New appointments at the top of the army: Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon and Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz agreed today (Friday) on a series of new appointments to the General Staff.
According to the decision, Brigadier General Rati (Herzl) Halevi will be appointed to the position of head of the IDF Intelligence Division and will be promoted to the rank of major general. Aviv Kochavi, who until now served as head of the Military Intelligence Directorate, will replace Major General Yair Golan at the Northern Command.
Brigadier General Herzi Halevi was formerly the commander of the Paratrooper Brigade, the commander of Sayeret Matkal, and the commander of Division 91. Prime Minister Netanyahu previously sought to appoint Halevi to the position of Military Secretary, but due to opposition in the IDF, he was appointed to a senior position at the National Security College. Halevi has a bachelor's degree in philosophy and business administration, and a master's degree in national resource management. Brigadier General Halevi is considered one of the candidates who may succeed the position of Chief of Staff in the future.
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Major General Aviv Kochavi, who will be appointed commander of the Northern Command, is marked as one of the senior candidates to replace the Chief of Staff in the future. Kochavi is considered one of the field commanders with the most extensive combat experience, and his role as head of Military Intelligence is also praised.
Additional appointments include Brigadier General Yossi Bachar, formerly commander of the Paratrooper Brigade and commander of the Gaza Division, who will be promoted to the rank of major general and serve as a corps commander, and current Air Force Chief of Staff Brigadier General Hagai Topolansky, who will be appointed head of the Human Resources Division (HRD). Topolansky will replace the first female IDF major general, Orna Barbibiay. Topolansky's appointment is considered surprising due to the fact that, unlike his predecessors, he did not 'grow up' in the HRD.
Ya'alon and Gantz will soon be required to decide on the issue of appointments to additional positions, including Home Front Command Major General, with the leading candidate being Brigadier General Yoel Strick, former commander of the Givati Brigade.
