The Chief of the General Staff, also known as the Commander-in-Chief of the Israel Defense Forces (, abbreviated ''Ramatkal''—), is the supreme commander and head of the
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...
. The current Chief of the General Staff is
Aviv Kochavi
Rav-Aluf (Lieutenant General) Aviv Kochavi ( he, אביב כוכבי; born 23 April 1964) is the Chief of General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, having taken the oath of office on January 15, 2019. He was the commander of the Gaza Division, ...
.
At any given time, the Chief of the General Staff is the only active officer holding the IDF's highest rank, ''
rav 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. ...
'' (), which is usually translated into English as
lieutenant general
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
, a
three-star rank
An officer of three-star rank is a senior commander in many of the armed services holding a rank described by the NATO code of OF-8. The term is also used by some armed forces which are not NATO members. Typically, three-star officers hold the ...
. The only exception to this rule occurred during the
Yom Kippur War
The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egy ...
, when former Chief of the General Staff
Haim Bar-Lev
Haim "Kidoni" Bar-Lev ( he, חיים בר-לב, 16 November 1924 – 7 May 1994) was a military officer during Israel's pre-state and early statehood eras and later a government minister.
Biography
Born Haim Brotzlewsky in Vienna and raised in ...
, who was a cabinet member at the outbreak of and during the war, was brought out of retirement and installed as chief of
Southern Command.
For a brief period, he and Chief of the General Staff
David Elazar
David "Dado" Elazar ( he, דוד אלעזר; 27 August 1925 – 15 April 1976) was the ninth Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), serving in that capacity from 1972 to 1974. He was forced to resign in the aftermath of the Yom Kippu ...
were both in active service with the rank of ''rav aluf''.
History
The role of the Chief of the General Staff began with the
Haganah
Haganah ( he, הַהֲגָנָה, lit. ''The Defence'') was the main Zionist paramilitary organization of the Jewish population ("Yishuv") in Mandatory Palestine between 1920 and its disestablishment in 1948, when it became the core of the ...
organization, where it was named after the head of the general staff of the Haganah. With the establishment of the IDF, the Chief of Defense and the Chief of Staff, headed by
Yaakov Dori
Yaakov Dori (; October 8, 1899 – January 22, 1973), born Yaakov Dostrovsky, was the first Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). He was also the President of the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology.
Biography
Yaakov Dostr ...
, were converted to head the IDF.
The chief of the general staff is officially appointed for a three-year term, which can be extended for another year. An exception was
Rafael Eitan
Rafael "Raful" Eitan ( he, רפאל "רפול" איתן, born 11 January 1929 – 23 November 2004) was an Israeli general, former Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (Ramatkal) and later a politician, a Knesset member, and government m ...
, whose term was extended twice, and he served a total of five years. On the other hand, there were several chiefs of staff who did not complete their full term:
Yigal Yadin
Yigael Yadin ( he, יִגָּאֵל יָדִין ) (20 March 1917 – 28 June 1984) was an Israeli archeologist, soldier and politician. He was the second Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces and Deputy Prime Minister from 1977 to 1981.
...
resigned amid disagreements over the IDF budget,
Mordechai Maklef
Mordechai (Motke) Maklef (or Makleff) ( he, מרדכי (מותקה) מקלף; 1920–1978) was the third Ramatkal, Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and later, director-general of many important public companies in the Economy ...
served for only one year at his request,
David Elazar
David "Dado" Elazar ( he, דוד אלעזר; 27 August 1925 – 15 April 1976) was the ninth Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), serving in that capacity from 1972 to 1974. He was forced to resign in the aftermath of the Yom Kippu ...
was forced to resign following the recommendations of the
Agranat Commission
The Agranat Commission (Hebrew: ועדת אגרנט) was a National Commission of Inquiry set up to investigate failings in the Israel Defense Forces in the prelude to the Yom Kippur War, when Israel was found unprepared for the Egyptian attack ag ...
investigating the Yom Kippur War,
and
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 ...
resigned due to criticism of 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 ...
. Also, two chiefs of staff have given up part of their tenure extension:
Amnon Lipkin-Shahak
Amnon Lipkin-Shahak ( he, אמנון ליפקין-שחק; March 18, 1944 – December 19, 2012) was an Israeli military officer and politician. He served as Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, as a Member of the Knesset, and as Minister o ...
wanted to end his term in the middle of the fourth year, due to his desire to move into politics and run for prime minister.
Haim Laskov
Haim Laskov ( he, חיים לסקוב; born 1919, Barysaw, Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic – 8 December 1982) was an Israeli public figure and the fifth Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces.
Biography
Haim Laskov was born in Bary ...
asked not to serve a fourth year due to his disagreements with
Shimon Peres
Shimon Peres (; he, שמעון פרס ; born Szymon Perski; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the ninth president of ...
.
In
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
,
Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon (; ; ; also known by his diminutive Arik, , born Ariel Scheinermann, ; 26 February 1928 – 11 January 2014) was an Israeli general and politician who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Israel from March 2001 until April 2006.
S ...
and
Shaul Mofaz
Shaul Mofaz ( he, שאול מופז; 4 November 1948) is a retired Israeli military officer and politician. He joined the Israel Defense Forces in 1966 and served in the Paratroopers Brigade. He fought in the Six-Day War, Yom Kippur War, 1982 Le ...
did not extend
Moshe Ya'alon
Moshe "Bogie" Ya'alon ( he, משה יעלון; born Moshe Smilansky on 24 June 1950) is an Israeli politician and former Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, who also served as Israel's Defense Minister under Benjamin Netanyahu from 2013 ...
's term to a fourth year, during which he was interpreted as a dismissal in light of Ya'alon's opposition to the disengagement plan. In order to prevent such problems in the future, and as was done for other positions such as that of the President of the State, Defense Minister
Amir Peretz
Amir Peretz ( he, עָמִיר פֶּרֶץ; born on 9 March 1952) is an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for the Labor Party. A Knesset member almost continuously from 1988 to 2021, he has served as Minister of Defen ...
appointed Major General
Gabi Ashkenazi
Gabriel "Gabi" Ashkenazi (; born 25 February 1954) is an Israeli politician and former military leader. He previously served as the Foreign Minister of Israel, Minister of Foreign Affairs. He was the Chief of General Staff (Israel), Chief of Ge ...
in
2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
for a period of four years, thus removing the uncertainty regarding the addition of the fourth year. Ashkenazi raised the issue of extending his term to a fifth year.
At the end of his term, the Chief of the General Staff (like other senior members of the Israeli defense establishment) has a cooling-off period of three years before he can be elected a Member of the Knesset, be appointed a Minister in the Government or be elected Prime Minister.
Legal position
The position of ''ramatkal'' is defined in the ''
Basic Law: The Military'' (1976), clause three:
*The supreme
command rank in the military is that of the Chief of the
General Staff
A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military un ...
*The Chief of the General Staff is to be placed under the authority of the
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
and subordinate to the
Defense Minister
A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...
*The Chief of the General Staff is to be appointed by the government, according to the recommendation of the Defense Minister
The Chief of the General Staff is formally appointed once every three years, with the government often extending the term to four years, and in one occasion, even five.
Significance
Given the importance of the IDF in Israeli society, the Chief of the General Staff is an important public figure in Israel. On appointment of a new Chief of the General Staff, mass-circulation papers such as ''
Yediot Aharonot
''Yedioth Ahronoth'' ( he, יְדִיעוֹת אַחֲרוֹנוֹת, ; lit. ''Latest News'') is a national daily newspaper published in Tel Aviv, Israel. Founded in 1939 in British Mandatory Palestine, ''Yedioth Ahronoth'' is the largest paid n ...
'' and ''
Israel Hayom
''Israel Hayom'' ( he, יִשְׂרָאֵל הַיּוֹם, lit=Israel Today) is an Israeli national Hebrew-language free daily newspaper. First published in 2007, ''Israel Hayom'' is Israel's most widely distributed newspaper. Owned by the fam ...
'' customarily provide their readers with large-scale portrait photos of the new Chief. Former Chiefs of the General Staff often parlay the prominence of their position into political life, and sometimes the business world. Two Chiefs of the General Staff (
Yitzhak Rabin
Yitzhak Rabin (; he, יִצְחָק רַבִּין, ; 1 March 1922 – 4 November 1995) was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–77, and from 1992 until h ...
and
Ehud Barak
Ehud Barak ( he-a, אֵהוּד בָּרָק, Ehud_barak.ogg, link=yes, born Ehud Brog; 12 February 1942) is an Israeli general and politician who served as the tenth prime minister from 1999 to 2001. He was leader of the Labor Party until Jan ...
) have become
Prime Minister of Israel
The prime minister of Israel ( he, רֹאשׁ הַמֶּמְשָׁלָה, Rosh HaMemshala, Head of the Government, Hebrew acronym: he2, רה״מ; ar, رئيس الحكومة, ''Ra'īs al-Ḥukūma'') is the head of government and chief exec ...
and eleven others (
Yigael Yadin
Yigael Yadin ( he, יִגָּאֵל יָדִין ) (20 March 1917 – 28 June 1984) was an Israeli archeologist, soldier and politician. He was the second Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces and Deputy Prime Minister from 1977 to 1981.
B ...
,
Moshe Dayan
Moshe Dayan ( he, משה דיין; 20 May 1915 – 16 October 1981) was an Israeli military leader and politician. As commander of the Jerusalem front in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (1953–1958) du ...
,
Tzvi Tzur
Tzvi Tzur ( he, צבי צור, also transliterated Zvi Tsur, 1923 – 28 December 2004) was an Israeli officer who served as the IDF's 6th Chief of Staff (1961–1963).
Biography Early life
Tzur was born in the Zaslav in the Soviet Union (now ...
,
Haim Bar-Lev
Haim "Kidoni" Bar-Lev ( he, חיים בר-לב, 16 November 1924 – 7 May 1994) was a military officer during Israel's pre-state and early statehood eras and later a government minister.
Biography
Born Haim Brotzlewsky in Vienna and raised in ...
,
Mordechai Gur
Mordechai "Motta" Gur ( he, מרדכי "מוטה" גור, May 6, 1930 – July 16, 1995) was an Israeli politician and the 10th Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces. During the Six-Day War (1967), he commanded the brigade that penetrated ...
,
Rafael Eitan
Rafael "Raful" Eitan ( he, רפאל "רפול" איתן, born 11 January 1929 – 23 November 2004) was an Israeli general, former Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (Ramatkal) and later a politician, a Knesset member, and government m ...
,
Amnon Lipkin-Shahak
Amnon Lipkin-Shahak ( he, אמנון ליפקין-שחק; March 18, 1944 – December 19, 2012) was an Israeli military officer and politician. He served as Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, as a Member of the Knesset, and as Minister o ...
,
Shaul Mofaz
Shaul Mofaz ( he, שאול מופז; 4 November 1948) is a retired Israeli military officer and politician. He joined the Israel Defense Forces in 1966 and served in the Paratroopers Brigade. He fought in the Six-Day War, Yom Kippur War, 1982 Le ...
,
Moshe Ya'alon
Moshe "Bogie" Ya'alon ( he, משה יעלון; born Moshe Smilansky on 24 June 1950) is an Israeli politician and former Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, who also served as Israel's Defense Minister under Benjamin Netanyahu from 2013 ...
,
Gabi Ashkenazi
Gabriel "Gabi" Ashkenazi (; born 25 February 1954) is an Israeli politician and former military leader. He previously served as the Foreign Minister of Israel, Minister of Foreign Affairs. He was the Chief of General Staff (Israel), Chief of Ge ...
, and
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 sin ...
) have served in the
Knesset
The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...
. Of these, only Tzur did not get appointed to the Cabinet.
Six former Chiefs of the General Staff (Dayan, Rabin, Barak, Mofaz, Ya'alon, and Gantz) held the position of
Defense Minister
A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...
, widely considered to be one of the most powerful ministerial posts in the country and the immediate
civilian superior of the Chief of the General Staff. The current holder of the post (as of March 2021) is former Chief of the General 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 sin ...
. Moshe Dayan served also as
Foreign Minister
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...
. Soon after his discharge,
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 ...
became the CEO of a prestigious car importer.
Ehud Barak
Ehud Barak ( he-a, אֵהוּד בָּרָק, Ehud_barak.ogg, link=yes, born Ehud Brog; 12 February 1942) is an Israeli general and politician who served as the tenth prime minister from 1999 to 2001. He was leader of the Labor Party until Jan ...
took a hiatus from politics twice after defeats for re-election and pursued international business ventures.
List of Chiefs of the General Staff
The Chiefs of the General Staff have been:
Timeline
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Period = from:1947 till:2025
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Define $now = 2022
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at:1955
at:1960
at:1965
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at:2010
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at:2025
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bar:dori
bar:yadin
bar:maklef
bar:dayan
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bar:hofi
bar:gur
bar:eitan
bar:levi
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bar:barak
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barset:PM
bar:dori from:1947 till:1949 color:cgs text:" Dori"
bar:yadin from:1949 till:1952 color:cgs text:" Yadin"
bar:maklef from:1952 till:1953 color:cgs text:" Maklef"
bar:dayan from:1953 till:1958 color:cgs text:" Dayan"
bar:laskov from:1958 till:1961 color:cgs text:" Laskov"
bar:tzur from:1961 till:1964 color:cgs text:"Tzur
Tzur is a Hebrew given name and surname literally meaning "rock". Notable people with the surname include:
Given name
*Tzur Shezaf, Israeli author
Surname
*Assaf Tzur, Israeli footballer
* David Tzur (born 1959), Israeli politician and former po ...
"
bar:rabin from:1964 till:1968 color:cgs text:"Rabin
Rabin is a List of Jewish surnames, Hebrew surname. It originates from the Hebrew word ''rav'' meaning Rabbi, or from the name of the specific Rabbi Abin I, Abin. The most well known bearer of the name was Yitzhak Rabin, prime minister of Israel ...
"
bar:bar-lev from:1968 till:1972 color:cgs text:" Bar-Lev"
bar:elazar from:1972 till:1974 color:cgs text:"Elazar
Eleazar (; ) or Elʽazar was a priest in the Hebrew Bible, the second High Priest, succeeding his father Aaron after he died. He was a nephew of Moses.
Biblical narrative
Eleazar played a number of roles during the course of the Exodus, fro ...
"
bar:hofi from:1974 till:1974 color:acgs text:" Hofi"
bar:gur from:1974 till:1978 color:cgs text:" Gur"
bar:eitan from:1978 till:1983 color:cgs text:" Eitan"
bar:levi from:1983 till:1987 color:cgs text:"Levi
Levi (; ) was, according to the Book of Genesis, the third of the six sons of Jacob and Leah (Jacob's third son), and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Levi (the Levites, including the Kohanim) and the great-grandfather of Aaron, Moses and M ...
"
bar:shomron from:1987 till:1991 color:cgs text:" Shomron"
bar:barak from:1991 till:1995 color:cgs text:"Barak
Barak ( or ; he, בָּרָק; Tiberian Hebrew: '' Bārāq''; ar, البُراق ''al-Burāq'' "lightning") was a ruler of Ancient Israel. As military commander in the biblical Book of Judges, Barak, with Deborah, from the Tribe of Ephrai ...
"
bar:lipkin-shahak from:1995 till:1998 color:cgs text:" Lipkin-Shahak"
bar:mofaz from:1998 till:2002 color:cgs text:" Mofaz"
bar:yaalon from:2002 till:2005 color:cgs text:" Ya'alon"
bar:halutz from:2005 till:2007 color:cgs text:" Halutz"
bar:ashkenazi from:2007 till:2011 color:cgs text:"Ashkenazi
Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...
"
bar:gantz from:2011 till:2015 color:cgs text:"Gantz
''Gantz'' (stylized as ''GANTZ'') is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiroya Oku. It was serialized in Shueisha's ''seinen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Young Jump'' from June 2000 to June 2013, with its chapters collected i ...
"
bar:eizenkot from:2015 till:2019 color:cgs text:" Eizenkot"
bar:kochavi from:2019 till:$now color:cgs text:" Kochavi"
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chief of General Staff (Israel)
Military ranks of Israel
*
Israeli generals
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
Commanders in chief