thumb|right|24 October 1973: Following the [[Yom Kippur War, a UN-arranged meeting between Bar-Lev and an Egyptian general in Sinai]]
Haim "Kidoni" Bar-Lev (; 16 November 1924 – 7 May 1994) was a military officer during Israel's pre-state and early statehood eras and later a government minister.
Biography
Born Haim Brotzlewsky in Vienna to Moshe and Dwora Brotzlewsky (née Wilkonsky), his family moved to Zagreb when he was 4 years old, and he was raised there. His father became one of the textile magnates of interwar Yugoslavia. The young Haim joined his local chapter of HaShomer HaTzair. Bar-Lev made aliyah to Mandate Palestine in 1939. The rest of his family was able to emigrate to Palestine two years later. From 1942 through 1948, Bar-Lev served in various Jewish military units, such as the Palmach. He became both a pilot and a parachutist, which would later serve him in developing both of these military branches in the young Israel Defense Forces.
In 1946, Bar-Lev blew up the Allenby Bridge near Jericho to prevent Arab militiamen in Trans-Jordan from entering Jewish towns west of the Jordan River. During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Bar-Lev was the commander of the Eighth Battalion (Mechanized) in the Negev Brigade, which fought in the southern part of the country and the Sinai.
During the 1956 Suez Crisis he commanded the 27th Armored Brigade, which captured the Gaza Strip before turning southwest and reaching the Suez Canal. By 1964 he became of Director of Operations within the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
During the June 1967 Six-Day War he served as the Deputy Chief of Staff in the IDF. Israeli Chief of Staff General Chaim Bar-Lev initiated the construction of defensive structures along the Canal, despite advice from several seasoned commanders. However, Israeli commanders did not prioritize determining whether the 'Bar-Lev Line' served as merely a 'trip-wire', as later asserted, or constituted a comprehensive defensive barrier.
Between 1968 and 1971, Bar-Lev served as IDF's Chief of General Staff, which made him the highest-ranking military officer.