Gershon, son of Bezalel and Esther, was born on 15 March 1923 in Jerusalem’s Old City. His father, from what was then Yugoslavia, was a veterinarian who arrived in the Land of Israel along with Austrian forces during World War I. Afterwards, he worked in the Mandatory Ministry of Agriculture. He was stationed in Beersheba, and his family followed him there, including a brother and a sister. When Gershon was a young child, his family was of only eight Jewish ones in Beersheba. He was sent to study in a kuttab, and he learned Arabic and Bedouin dialect from a very young age. His father declared a quarantine because of an outbreak of hoof-and-mouth disease, which led to his being shot and wounded by Bedouins. The family returned to Jerusalem, and Bezalel died shortly afterwards from his injuries.

Gershon was sent to study at the Meir Shfeya School.

He joined the Trans-Jordan Frontier Force in his teens, as required by law. He spent, during his long years of service, a great deal of time providing valuable intelligence to the Jewish Agency. In 1947, he returned to the Land of Israel and joined Lehi.

After the announcement of the Partition Plan, as Lehi organized itself to fight the Arabs, Gershon was working in the post office. He confiscated communications equipment, including a full switchboard. This would be the basis of Lehi’s communications network in the capital. He also arranged the communications equipment for camps and combat units. When the State was established, he attacked structures near the Old City walls, capturing Hotel Fast. Under intense fire, he led a squad which was one of the first to break into the buildings.

Gershon enlisted in the IDF’s Communications Corps, serving as the communications officer in a tank brigade. Afterwards, he was transferred to the Armored Corps, where he filled many positions as commander and instructor. He was the first officer sent to the armored officers’ training course abroad, including supplemental training in France in preparation for new tank models that the IDF had acquired. He also saw combat in the Sinai War.

In 1962, he was sent by the IDF and the Foreign Ministry to Togo, where he served as a military adviser to the president. He returned to Israel for the Six-Day War, completing his service with the rank of full colonel. He returned to Africa under the auspices of the UN, advising UNICEF until 1972. He fell ill and had to return to Israel, but he still served in uniform during the Yom Kippur War. Afterwards, he founded the Organization for the Assistance of Youth in the Framework of the IDF, which is dedicated to helping at-risk youth in pre-military settings to prepare for military service and for civilian life afterwards. He dedicated all his time and energy to this, until he passed away on 26 June 1993.

He married Lynn Basri. He had a daughter from a previous marriage and grandchildren.