The Director General of the Ministry of Defense, Maj. Gen. (res.) Eyal Zamir, informed incoming Defense Minister Yisrael Katz today (Monday) that he intends to terminate his position.
The decision comes a week after the dismissal of the person who appointed him to the position - ousted Defense Minister Yoav Galant.
At the request of the Minister of Defense, it was agreed that at this time the Director General will continue in his position.
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Zamir and Katz were scheduled for their first working meeting today upon the minister's assumption of office.
In his last position in the IDF, Zamir served as Deputy Chief of Staff and previously as Commander of Southern Command, Military Secretary to the Prime Minister, Commander of the Gaash Brigade, Commander of the Company and Battalion Commanders Course, and Commander of Brigade 7.
At the same time, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar announced today that he will appoint attorney Eden Bar Tal to the position of Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Bar Tal served as Director General of the Ministry of Communications between 2009 and 2013.
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar: "I have no doubt that Bar Tal, endowed with rich professional knowledge and diverse skills, with experience in both the public and private sectors, including his experience as Director General of the Ministry of Communications, is the appropriate candidate to lead the Foreign Ministry in the face of the tremendous challenges ahead.".
Bar Tal has diverse professional experience in senior management positions in the business and public sectors. In addition to his tenure as Director General of the Ministry of Communications, he served as Senior Advisor to the Minister of Regional Cooperation between 2020-2021 - following the signing of the historic peace and normalization agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco. In this framework, Bar Tal worked to promote agreements and projects with the peace and normalization countries, as well as with the first ambassadors to Israel from these countries.
From 2022 to August 2024, Bar Tal served as Chairman of the Second Television and Radio Authority.
In addition to his work in the public sector, Bar Tal has a wealth of experience in the business sector, including as CEO of an investment house that provided investment banking services to Israeli and foreign corporations, as Vice President of an American investment company and on its behalf as Vice President and Secretary of the public subsidiary.
Bar Tal also served as CEO of a medical cannabis company and as chairman, president and CEO of international companies in the field. In addition, Bar Tal also served on the boards of directors of various companies, including an economic press group and a commercial real estate company. In the past, he served as a managing partner and attorney in law firms in the fields of commercial, international and local law and real estate.
Bar Tal is a lawyer by profession, holds a Master of Laws (LLM) from the University of London and a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from Tel Aviv University, and is fully fluent in English.
The appointment requires approval from the Appointments Committee of the Civil Service Commission and the Government Plenum.
