Meir "Zarro" Zorea MC (, born Meyer Zarodinsky () on 14 March 1923, died 24 June 1995) was a general in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and later a member of the Knesset. He earned distinction through his combat actions in World War II and in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. He was a founder of Democratic Movement for Change, an initially successful but short-lived centrist party. Early life Zorea was born in Chişinău, Bessarabia (then part of the Kingdom of Romania, now in Moldova) in 1923, and moved with his parents to Mandatory Palestine in 1925. He studied at the Arieli school in Haifa. He joined the Haganah at age 16, and was a member of the Special Night Squads and Notrim. After completing his studies at the Hebrew Reali School, he enlisted in the British Army was a teenager at the outbreak of World War II, but in 1942 joined the 20th company of the Buffs, which was recruited from Palestine's Jews, and after September 1944 the Jewish Brigade, a temporary combatant military element of the British military composed of Jews from Palestine led by British-Jewish officers. During late winter in 1945, the Jewish Brigade took part in combat against the German Army at the Senio River Valley (near Bologna, Italy). After two difficult months, the brigade emerged from the engagement battered, yet victorious. Then a second lieutenant, Zorea was awarded the British Military Cross for leading his men through intense fire, allowing spotters to pinpoint German positions. Eventually, Zorea attained the rank of Captain before the brigade was dissolved in 1946. Some Haganah members among the Jewish Brigade soldiers, used the brigade as a front for Haganah underground operations, including arms smuggling to the Haganah in Mandatory Palestine, directing European Jewish Holocaust survivors in emigration to Palestine (see Beriha), and executing Nazi officials and military officers. Zorea took part in all of these activities. Regarding emigration to Palestine, Zorea remarked: To facilitate execution of Nazis, Jewish Brigade members would traverse post-war Europe in bands of three and four. Zorea explained: Participation in the Israeli military Dozens of former Jewish Brigade members were called upon to lead the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in anticipation of the impending 1948 Arab-Israeli War. During the 1948 war, Zorea served as a battalion commander. Later, Zorea served on the General Staff as the head of the training department. He also served as commander