Herzl "Herzi" Halevi ( he, הרצל "הרצי" הלוי; born 17 December 1967) is the Chief of General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, having taken the oath of office on January 16, 2023. He previously served as the commander of the Israeli Southern Command, the chief of the Military Intelligence Directorate, the commander of the 91st Division, the commander of the Paratroopers Brigade, and the commander of the

Sayeret Matkal General Staff Reconnaissance Unit (formerly Unit 269 or Unit 262), more commonly known as Sayeret Matkal ( he, סיירת מטכ״ל) is the special reconnaissance unit (''sayeret'') of Israel's General Staff (''matkal''). It is the prime special ...

. Halevi is the first observant Jew to serve as the head of Israeli military intelligence.

Early life and education

Herzl (Herzi) Halevi was born in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. His father Shlomo was the son of Haim Shalom Halevi (Gordin), a member of the

Irgun Irgun • Etzel , image = Irgun.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = Irgun emblem. The map shows both Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan, which the Irgun claimed in its entirety for a future Jewish state. The acronym "Etzel" i ...

and the " Battalion for the Defence of the Language", and Tzila, the daughter of Rabbi Dov Baar HaCohen Kook and niece of Rabbi Abraham Isaac HaCohen Kook, the chief rabbi of Israel. He was named after his uncle who died in the battle for Jerusalem in the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states (primarily Egypt, Syria, and Jordan) from 5 to 10 Ju ...

several months before his birth. Halevi's mother's family lived in Jerusalem for 14 generations, while his father's parents

immigrated Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

from

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

. Halevi studied at Himmelfarb religious high school and was a member of the

Tzofim Tzufim ( he, צוּפִים), or Tzufin (), is an Israeli settlement in the West Bank. Located north of Alfei Menashe and Qalqilyah and northeast of Kfar Saba, it is organised as a community settlement and falls under the jurisdiction of Shom ...

religious scouts.

Military career

Halevi was drafted into the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in 1985. He volunteered as a paratrooper in the Paratroopers Brigade. He served as a soldier and

squad leader ''Squad Leader'' is a tactical wargames, tactical level board war game originally published by Avalon Hill in 1977. It was designed by John Hill (game designer), John Hill and simulates on infantry combat in Europe during World War II. One of th ...

. In 1987, he became an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

officer after completing an

officer candidate school An officer candidate school (OCS) is a military school which trains civilians and enlisted personnel in order for them to gain a commission as officers in the armed forces of a country. How OCS is run differs between countries and services. Ty ...

and returned to the Paratroopers Brigade as a

platoon leader {{unreferenced, date=February 2013 A platoon leader (NATO) or platoon commander (more common in Commonwealth militaries and the US Marine Corps) is the officer in charge of a platoon. This person is usually a junior officer – a second or first ...

. Halevi led the brigade's anti-tank company in counter-guerrilla operations during the South Lebanon conflict. In 1993 he was assigned to

, the IDF's special forces unit, where he served as a company commander. Halevi later commanded the unit during the Second Intifada.

Colonel roles

On 11 September 2005 he was appointed commander of the Menashe Regional Brigade and on 22 August 2007 he was appointed commander of the Paratroopers Brigade and led it during

Operation Cast Lead Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...

and numerous other operations.

Brigadier general roles

In September 2009 Halevi was promoted to the rank of brigadier general ( Tat-Aluf) and appointed commander of the Operational Division in the Military Intelligence Directorate and served in that position until 11 October 2011. on the 6th of November he was appointed as the commander of the 91st Division. On December 2012 the division won the "Chief of Staff's award for outstanding units" under his lead. He finished his role there in November 2013 and in 2014 became the commander of the

IDF Command and Staff College The Command and Staff College ( he, המכללה הבין-זרועית לפיקוד ולמטה), abbreviated he, פּוּ"ם, פום, PUM, also translated as Inter-Service Command and Staff College, Israel, is intended for the training of sen ...

Major general roles

In September 2014, he was promoted to the rank of Major general (

Aluf ''Aluf'' ( he, אלוף, lit=champion or "First\leader of a group" in Biblical Hebrew; ) is a senior military rank in the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) for officers who in other countries would have the rank of general, air marshal, or admiral ...

) and appointed as the chief of the Israeli Military Intelligence Directorate and served in that role until march 2018. On 6 June 2018, Halevi became the commander of Israel's Southern Command, overseeing IDF activity around the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...

. In November 2019, Halevi commanded IDF's Southern Command forces in the Operation Black Belt, when it fought against the

Palestinian Islamic Jihad The Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine ( ar, حركة الجهاد الإسلامي في فلسطين, ''Harakat al-Jihād al-Islāmi fi Filastīn''), known in the West simply as Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), is a Palestinian Islamist pa ...

(PIJ), following the

targeted killing Targeted killing is a form of murder or assassination carried out by governments outside a judicial procedure or a battlefield. Since the late 20th century, the legal status of targeted killing has become a subject of contention within and bet ...

of senior PIJ commander

Baha Abu al-Ata Baha Abu al-Ata ( ar, بهاء أبو العطا; 25 November 1977 – 12 November 2019) was a leader of Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine (PIJ). On 12 November 2019, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) killed Abu al-Ata and his wife in a target ...

in Gaza.

Lieutenant general roles

On 11 July 2021, he was appointed the deputy chief of staff. Halevi was nominated as the incoming chief of staff by the defense minister,

Benny Gantz Benjamin Gantz ( he, בִּנְיָמִין "בֵּנִי" גַּנְץ, Transliterated: ; born 9 June 1959) is an Israeli politician and retired army general serving as the minister of Defense since 2020 and deputy prime minister of Israel si ...

, on 4 September 2022. The 36th Israeli government confirmed his appointment as the next Chief of Staff on October 23, 2022. He became the 23rd Chief of Staff on 16 January 2023, the role was handed over from Aviv Kochavi.

Awards and decorations

Herzi Halevi was awarded three campaign ribbons for his service during three wars.

Personal life

Halevi resides in Kfar HaOranim, an Israeli settlement in the

West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

. He is married to Sharon and has four children: Clil, Lia, Itay-(Sheesher) and Yoav. He grew up religious and still attends synagogue on the Sabbath. He holds a bachelor's degree in philosophy and business management from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a master's degree in international resource management from

National Defense University The National Defense University (NDU) is an institution of higher education funded by the United States Department of Defense, intended to facilitate high-level education, training, and professional development of national security leaders. As ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

References

External links

* Herzi Halevi
Multi-Domain Defense

The Dado Center for Interdisciplinary Military Studies The Dado Center for Interdisciplinary Military Studies ( he, מרכז דדו לחשיבה צבאית בינתחומית) is a military studies department of the Israel Defense Forces aimed at operational level of war activities. It was named aft ...

, October 1, 2020 {{DEFAULTSORT:Halevi, Herzi 1967 births Living people People from Jerusalem Directors of the Military Intelligence Directorate (Israel) Israeli generals Israeli Orthodox Jews Israeli military personnel Israeli people of Russian-Jewish descent