(1923-2004)
Born in Saslav, Russia. Tsur joined the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), rising through the ranks to become the IDF's sixth chief of staff from 1961 to 1964. After his retirement, Tsur was appointed as the general manager of Mekorot, Israel's national water company. Under pressure from Moshe Dayan to enter the political fray, he was elected to the sixth Knesset on the list of Rafi in the 1965 election. However, he resigned from the Knesset after just a month, returning to work in Mekorot.
With the appointment of Dayan as minister of defense on the eve of the Six-Day War (1967), Tzur was asked to assist Dayan and served as assistant minister of defense for seven years. After that, Tzur served at several managing positions, including the Israel Aircraft Industries, the shipping company Zim, and Clal Industries. Tzur was active in public affairs until his last days: on 29 April 2004, he signed a letter of support for Ariel Sharon's Gaza unilateral disengagement plan. He died on 28 December 2004.
Historical Dictionary of Israel. Bernard Reich David H. Goldberg. Edited by Jon Woronoff..