In 2005 Wikipedia's first sentence called it “israeli brigadier-general who was forcibly discharged from the israel defense force in november 2004 by order o”. Today it says “israeli brigadier general who was forcibly discharged from the israel defense forces”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-02. In 2005 Wikipedia's first sentence called it “israeli brigadier-general who was forcibly discharged from the israel defense force in november 2004 by order o”. Today it says “israeli brigadier general who was forcibly discharged from the israel defense forces”.
We saved snapshots of this article over twenty years; you are reading the 2005 one. Red dashes: removed from Wikipedia since.Pale dots: rewritten; the numbered note shows what it says now.Red text: written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot.1 tap a number or a side note to jump between them
The opening as it read in 2005
Shmuel Zakai is an Israeli Brigadier-General who was forcibly discharged from the Israel Defense Force in November 2004 by order of Chief of Staff Moshe Yaalon . Zakai resigned as commander of the IDF's Gaza Division, a position he had held since March 2004 , after failing a polygraph test during an investigation into leaks to the Israeli media during the " Days of Penitence " operation in the northern Gaza Strip in October 2004 . Zakai was accused of leaking reports to the media that the IDF wanted to end the operation before the political echelon did. After resigning as head of the Gaza Division, Zakai was removed from the IDF altogether after 24 years of service, with Yaalon saying that his actions had constituted "an abandonment of a division during combat." He was replaced by Aviv Kochavi , a former commander of the Paratroopers Brigade . Zakai's brief tenure as head of the Gaza Division was marked by a dramatic increase in attacks on Palestinian areas, including Operation Rainbow directed against Rafah in southern Gaza (May 2004) and Operation Days of Penitence against the northern Gaza Strip (October 2004). Israeli and international observers argued that the IDF was employing ' scorched earth ' tactics in Gaza, including widespread destruction of Palestinian homes and agriculture, in preparation for the 'disengagement plan.' Zakai's previous positions include: 2002-2004: Commander, Adom (Eilat) Division 1999-2001: Commander, Golani infantry brigade 1998-1999: Commander, Hiram Formation (Northern Command) 1995-1996: Battalion commander, IDF Officer's School 1993-1994: Deputy commander, Hiram Formation 1981-1994: Served various positions in Golani Brigade, up to battalion commander.1 Zakai was reportedly close to Defense Minister and former Chief of Staff Shaul Mofaz , who promoted him to brigadier general before he attained a division command. Zakai is a graduate of the IDF Staff College and has a degree in humanities from Tel Aviv University .
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 16959305.
The opening as it stood in 2010 2 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Shmuel Zakai (born 1963) is an Israeli Brigadier-General who was forcibly discharged from the Israel Defense Force (IDF) in November 2004 by order of Chief of Staff Moshe Yaalon . Zakai resigned as commander of the IDF's Gaza Division, a position he had held since March 2004, after failing a polygraph test during an investigation into leaks to the Israeli media during the Days of Penitence operation in the northern Gaza Strip in October 2004. Zakai was accused of leaking reports to the media that the IDF wanted to end the operation before the political echelon did. After resigning as head of the Gaza Division, Zakai was removed from the IDF altogether after 24 years of service, with Yaalon saying that his actions had constituted "an abandonment of a division during combat." He was replaced by Aviv Kochavi , a former commander of the Paratroopers Brigade . Zakai was reportedly close to Defense Minister and former Chief of Staff Shaul Mofaz , who promoted him to brigadier general before he attained a division command. Zakai is a graduate of the IDF Staff College and has a degree in humanities from Tel Aviv University .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 353311221.
The opening as it stood in 2015
Shmuel Zakai (born 1963) is an Israeli Brigadier-General who was forcibly discharged from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in November 2004 by order of Chief of Staff Moshe Yaalon . Zakai resigned as commander of the IDF's Gaza Division, a position he had held since March 2004, after failing a polygraph test during an investigation into leaks to the Israeli media during the Days of Penitence operation in the northern Gaza Strip in October 2004. Zakai was accused of leaking reports to the media that the IDF wanted to end the operation before the political echelon did. After resigning as head of the Gaza Division, Zakai was removed from the IDF altogether after 24 years of service, with Yaalon saying that his actions had constituted "an abandonment of a division during combat." He was replaced by Aviv Kochavi , a former commander of the Paratroopers Brigade . Zakai was reportedly close to Defense Minister and former Chief of Staff Shaul Mofaz , who promoted him to brigadier general before he attained a division command. Zakai is a graduate of the IDF Staff College and has a degree in humanities from Tel Aviv University .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 640494461.
The opening as it stood in 2020
Shmuel Zakai ( ; born 1963) is an Israeli Brigadier-General who was forcibly discharged from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in November 2004 by order of Chief of Staff Moshe Yaalon . Zakai resigned as commander of the IDF's Gaza Division, a position he had held since March 2004, after failing a polygraph test during an investigation into leaks to the Israeli media during the Days of Penitence operation in the northern Gaza Strip in October 2004. Zakai was accused of leaking reports to the media that the IDF wanted to end the operation before the political echelon did. After resigning as head of the Gaza Division, Zakai was removed from the IDF altogether after 24 years of service, with Yaalon saying that his actions had constituted "an abandonment of a division during combat." He was replaced by Aviv Kochavi , a former commander of the Paratroopers Brigade . Zakai was reportedly close to Defense Minister and former Chief of Staff Shaul Mofaz , who promoted him to brigadier general before he attained a division command. Zakai is a graduate of the IDF Staff College and has a degree in humanities from Tel Aviv University .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 918572175.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023
Israeli brigadier-general (born 1963) Shmuel Zakai ( ; born 1963) is an Israeli Brigadier General who was forcibly discharged from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in November 2004 by order of chief of staff Moshe Yaalon . Zakai resigned as commander of the IDF's Gaza Division, a position he had held since March 2004, after failing a polygraph test during an investigation into leaks to the Israeli media during the Days of Penitence operation in the northern Gaza Strip in October 2004. Zakai was accused of leaking reports to the media that the IDF wanted to end the operation before the political echelon did. After resigning as head of the Gaza Division, Zakai was removed from the IDF altogether after 24 years of service, with Yaalon saying that his actions had constituted "an abandonment of a division during combat." He was replaced by Aviv Kochavi , a former commander of the Paratroopers Brigade . Zakai was reportedly close to Defense Minister and former chief of staff Shaul Mofaz , who promoted him to brigadier general before he attained a division command. Zakai is a graduate of the IDF Staff College and has a degree in humanities from Tel Aviv University .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1177696631.
The opening as it stood in 2025
Israeli brigadier-general (born 1963) Shmuel Zakai ( Hebrew : שמואל זכאי ; born 1963) is an Israeli Brigadier General who was forcibly discharged from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in November 2004 by order of chief of staff Moshe Yaalon . Zakai resigned as commander of the IDF's Gaza Division, a position he had held since March 2004, after failing a polygraph test during an investigation into leaks to the Israeli media during the Days of Penitence operation in the northern Gaza Strip in October 2004. Zakai was accused of leaking reports to the media that the IDF wanted to end the operation before the political echelon did. After resigning as head of the Gaza Division, Zakai was removed from the IDF altogether after 24 years of service, with Yaalon saying that his actions had constituted "an abandonment of a division during combat." He was replaced by Aviv Kochavi , a former commander of the Paratroopers Brigade . Zakai was reportedly close to Defense Minister and former chief of staff Shaul Mofaz , who promoted him to brigadier general before he attained a division command. Zakai is a graduate of the IDF Staff College and has a degree in humanities from Tel Aviv University .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1276953253. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
In 2005 Wikipedia's first sentence called it “israeli brigadier-general who was forcibly discharged from the israel defense force in november 2004 by order o”. Today it says “israeli brigadier general who was forcibly discharged from the israel defense forces”. Read the current article and compare.
2005
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined between 2005 and 2025.
Then
israeli brigadier-general who was forcibly discharged from the israel defense force in november 2004 by order o
Now
israeli brigadier general who was forcibly discharged from the israel defense forces
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
