The Chief of the General Staff, also known as the Commander-in-Chief of the Israel Defense Forces (Hebrew: רֹאשׁ הַמַּטֶּה הַכְּלָלִי, romanized: Rosh hamateh haklali, abbreviated Ramatkal—רמטכ"ל), is the professional head of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The current Chief of the General Staff is Herzi Halevi.
Chief of the General Staff
ראש המטה הכללי
Flag of the Chief of the General Staff
Incumbent Rav Aluf Herzi Halevi since 16 January 2023
At any given time, the Chief of the General Staff is the only active officer holding the IDF's highest rank, rav aluf (רַב־אַלּוּף), which is usually translated into English as lieutenant general, a three-star rank. The only exception to this rule occurred during the Yom Kippur War, when former Chief of the General Staff Haim Bar-Lev, 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.[1] For a brief period, he and Chief of the General Staff David Elazar were both in active service with the rank of rav aluf.
The role of the Chief of the General Staff began with the Haganah 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, were converted to head the IDF.[2]
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, whose term was extended twice, and he served a total of five years.[3] On the other hand, there were several chiefs of staff who did not complete their full term: Yigal Yadin resigned amid disagreements over the IDF budget,[4]Mordechai Maklef served for only one year at his request,[5]David Elazar was forced to resign following the recommendations of the Agranat Commission investigating the Yom Kippur War,[6] and Dan Halutz resigned due to criticism of the Second Lebanon War.[7] Also, two chiefs of staff have given up part of their tenure extension: Amnon Lipkin-Shahak 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 asked not to serve a fourth year due to his disagreements with Shimon Peres.[citation needed]
In 2005, Ariel Sharon and Shaul Mofaz did not extend Moshe Ya'alon's term to a fourth year,[8] 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 appointed Major General Gabi Ashkenazi in 2007 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.[9]
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.[citation needed]
Legal positionEdit
The position of ramatkal is defined in the Basic Law: The Military (1976), clause three:[10]
The Chief of the General Staff is to be placed under the authority of the government and subordinate to the Defense Minister
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.
Six former Chiefs of the General Staff (Dayan, Rabin, Barak, Mofaz, Ya'alon, and Gantz) held the position of Defense Minister, 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.[citation needed] Moshe Dayan served also as Foreign Minister. Soon after his discharge, Dan Halutz became the CEO of a car importer.[14]Ehud Barak took a hiatus from politics twice after defeats for re-election and pursued international business ventures.[citation needed]
^ ab"Lt. Gen. Chaim Bar Lev (1968-1972)". www.idf.il. from the original on 8 June 2022. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
^ ab"Lt. Gen. Yaacov Dori (1948-1949)". Israel Defense Forces. from the original on 8 June 2022. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
^"Cabinet Extends Eitan's Item; Appoints Mandelbaum As the Governor of the Bank of Israel". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 4 January 1982. from the original on 9 October 2023. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
^ ab"Lt. Gen. Yigal Yadin (1949-1952)". Israel Defense Forces. from the original on 8 June 2022. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
^ ab"Lt. Gen. Mordechai Maklef (1952-1953)". Israel Defense Forces. from the original on 24 December 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
^ ab"Lt. Gen. David Elazar (1972-1974)". Israel Defense Forces. from the original on 2 February 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
^Greenberg, Hanan (16 January 2007). "IDF Chief Halutz resigns". Ynetnews. from the original on 18 January 2007. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
^Greenberg, Hanan (15 February 2005). "Mofaz ends Chief of Staff's tenure". Ynetnews. from the original on 2 July 2022. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
^Ginsburg, Mitch (4 March 2012). "Timeline of a high-ranking feud". The Times of Israel. from the original on 6 March 2012. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
^"Basic Law: The Military". Knesset. from the original on 23 April 2003. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
^ ab"Lt. Gen. Yitzhak Rabin (1964-1968)". Israel Defence Forces. from the original on 18 April 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
^ ab"Lt. Gen. Ehud Barak (1991-1995)". Israel Defence Forces. from the original on 13 August 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
^Keinon, Herb (6 August 2020). "The virtues and pitfalls of former IDF chiefs of staff entering politics". The Jerusalem Post. from the original on 7 August 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
^Hazani, Golan (10 October 2007). "Dan Halutz named CEO of Kamor Motors". Ynetnews. from the original on 12 October 2007. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
^ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuv"Past Chiefs of Staff". idf.il. from the original on 27 July 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
^"Lt. Gen. Moshe Dayan (1953-1958)". www.idf.il. from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
^"Lt. Gen. Haim Laskov (1958-1961)". www.idf.il. from the original on 1 March 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
^"Lt. Gen. Tzvi Tzur (1961-1963)". www.idf.il. from the original on 2 February 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
^"Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz Appointed 20th IDF Chief of the General Staff". Israel Defense Forces. 14 February 2011. from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 14 February 2011.
^Ginsburg, Mitch. "Maj. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot to be named 21st commander of IDF". The Times of Israel. from the original on 27 January 2019. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
^"Outgoing IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot - A look back". The Jerusalem Post. 11 January 2019. from the original on 4 February 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
^Fabian, Emanuel (16 January 2023). "Herzi Halevi formally takes over as chief of staff, vows to keep politics out of IDF". The Times of Israel. from the original on 10 June 2023. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
October 22, 2023
chief, general, staff, israel, chief, general, staff, also, known, commander, chief, israel, defense, forces, hebrew, אש, romanized, rosh, hamateh, haklali, abbreviated, ramatkal, רמטכ, professional, head, israel, defense, forces, current, chief, general, staf. The Chief of the General Staff also known as the Commander in Chief of the Israel Defense Forces Hebrew ר אש ה מ ט ה ה כ ל ל י romanized Rosh hamateh haklali abbreviated Ramatkal רמטכ ל is the professional head of the Israel Defense Forces IDF The current Chief of the General Staff is Herzi Halevi Chief of the General Staffראש המטה הכלליFlag of the Chief of the General StaffIncumbentRav Aluf Herzi Halevisince 16 January 2023Ministry of DefenseAbbreviationRamatkalMember ofGeneral StaffReports toMinister of DefenseSeatRabin Camp HaKirya Tel AvivNominatorMinister of DefenseAppointerCabinet of IsraelTerm length3 years renewableFormation1 June 1947 76 years ago 1947 06 01 First holderRav Aluf Yaakov DoriDeputyDeputy chief of the general staffAt any given time the Chief of the General Staff is the only active officer holding the IDF s highest rank rav aluf ר ב א ל ו ף which is usually translated into English as lieutenant general a three star rank The only exception to this rule occurred during the Yom Kippur War when former Chief of the General Staff Haim Bar Lev 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 1 For a brief period he and Chief of the General Staff David Elazar were both in active service with the rank of rav aluf Contents 1 History 2 Legal position 3 Significance 4 List of Chiefs of the General Staff 4 1 Timeline 5 ReferencesHistory EditThe role of the Chief of the General Staff began with the Haganah 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 were converted to head the IDF 2 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 whose term was extended twice and he served a total of five years 3 On the other hand there were several chiefs of staff who did not complete their full term Yigal Yadin resigned amid disagreements over the IDF budget 4 Mordechai Maklef served for only one year at his request 5 David Elazar was forced to resign following the recommendations of the Agranat Commission investigating the Yom Kippur War 6 and Dan Halutz resigned due to criticism of the Second Lebanon War 7 Also two chiefs of staff have given up part of their tenure extension Amnon Lipkin Shahak 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 asked not to serve a fourth year due to his disagreements with Shimon Peres citation needed In 2005 Ariel Sharon and Shaul Mofaz did not extend Moshe Ya alon s term to a fourth year 8 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 appointed Major General Gabi Ashkenazi in 2007 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 9 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 citation needed Legal position EditThe position of ramatkal is defined in the Basic Law The Military 1976 clause three 10 The supreme command rank in the military is that of the Chief of the General Staff The Chief of the General Staff is to be placed under the authority of the government and subordinate to the Defense Minister The Chief of the General Staff is to be appointed by the government according to the recommendation of the Defense MinisterThe 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 EditGiven 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 Yedioth Ahronoth and Israel Hayom 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 citation needed Two Chiefs of the General Staff Yitzhak Rabin and Ehud Barak have become Prime Minister of Israel 11 12 and eleven others Yigael Yadin Moshe Dayan Tzvi Tzur Haim Bar Lev Mordechai Gur Rafael Eitan Amnon Lipkin Shahak Shaul Mofaz Moshe Ya alon Gabi Ashkenazi and Benny Gantz have served in the Knesset 13 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 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 citation needed Moshe Dayan served also as Foreign Minister Soon after his discharge Dan Halutz became the CEO of a car importer 14 Ehud Barak took a hiatus from politics twice after defeats for re election and pursued international business ventures citation needed List of Chiefs of the General Staff EditThe Chiefs of the General Staff have been No Portrait Chief of the General Staff Took office Left office Time in office Ref 1 nbsp Dori Yaakov Yaakov Dori 1899 1973 1 June 19479 November 19492 years 161 days 15 2 2 nbsp Yadin Yigael Yigael Yadin 1917 1984 9 November 19497 December 19523 years 28 days 15 4 3 nbsp Maklef Mordechai Mordechai Maklef 1920 1978 7 December 19526 December 1953364 days 15 5 4 nbsp Dayan Moshe Moshe Dayan 1915 1981 6 December 195329 January 19584 years 54 days 15 16 5 nbsp Laskov Haim Haim Laskov 1919 1982 29 January 19581 January 19612 years 338 days 15 17 6 nbsp Tzur Tzvi Tzvi Tzur 1923 2004 1 January 19611 January 19643 years 0 days 15 18 7 nbsp Rabin Yitzhak Yitzhak Rabin 1922 1995 1 January 19641 January 19684 years 0 days 15 11 8 nbsp Bar Lev Haim Haim Bar Lev 1924 1994 1 January 19681 January 19724 years 0 days 15 1 9 nbsp Elazar David David Elazar 1925 1976 1 January 19723 April 19742 years 92 days 15 6 nbsp Hofi Yitzhak Yitzhak Hofi 1927 2014 Acting3 April 197416 April 197413 days 15 10 nbsp Gur Mordechai Mordechai Gur 1930 1995 16 April 197416 April 19784 years 0 days 15 11 nbsp Eitan Rafael Rafael Eitan 1929 2004 16 April 197819 April 19835 years 3 days 15 12 nbsp Levi Moshe Moshe Levi 1936 2008 19 April 198319 April 19874 years 0 days 15 13 nbsp Shomron Dan Dan Shomron 1937 2008 19 April 19871 April 19913 years 347 days 15 14 nbsp Barak Ehud Ehud Barak born 1942 1 April 19911 January 19953 years 275 days 15 12 15 nbsp Lipkin Shahak Amnon Amnon Lipkin Shahak 1944 2012 1 January 19959 July 19983 years 189 days 15 16 nbsp Mofaz Shaul Shaul Mofaz born 1948 9 July 19989 July 20024 years 0 days 15 17 nbsp Ya alon Moshe Moshe Ya alon born 1950 9 July 20021 June 20052 years 327 days 15 18 nbsp Halutz Dan Dan Halutz born 1948 1 June 200514 February 20071 year 258 days 15 19 nbsp Ashkenazi Gabi Gabi Ashkenazi born 1954 14 February 200714 February 20114 years 0 days 15 20 nbsp Gantz Benny Benny Gantz born 1959 14 February 201116 February 20154 years 2 days 15 19 21 nbsp Eizenkot Gadi Gadi Eizenkot born 1960 16 February 201515 January 20193 years 333 days 15 20 22 nbsp Kohavi Aviv Aviv Kohavi born 1964 15 January 201916 January 20234 years 1 day 21 23 nbsp Halevi Herzi Herzi Halevi born 1967 16 January 2023Incumbent275 days 22 Timeline EditReferences Edit a b Lt Gen Chaim Bar Lev 1968 1972 www idf il Archived from the original on 8 June 2022 Retrieved 1 April 2021 a b Lt Gen Yaacov Dori 1948 1949 Israel Defense Forces Archived from the original on 8 June 2022 Retrieved 1 April 2021 Cabinet Extends Eitan s Item Appoints Mandelbaum As the Governor of the Bank of Israel Jewish Telegraphic Agency 4 January 1982 Archived from the original on 9 October 2023 Retrieved 1 April 2021 a b Lt Gen Yigal Yadin 1949 1952 Israel Defense Forces Archived from the original on 8 June 2022 Retrieved 1 April 2021 a b Lt Gen Mordechai Maklef 1952 1953 Israel Defense Forces Archived from the original on 24 December 2021 Retrieved 1 April 2021 a b Lt Gen David Elazar 1972 1974 Israel Defense Forces Archived from the original on 2 February 2020 Retrieved 1 April 2021 Greenberg Hanan 16 January 2007 IDF Chief Halutz resigns Ynetnews Archived from the original on 18 January 2007 Retrieved 1 April 2021 Greenberg Hanan 15 February 2005 Mofaz ends Chief of Staff s tenure Ynetnews Archived from the original on 2 July 2022 Retrieved 1 April 2021 Ginsburg Mitch 4 March 2012 Timeline of a high ranking feud The Times of Israel Archived from the original on 6 March 2012 Retrieved 17 September 2021 Basic Law The Military Knesset Archived from the original on 23 April 2003 Retrieved 1 April 2021 a b Lt Gen Yitzhak Rabin 1964 1968 Israel Defence Forces Archived from the original on 18 April 2021 Retrieved 1 April 2021 a b Lt Gen Ehud Barak 1991 1995 Israel Defence Forces Archived from the original on 13 August 2020 Retrieved 1 April 2021 Keinon Herb 6 August 2020 The virtues and pitfalls of former IDF chiefs of staff entering politics The Jerusalem Post Archived from the original on 7 August 2020 Retrieved 1 April 2021 Hazani Golan 10 October 2007 Dan Halutz named CEO of Kamor Motors Ynetnews Archived from the original on 12 October 2007 Retrieved 1 April 2021 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Past Chiefs of Staff idf il Archived from the original on 27 July 2020 Retrieved 11 February 2020 Lt Gen Moshe Dayan 1953 1958 www idf il Archived from the original on 8 March 2021 Retrieved 1 April 2021 Lt Gen Haim Laskov 1958 1961 www idf il Archived from the original on 1 March 2021 Retrieved 1 April 2021 Lt Gen Tzvi Tzur 1961 1963 www idf il Archived from the original on 2 February 2021 Retrieved 1 April 2021 Lt Gen Benny Gantz Appointed 20th IDF Chief of the General Staff Israel Defense Forces 14 February 2011 Archived from the original on 17 October 2015 Retrieved 14 February 2011 Ginsburg Mitch Maj Gen Gadi Eizenkot to be named 21st commander of IDF The Times of Israel Archived from the original on 27 January 2019 Retrieved 28 November 2014 Outgoing IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot A look back The Jerusalem Post 11 January 2019 Archived from the original on 4 February 2021 Retrieved 1 April 2021 Fabian Emanuel 16 January 2023 Herzi Halevi formally takes over as chief of staff vows to keep politics out of IDF The Times of Israel Archived from the original on 10 June 2023 Retrieved 8 October 2023 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Chief of the General Staff Israel amp oldid 1180686597, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
