| Honorific Prefix: | Rebbe |
| Hoshea Friedman-Ben Shalom | |
| Birth Date: | 24 June 1959 |
| Birth Place: | Reshafim, Israel |
| Allegiance: |  Israel |
| Branch: | Israel Defense Forces |
| Serviceyears: | 1977–2017 (active), reserve service continuing |
| Rank: | Tat aluf (Brigadier General) |
| Unit: | Golani Brigade |
| Commands: | Chief Reserve Officer, Carmeli Brigade |
| Battles: | 1982 Lebanon War, 2006 Lebanon War, Battle of Ayta ash-Shab |
| Laterwork: | Pashkaner Rebbe |
| Relations: | Son of Rabbi Yisrael Friedman Ben-Shalom, grandson of Rabbi Chaim Meir Hager of Vizhnitz |
Hoshea Friedman-Ben Shalom (he|הושע אברהם פרידמן בן שלום; born June 24, 1959) is a reserve IDF officer with the rank of Brigadier General (Tat-Aluf), who served as the Chief Reserve Officer of the IDF.[1] He is currently the head of the Pre-Military Preparatory Academy of Beit Yisrael. In 2017 (5777), he was appointed the Pashkaner Rebbe after his father's passing.
Rabbi Hoshea Friedman was born in 1959 on Kibbutz Reshafim and grew up on Kibbutz Sa'ad. He is the son of Rabbi Yisrael Friedman Ben-Shalom, the former head of Yeshivat Hesder Netivot and later the Rebbe of Pashkan, and of Tzipora, the daughter of Rabbi Chaim Meir Hager, the Rebbe of Vizhnitz and author of the "Imrei Chaim." His father, during his time as the Cultural Attaché in Paris, Hebraized the family surname from "Friedman" to "Ben-Shalom." Later, to honor the tradition of the House of Ruzhin, the family added "Friedman" back to their name. His older siblings include Yirmiyahu Friedman Ben-Shalom, Shmuel Ben-Shalom, and Dr. Menachem Ben-Shalom.
He married Orli, daughter of Micha Sagi (died 2013), a descendant of Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, founder of Chabad.
Friedman was drafted into the IDF in 1977 and chose to serve in the Golani Brigade. He passed the selection for the brigade's special units and was accepted into the Golani Brigade Reconnaissance Unit.[2] In Golani, he completed training as an infantry fighter, the Infantry Commanders' Course, and the Officers' Course. After completing the officers' course, Friedman returned to the brigade and served as a platoon commander in the 13th Battalion (Gideon).[3] In 1981, he was discharged from the IDF and moved to the urban kibbutz Rashit in the Bukharim Quarter of Jerusalem. That year, he became a youth counselor for a group from Boyar School Boarding School and Himmelfarb High School. In 1984, Friedman brought in another group of youths from HaKibbutz HaArtzi and The Kibbutz Movement who were performing Shnat Sherut in Jerusalem. In 1985, Friedman returned to the IDF as a company commander in Golani's 13th Battalion, bringing with him the group he had trained, with the goal of educating and preparing them to be responsible commanders in the IDF. After completing his service as a company commander, he was discharged again and, in 1992, became one of the founders of the urban kibbutz Beit Yisrael in the Gilo neighborhood of Jerusalem, where he still resides. In 1997, he established the Pre-Military Preparatory Academy of Beit Yisrael, with the goal of addressing social issues in Israel and promoting values of contribution and mission. Beit Yisrael Preparatory Academy was the first to integrate both religious and secular students. In 1998, he was awarded the Lieberman Prize, and in 2003, he received the Avichai Prize.[4]
In his reserve service, Friedman served as a platoon commander in the Carmeli Brigade and fought in the 1982 Lebanon War, including in the battle to capture Ain al-Hilweh, south of Sidon.[5] He later advanced to command roles in the brigade, serving as a company commander and a battalion commander. Friedman fought in the 2006 Lebanon War[6] as the deputy brigade commander, including in the Battle of Ayta ash-Shab.[7] Between 2008 and 2011, at the request of then Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi,[8] he served as the commander of the Carmeli Brigade, a reserve infantry brigade in the Northern Command.[9] In 2011, he was chosen to light a torch at the Independence Day torch-lighting ceremony on Mount Herzl, recognizing his contributions as a reserve officer. In October 2012, Friedman was appointed Chief Reserve Officer,[10] serving until July 2017.
After the passing of his father in Iyar 5777 (2017), Friedman was appointed as the Rebbe of Pashkan.[11] [12] Later that year, in Elul, it was reported that he preferred to be called "The Rebbe of Gilo" rather than "The Rebbe of Pashkan," so as not to offend his cousin Rabbi Yaakov Mendel Friedman, who carries the title "Rebbe of Bohush-Pashkan."[13]
Rabbi Friedman is married to Orli and is the father of six:
