Daniel Gold. Photo: Screenshot.

Daniel Gold

Former IDF Brigadier General and inventor of Iron Dome

How does one even begin to honor the “father” of Iron Dome, the mobile air-defense system that saved countless lives during the 2012 and 2014 Gaza wars, when Hamas rained rockets on Israel? Israeli Brig. Gen. Daniel Gold who invented and managed Iron Dome, has already received numerous awards for his crucial work; under his leadership, the Israel Defense Forces research and development unit received the Israel Defense Prize several times. His incentive for Iron Dome, which the Israel defense establishment at first resisted, was “to save human lives.” He added, “I saw what was going on and I said to myself, with all the technology that exists in Israel we must use it to protect human life.” Since 2011, the system has successfully made more than 1,000 intercepts.