two red circles for eyes. The Northern Command General told me: 'The Chief of Staff has been waiting until now, it’s okay. Wash your face.'"
Injury and Recovery: "Disability is in the Mind"
In 2005, just months before the Disengagement, an IED struck Levius’s jeep in Gaza. The blast killed Gideon Rivlin, who was sitting beside him, and claimed Levius’s right leg.
His path to recovery was fueled by encounters with bereaved families and a marathon coach in New York, a Vietnam veteran and fellow amputeel, who told him: "You have $50,000 worth of technology on you; stop crying and start running."
Levius insists that true recovery isn't about physical comfort, but returning to a life of contribution. "The only comfort is returning to vital living... understanding that the only way to break the glass ceiling is with the help of others."
The "Birth" After the Crisis
Having served as Chief Education Officer during the events of October 7, Levius views the current generation of soldiers with immense pride. "I am quite sure that if [famed poet] Haim Gouri were alive today, he would write about the generation of 2024 (Tashpad) no less than he wrote about the generation of 1948 (Tashach), if not more."
Regarding the failures of October 7, Levius is blunt: "It is the greatest failure of the IDF since its establishment. There isn't a morning where there isn't a stain on the mirror, and you can't erase that stain."
However, he sees the "crisis" (which in Hebrew, Mashber, also means a birth-stool) as a place of rebirth. "The repair begins with all of us feeling moral responsibility. As the size of the responsibility, so is the size of the belonging. We need to adopt 'phantom pains' from October 7—not to live in mourning, but to use that memory as a component of belonging to spark change."