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Photo: Ariel Hermoni, Defense Ministry
Major-General Gadi Eisenkot will be the next IDF Chief of Staff.
Photo: Ariel Hermoni, Defense Ministry

Ya'alon officially anounces appointment of Eisenkot as next IDF chief of staff

Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon announced Eisenkot's appointment in accordance with Netanyahu on Saturday evening, Major-General Yair Golan to be appointed deputy chief of staff.

Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon officially announced on Saturday evening, in accordance with Prime Minister Netanyahu, that he would recommend the government appoint Major-General Gadi Eisenkot to become the IDF's 21st Chief of Staff.

 

 

Eisenkot, Netanyahu and current Chief of Staff Benny Gantz agreed to appoint Major-General Yair Golan to become deputy chief of staff.

 

Ya'alon (right) and Eisenkot (left) shake hands. (Photo: Ariel Hermoni, Defense Ministry) (Photo: Ariel Hermoni, Defense Ministry)
Ya'alon (right) and Eisenkot (left) shake hands. (Photo: Ariel Hermoni, Defense Ministry)

 

On Thursday, Ya'alon presented Eisenkot with the following text on the screen of his smart phone on a helicopter ride back from a memorial service for first Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion: "We intend to announce that you have been chosen to be the next chief of staff."

 

Eisenkot reacted with a big smile.

 

Ya'alon (left) informs Eisenkot (right) of appointment during a helicopter ride (Photo: Ariel Hermony, Defense Ministry). (Photo: Ariel Hermoni, Defense Ministry)
Ya'alon (left) informs Eisenkot (right) of appointment during a helicopter ride (Photo: Ariel Hermony, Defense Ministry).

 

Netanyahu said of the appointment that "Major-General Eisenkot was chosen from an excelled group of generals to lead the IDF against the complex security challenges that the State of Israel faces. In the name of the citizens of Israel, I wish him good luck."

 

Eisenkot (left) with his predecessor Gantz (right). (Photo: Aviyahu Shapira)
Eisenkot (left) with his predecessor Gantz (right).

 

Ya'alon said, "The choice was between excellent, worthy and experienced candidates. I believe that Major-General Gadi Eisenkot is the right person as this time to lead the IDF in the coming years. I have known Major-General Eisenkot for many years, and he brings professionalism, a high level of command and leadership, and great skill, responsibility and judgment.

 

"Major-General Eisenkot has wide-ranging command and combat experience, and he went through significant stations during the course of his military service, as a fighter and as a commander in the field and key staff positions. Throughout his service, Major-General Eisenkot demonstrated honesty and integrity, moral standards and stood up for his opinions and his principles," Ya'alon added. 

 

President Reuven Rivlin spoke with Eisenkot on Saturday evening, and congratulated him on his appointment.

 

The President said, “It is not by luck that you have been so fittingly selected, but because of your impressive abilities and talents exhibited as a commander and a soldier over many years of service.”

 

The President continued, “We stand faced with a period of intense security challenges, and I am confident that the Israel Defense Forces will, under your command, continue to provide a defensive shield, protecting the State of Israel”. 

 

After a tight race with former deputy chief of staff Major General Yair Naveh, Eisenkot is expected to replace current Chief of Staff Benny Gantz on February 15, 2015.

 

For Naveh, Eizenkot's appointment marked a disappointing loss. Naveh had served as a project manager in the IDF for the past 18 months and is expected to finally retire from his service.  

 

Eisenkot is not one to hesitate to speak his mind, even if it could brand him as an oppositioner. He managed his military career at his own pace, even when he waived the military chief position to Benny Gantz in the last appointment. "He did everything with his own two hands," his friend, Brig.-Gen. (res.) Giora Inbar says of Eizenkot.

 

Eisenkot was born in Tiberias and raised in Eilat. He's married and a father of five, currently residing in Herzliya. He enlisted in the IDF in 1978 and joined the Golani Brigade. During the 1982 Lebanon War he served as a young officer and got to experience the Lebanese quicksand up close when he was commanding troops in operations that got all the way to Beirut.

 

Michal Margalit contributed to this report.

 


פרסום ראשון: 11.29.14, 19:05
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