Colonel Nimrod Aloni, who served as commander of the Maglan special forces unit and the paratroopers' patrol regiment, becomes the Paratroopers Brigade commander. Aloni received the Head of Regional Command Citation for his performance as commander of the Paratroopers Commando Unit during Operation Defensive Shield in 2002.
Finkelman is an unusual appointment. All Givati commanders in the past decade have been fighters who advanced within the brigade. This time, someone has been appointed from outside.
Moreover, none of the Givati candidates has been promoted.
Another paratrooper has been appointed commander of the Kfir infantry brigade: Colonel Guy Hazut, who previously headed the 202nd Paratrooper Battalion and the Hebron Brigade.
Colonel Yaniv Alaluf, another paratrooper who led the 202nd Paratrooper Battalion and the Bethlehem Brigade, has been named commander of the Bahad 1 school for officers.
Colonel Amit Fisher, a highly esteemed Golani Brigade officer who commanded the 12th Battalion, has been put in charge of the squad commanders' school.
Colonel Amos Hacohen has been tapped to lead the Nahal infantry brigade. Like Finkleman, Hacohen was highly praised for his performance during Operation Protective Edge as commander of the Gaza South Brigade.
Apart from the paratrooper promotions, there seems to be another trend. It may be coincidental, but while at the moment there are three religious brigade commanders – Eliezer Toledano of the Paratroopers, Ofer Winter in Givati and Mordechai Kahane in the squad commanders' school – in the next round we will see no brigade commanders with a skullcap on his head.
Kahane, the nephew of Rabbi Meir Kahane, has been promoted to the rank of brigadier-general and appointed chief combat intelligence collection officer.
Additional appointments include Colonel Moshe Schneid, who will be promoted to the rank of brigadier-general, as chief intelligence officer. Colonel Rafi Milo, who served as commander of the Shayetet 13 naval forces unit and whose promotion was delayed after he lost a laptop containing classified documents, will be promoted to the rank of brigadier-general and appointed commander of the Edom Division on the Israel-Egypt border.
Colonel Dan Neuman will be commander of the 7th Armored Brigade, and Colonel Nir Ben-David has been tapped as commander of the 188th Armored Brigade.