The 1st "Golani" Brigade (Hebrew: חֲטִיבַת גּוֹלָנִי) is an Israeli military infantry brigade that is subordinated to the 36th Division and traditionally associated with the Northern Command. It is one of the five infantry brigades of the regular Israel Defense Forces (IDF) (the others being the Paratroopers Brigade, the Nahal Brigade, the Givati Brigade and the Kfir Brigade). Its symbol is a green olive tree against a yellow background, with its soldiers wearing a brown beret. It is one of the most highly decorated infantry units in the IDF. The brigade consists of five battalions, including two which it kept from its inception (12th and 13th), one transferred from the Givati Brigade (51st). The brigade was formed on February 22, 1948, during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, when the Levanoni Brigade in the Galilee split into the 1st Golani Brigade and the 2nd Carmeli Brigade. It has since participated in all of Israel's major wars and nearly all major operations, including the Suez Crisis, the Six-Day War, the War of Attrition, the Yom Kippur War, Operation Entebbe, the 1978 South Lebanon conflict, the 1982 and 2006 Lebanon Wars, and various operations during the Palestinian intifadas. Three of its commanders, Mordechai Gur, Gabi Ashkenazi and Gadi Eizenkot have become IDF Chiefs of Staff with many more reaching the rank of aluf (major general).
