Yair Naveh ( he, יאיר נוה, born 5 September 1957) is a
major general
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...
Zikhron Ya'akov
Zikhron Ya'akov ( he, זִכְרוֹן יַעֲקֹב, ''lit.'' "Jacob's Memorial"; often shortened to just ''Zikhron'') is a town in Israel, south of Haifa, and part of the Haifa District. It is located at the southern end of the Carmel mounta ...
.
Naveh was previously the head of
Israeli Home Front Command
The Home Front Command ( he, פיקוד העורף, ''Pikud HaOref'') is an Israel Defense Forces regional command, created in February 1992 in response to the lessons of the Gulf War,Ariel Sharon to his post as Central Command chief. It is believed by some Israelis that Sharon nominated Naveh because he is the highest ranked religious officer and that as head of Central Command, he would be forced to carry out the evacuation of West Bank settlements in 2005."Israel's exit strategy" ''Le Monde diplomatique'', Meron Rapoport. /ref>
Naveh holds a bachelor's degree in History and Political Science, as well as a master's degree in Political Science and Middle Eastern Studies.
Naveh predicted that King Abdullah would fall and that he would be Jordan's last king, drawing an angry reaction from Jordan, for which Israel had to apologize on Naveh's behalf.
In 2008 Naveh's name was tied in with the alleged instructions to assassinate commanders in Palestinian terrorist organizations contrary to a court order. This alleged involvement was revealed through the documents leaked to Haaretz
journalist
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...
Uri Blau
Uri Blau ( he, אורי בלאו; born 1977) is an Israeli investigative journalist writing for ''Haaretz'' newspaper and other publications. He is specialized in military affairs, corruption and "follow the money" investigations. Blau was convict ...
by Naveh's former secretary,
Anat Kamm
Anat (, ), Anatu, classically Anath (; uga, 𐎓𐎐𐎚 ''ʿnt''; he, עֲנָת ''ʿĂnāṯ''; ; el, Αναθ, translit=Anath; Egyptian: '' ꜥntjt'') was a goddess associated with warfare and hunting, best known from the Ugaritic texts ...
.
After his military service, Naveh was appointed as CEO of CityPass, the consortium building the
Jerusalem Light Rail
Jerusalem Light Rail ( he, הרכבת הקלה בירושלים, ''HaRakevet HaKala Birushalayim'', ar, قطار القدس الخفيف, ''Qiṭār Al-Quds Al-Khafīf'') is a light rail system in Jerusalem. Currently, the Red Line is the o ...
. In October 2010, Defense Minister Ehud Barak has approved the appointment of Major General Yair Naveh, 53, as IDF Deputy Chief of Staff replacing Maj.-Gen. Benny Gantz. He was recommended for the post by the IDF Chief of Staff, Lieutenant-General Gabi Ashkenazi.
On 1 February 2011, General Naveh was appointed as the stopgap IDF Chief of Staff, and was expected to succeed outgoing Chief of Staff Gen.
Gabi Ashkenazi
Gabriel "Gabi" Ashkenazi (; born 25 February 1954) is an Israeli politician and former military leader. He previously served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs. He was the Chief of General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces from 2007 to 2011. ...
on 14 February 2011. Naveh was appointed by Defense Minister Ehud Barak after Gen. Yoav Galant's appointment was withdrawn by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. Ultimately,
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 ...
was confirmed for the job and Naveh remained Deputy Chief of Staff until January 2013. He retired from the military in 2015.
The following is a list of positions Major General Yair Naveh has held during his service in the IDF:
* 1989: Commander of the Brigade along the border with
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...
.
* 1991: Commander of the Golani Unit.
* 1994: Head of Safety Department of the Ground Forces.
* 1996: Chief Infantry and Paratroops officer.
* 1999: Commander of the Gaza Division.
* 2001: Chief of Staff of Army Headquarters.
* 2003: Awarded rank of Major General and appointed as GOC Homefront Command.
* 2005: Appointed GOC Central Command.
* 2010: Appointed Deputy Chief of Staff of IDF.