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 ...

Ram Rothberg ( he, רם רוטברג; born February 5, 1964) is an admiral in the Israel Defense Forces who was the head of the Israel Navy.

Service history

Rothberg commanded the Flotilla 13 special forces unit from 2001 to 2004 and presided over some of its most notable operations, such as the raid on the

Karin A Karin may refer to: *Karin (given name), a feminine name Fiction * ''Karin'' (manga) or ''Chibi Vampire'', a Japanese media franchise *Karin Hanazono, title character of the manga and anime ''Kamichama Karin'' *Karin Kurosaki, a character in ''Bl ...

arms smuggling ship in January 2002. He later served as the Chief of Naval Intelligence during the

Second Lebanon War The 2006 Lebanon War, also called the 2006 Israel–Hezbollah War and known in Lebanon as the July War ( ar, حرب تموز, ''Ḥarb Tammūz'') and in Israel as the Second Lebanon War ( he, מלחמת לבנון השנייה, ''Milhemet Leva ...

and was reprimanded by then- Chief of Staff

Dan Halutz Dan Halutz ( he, דן חלוץ, ; born August 7, 1948) is an Israeli Air Force lieutenant general and former Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces and commander of the Israeli Air Force. Halutz served as chief of staff in 2005–2007. Biog ...

for the 14 July 2006 attack on the Israeli corvette INS ''Hanit''. An

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

ian-supplied C-802 anti-ship missile fired by Hezbollah hit the warship, whose crew was apparently unaware that the Lebanese group possessed such weapons. The strike left four sailors dead and the ship temporarily disabled. Rothberg was criticized over his contribution to the failure, but later was promoted to the position of commander of the Navy's

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

base. Afterwards, Rothberg served in the

Israeli National Security Council The National Security Council (NSC) ( he, המטה לביטחון לאומי ''HaMateh leBitachon Leumi'') is Israel's central body for coordination, integration, analysis and monitoring in the field of national security and is the staff forum on ...

Commander of the Israeli Navy

On 4 August 2011, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak approved his appointment as the next head of the Israel Navy, after being nominated by IDF Chief of Staff

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 ...

. He is to be promoted in rank to Major General (

). He replaced Vice-Admiral

Eliezer Marom Eliezer (Eli) Marom ("Chayni") ( he, אליעזר "אלי" מרום "צ'ייני", born in 1955, Sde Eliezer, Upper Galilee, Israel) is the former Commander of the Israeli Navy serving from 2007–2011. As of 2015 he serves as the head of the Isra ...

, who retired after serving in the IDF for 37 years. He was not the front runner for the post and the appointment was received with surprise by military officials. On 10 October 2011, in a ceremony held at the Haifa naval base, Rothberg entered his role as commander of the Israel Navy. In 2012, Rothberg was investigated for an

April Fool's Day April Fools' Day or All Fools' Day is an annual custom on 1 April consisting of practical jokes and hoaxes. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fools!" at the recipient. Mass media can be involved in these pranks, which ma ...

joke. Shortly before April Fool's Day, Rothberg ordered senior commanders to prepare for a complex, 10-day exercise in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

with the US and Italian navies. Intending to keep the joke among senior officers, he ordered the news be kept at the senior command level, but the information leaked to lower officers, who worked throughout the night to prepare. Three missile ships and their crews were readied at Haifa naval base and officers worked to chart a course to Italy. Sailors' parents also rushed to the base to give them supplies and money. By the time Rothberg admitted that it was a joke, the three warships were ready to set sail, and crews were standing at attention on deck. Rothberg personally led operation ''Full Disclosure'' of March 2014 from INS ''Hanit''. On 27 September 2016, Rothberg ended his role as a commander of the Israel Navy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rothberg, Ram Living people Israeli Navy generals Israeli Jews 1964 births