Israeli Navy

Israeli Navy
חיל הים הישראלי
Cadets from the Israeli Naval Academy, in December 2007.
Founded	1948
Country	Israel
Type	Navy
Size	3 corvettes (Sa'ar 5-class) 8 missile boats (Sa'ar 4.5-class) 5 submarines (Dolphin-class) 45 patrol boats 2 support ships 9,500 Active 10,000 Reserve
Part of	Israel Defense Forces
Garrison/HQ	HaKirya, Tel Aviv, Israel
Motto(s)	"Open Sea, Safe Land"
Engagements	1948 Arab-Israeli War War over Water Six-Day War War of Attrition Yom Kippur War 1982 Lebanon War 1982–2000 South Lebanon conflict Second Intifada 2006 Lebanon War Blockade of the Gaza Strip Gaza War Operation Protective Edge
Commanders
Commander-in-Chief	Aluf Eli Sharvit
Insignia
Naval ensign

3 corvettes (Sa'ar 5-class)
8 missile boats (Sa'ar 4.5-class)
5 submarines (Dolphin-class)
45 patrol boats
2 support ships

The Israeli Navy (Hebrew: חיל הים הישראלי‎‎, Ḥeil HaYam HaYisraeli (English: Sea Corps of Israel); Arabic: البحرية الإسرائيلية‎‎) is the naval warfare service arm of the Israel Defense Forces, operating primarily in the Mediterranean Sea theater as well as the Gulf of Aqaba and the Red Sea theater. The current commander in chief of the Israeli Navy is Aluf Eli Sharvit. The Israeli Navy is believed to be responsible for maintaining Israel's offshore nuclear second strike capability.

The origins of the Israeli Navy lay in the founding of the Betar Naval Academy, a Jewish naval training school established in Civitavecchia, Italy, in 1934 by the Revisionist Zionist movement under the direction of Ze'ev Jabotinsky, with the agreement of Benito Mussolini. The Academy trained cadets from all over Europe, Palestine and South Africa and produced some of the future commanders of the Israeli Navy. In September 1937, the training ship Sarah I visited Haifa and Tel Aviv as part of a Mediterranean tour.