Maj. Gen. Herzi Halevi took over Monday because the twenty third commander of the Israel Defense Forces, and vowed to maintain politics out of the IDF.
Halevi replaces outgoing leader Aviv Kohavi, who ended his 4-yr time period because the military’s pinnacle officer at a time of mounting uncertainty for the army and spoke out towards the risks of its politicization in a chain of farewell interviews on the weekend. Taking over, Halevi promised that the IDF below his fee could be expert, ethical and “unfastened from all issues apart from safety.”
The handover started out at a ten a.m. rite on the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem, wherein the primary order of the day promoted Halevi, 54, to the rank of lieutenant general.
Halevi, who maximum these days served as IDF deputy leader of workforce, a pivotal put up at the direction to the pinnacle spot, takes over as Israel faces growing violence withinside the West Bank, an array of demanding situations on its borders with Gaza and Lebanon, and an evolving marketing campaign towards Iran in Syria.
The safety demanding situations come as contributors of Israel’s new proper-non secular authorities are taking goal on the military’s chain of command, with plans to restructure army authority withinside the West Bank.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on the rite stated he could paintings to rein in “outside pressure” at the IDF so Halevi ought to satisfy his role, in an obvious connection with the some distance-proper ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir.
“Between authority and obligation withinside the army, there’s one essential concept: the cohesion of command. For every soldier and officer, there’s one commander, and above all of them is the leader of workforce, the very best command withinside the military, subordinate to the protection minister and difficulty to the authorities,” Gallant stated.
“By distinctive feature of my role and as required with the aid of using the law, I will act in order that the leader of workforce, Herzi Halevi, can satisfy his responsibilities. Meanwhile, I will ensure that outside pressures — political, legal, and others — will prevent at me and now no longer attain the gates of the IDF,” he added.
Speaking on the rite, Kohavi bade farewell to the IDF after over forty years of provider, consisting of 4 as leader. “I say good-bye to the IDF, which I love so an awful lot. I salute you all, and thanks for the privilege of commanding the human beings’s military,” he stated.
“Precisely in nowadays of polarization and discord, the shared army provider of all segments of society reminds us we’re one human beings, with one aim and one not unusualplace future,” Kohavi added.
Halevi, in his speech, referred to the safety threats going through Israel. “Our enemies ought to know: We can do what we are saying we are able to do, and we’re geared up to do an awful lot greater than what we are saying,” he warned.
“We will put together the IDF for battle towards arenas some distance and near; we are able to increase best recruitment to the IDF from all strata of the population, the supply of our strength; we are able to improve the reserve military and hold a united, focused, ethical and expert IDF, unfastened from all issues apart from safety,” Halevi declared. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, used his speech to slam the Iranian regime.
“Iran is accountable for 90% of the troubles withinside the Middle East. This regime threatens to ruin us. We will now no longer watch for a pointy sword to be positioned on our necks. The IDF and the Shin Bet and the Mossad will do something it takes [to prevent this],” Netanyahu stated.
“We will now no longer be dragged into needless wars, however at the decisive day, we are able to fight. We could have to expose a willingness to sacrifice with a view to hold our freedom, our safety, and our very existence,” Netanyahu added.
After receiving his rank, Halevi headed to go to the National Memorial Hall for Israel’s Fallen subsequent to the Mount Herzl army cemetery.
In maintaining with tradition, he then visited the Western Wall withinside the Old City of Jerusalem, the long-lasting remnant of the Second Temple complicated which has been a focus for the Jewish human beings for 2,000 years.
Halevi additionally met with President Isaac Herzog on the President’s Residence in Jerusalem earlier than heading to Tel Aviv for the reliable passing of the baton.
At the IDF’s headquarters in Tel Aviv, a army honor protect greeted Halevi and bid farewell to Kohavi.
Outgoing leader of workforce Kohavi warned Friday approximately the authorities’s plan to restructure army authority withinside the West Bank, as a part of a brand new workplace in the Defense Ministry given to Religious Zionism chair Finance Minister Smotrich.
Halevi met with Smotrich remaining week, in advance of Monday’s reliable handover rite. Kohavi, meanwhile, could now no longer meet Smotrich and stated the IDF could now no longer solution to him or the some distance-proper countrywide safety minister, Ben Gvir.
‘Philosopher general’
A husband and father of 4, in addition to an beginner sprinter, Halevi holds a bachelor’s diploma in philosophy and enterprise management from the Hebrew University and a master’s diploma in countrywide aid control from the National Defense University withinside the United States.
He lives withinside the agreement of Kfar HaOranim, which straddles the West Bank border near the metropolis of Modiin. Despite the metropolis being below the purview of the Binyamin Regional Council, it’s miles surprisingly left-leaning, with near eighty percentage of the votes in Israel’s November election going to events now withinside the opposition.
Halevi, born in Jerusalem, changed into named after his uncle, additionally a paratrooper, who changed into killed on June 7, 1967, as Israeli forces recaptured the Western Wall all through the Six Day War.
Halevi’s father is a descendant of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook. He changed into raised in a non secular family and studied at non secular faculties all through his childhood. He stopped sporting a kippah in some unspecified time in the future all through his army provider, however as soon as stated he’s nonetheless observant.
Halevi is excellent recognised to the media because the “logician general.”
In a 2013 interview with The New York Times, Halevi stated he located his philosophy research some distance greater beneficial than enterprise management withinside the army.
“People used to inform me that enterprise management is for the sensible existence and philosophy is for the spirit,” he stated. “Through the years, I located it’s miles precisely the opposite — I used philosophy an awful lot greater practically.”
The almost decade-vintage interview said that Halevi changed into “taken into consideration a pinnacle candidate to sooner or later lead the army as leader of workforce.”
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