Dr. Brig. Gen. (Res.) Chilik Soffer
Research Fellow, International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT), Reichman University; International Disaster Management and Resilience Expert at C-Defense
Dr. Brig. Gen. (Res.) Chilik Soffer was born in Israel in 1966. He is an internationally renowned expert in disaster management, preparation for national emergencies, and population resilience and recovery. Dr. Soffer served as the Head of the Civil Defense Department of the Home Front Command in Israel.
He authored the official national plan for earthquake response in Israel and, since 2008, has been lecturing at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev on “Population Behavior in Emergency Situations.” He established the Population Training System and the public information deployment protocols (guidance and instructions) managed by the Home Front Command for a wide range of emergency scenarios.
In 1991, following his service as Assistant Company Commander during active military duty, Dr. Soffer attended a Special Forces qualification course at Fort Bragg, NC, with the U.S. Army. In 2003, he was appointed Commander of the Dan District in the Home Front Command, overseeing civil defense for several major Israeli cities. In 2006, he became Head of the Civil Defense Department at Home Front Command Headquarters.
Dr. Soffer led the process of drawing operational conclusions in the aftermath of the Second Lebanon War (2006). Based on these lessons, he developed a comprehensive Population Training and Information System, which includes TV spokespeople, a live broadcasting studio at the Home Front Command, an internet platform, a national call center, and an alarm system for civilians. He first activated this system during IDF Operation “Cast Lead” in Gaza.
In January 2010, Dr. Soffer participated in the Israeli humanitarian aid delegation to Haiti following the devastating earthquake. His doctoral thesis was titled “A National Multi-Organization Model for Preparedness and Immediate Response Stages to an Earthquake.”
In this role, Dr. Soffer lectures at conferences in Israel and abroad, and has published numerous articles on population behavior and resilience in emergencies, appearing in both local and international journals.
