The Race is On: Who will be the Next IDF Chief?
The race for the IDF Chief of Staff's position seems to be progressing "by the book": The Minister of Defense has already interviewed the four candidates, and the Prime Minister will interview them very soon. But contrary to prevailing impressions, the race is not really wide open. Amir Rapaport’s weekly column
Amir Rapaport
| 17/08/2018
Israel's Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman with IDF Chief Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot (Photo: AP)
The affair involving Maj. Gen. Yair Golan and the support he received from the Minister of Defense (plus the public announcement of support on behalf of the IDF Spokesperson) will not really affect the race for the position of the next IDF Chief of Staff. Golan's chances of succeeding Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot were slim to begin with, even before the alleged "objection" to his appointment by a group of bereaved parents of fallen IDF soldiers.
The storm around the affair was disproportionate (as is the nature of headlines during the hot and dull days of August, especially after the level of violence opposite the Gaza Strip had dropped dramatically. After all, the story involving Maj. Gen. Golan is personal and more interesting than the negotiations for a settlement with Hamas through Egyptian mediation – a process no one volunteers to admit is taking place).
On the face of it, the "bereaved parents" object to Golan's candidacy owing to things he said on Holocaust Remembrance Day last year. Allegedly, Golan compared present-day Israel to Nazi Germany. In fact, those "bereaved parents" do not represent the position of actual bereaved families, as the Chairman of the Yad Labanim Organization, Eli Ben-Shem, hastened to clarify.
"By the Book"
All that remains is to view the race for the Chief of Staff's position objectively: apparently, it is progressing "by the book." The Minister of Defense has already interviewed the four candidates and the Prime Minister will interview them very soon. The media received information regarding the interviews in advance, based on the assumption that the information will leak anyway and there is no point trying to conceal it. However, contrary to impressions the public may form based on the reports regarding the process of selecting the next IDF Chief of Staff – the race is not really wide open.
As stated above, Maj. Gen. Golan's chances of becoming Chief of Staff were slim to begin with, and remained slim. Golan served in all of the positions required "by the book," including Commander of IDF Northern Command and Deputy Chief of Staff, but he is not the 'typecast' Minister of Defense Lieberman or Prime Minister Netanyahu prefer. The former commander of Sayeret Matkal and commander of IDF Central Command, Maj. Gen. Nitzan Alon, is not a leading candidate either. The person regarded as the natural candidate for the position of the next IDF Chief of Staff is Maj. Gen. Aviv Kochavi. His resume – from his term as commander of the IDF Paratrooper Brigade to his current position as Deputy Chief of Staff, through the positions of commander of the IDF Gaza Sector Division, Head of the IDF Intelligence Directorate and commander of IDF Northern Command – appears to have been written specifically for the interview cycle. It is simply perfect.
However, the "black horse" in this race may turn out to be the fourth candidate – the Armored Corps officer whose resume is less illustrious than those of the other candidates. Maj. Gen. Eyal Zamir served "only" in the position of commander of IDF Southern Command. His advantage – he is very popular with Lieberman and Netanyahu, especially as he had served as Military Secretary to the Prime Minister.
There is another option – at least theoretically: the decision-making regarding the appointment may run into trouble or delays, like many other important appointments in recent years. Unless the government makes a prompt decision regarding the appointment of the next Chief of Staff, the possible scheduling the general elections to early 2019 might reshuffle the cards. In this case, the Government will ask Chief of Staff Eizenkot to extend his term and the selection process will restart under the new government.
Important Exercise
Not everything is personal: a few days ago, under the scorching August sun, the IDF has concluded a major training exercise. This time, the exercise did not focus on the higher command echelons, but rather on the tactical warfighting on the ground, which is changing dramatically. During the exercise, the IDF tested the new Fire Weaver system for the first time. The entire project appears to originate from the world of computer games. It will enable warfighters at sea, in the air or on the ground to designate 'pop-up' type targets on their touchscreens, and the strike that will follow promptly could come from anywhere. The warfighters who had the honor of testing the Fire Weaver system for the first time were the troopers of the Golani Infantry Brigade.
Very few of those Golani troopers were aware of this fact, but the definition of the process they participated in is "a target bid." Regardless of the element identifying the target on the ground and positioning the crosshairs on it – any IDF element in the area (or even an element located remotely from the battlefield) may launch precision-guided munitions at the designated target within seconds. Destruction is almost certain. Incidentally, Brig. Gen. (res.) Gal Hirsch was responsible for presenting the initial concept that led to the development of the Fire Weaver system to Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. The public "lynching" Hirsch experienced is currently being unveiled with every day that passes since the launching of the investigation that prevented Hirsch's appointment as Israel Police Commissioner.
Back to the changing warfighting: the factor that revolutionizes the face of the battlefield is the dramatic improvement in the ability of computer and communication systems to receive massive amounts of data in near real time, to process the data and convert them into an icon on the display screen. A few years ago, warfighters could only dream about such capabilities.
That is not all: in recent exercises conducted on the Golan Heights, the IDF also tested unmanned ground systems serving as an "advance guard" of sorts and operating ahead of the combat elements on the ground. The next technological challenge is allowing such autonomous platforms to operate as a group alongside flesh-and-blood warfighters, who are still indispensable.
Winter & Finland
Back to personal matters: the recent appointment of Brig. Gen. Ofer Winter to the position of Military Secretary to the Minister of Defense is fascinating. The former Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. (res.) Benny Gantz, had actually put Winter, one of the top warfighters who rose from the ranks of the national-religious public, "on ice." Gantz did not like the way Winter had conducted the operations of the IDF Givati Brigade he commanded during Operation Protective Edge. Throughout his career, Winter acquired the image of a "galloping horse" – an active officer who needs no spurring to initiate moves on the ground, who does not always wait for a direct order from a superior echelon in order to take action. Every military needs at least a few such "galloping horses."
However, the current IDF Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot, was not too keen on Winter either, and kept him excluded from the mainstream of the IDF high command. Now, Winter returns to the thick of things, albeit not in a command position. Winter will replace Brig. Gen. Yair Coles, who will retire from IDF service. In a few months, Coles will be appointed as Head of SIBAT, IMOD's Defense Export & Defense Cooperation Division that promotes the Israeli defense industries worldwide (the more sales they generate, the more money Israel will have to develop new technologies for the IDF). The current head of SIBAT, Brig. Gen. (res.) Michel Ben-Baruch, will head IMOD's procurement delegation in the USA.
Ben-Baruch's term as head of SIBAT was a period of good news, with Israeli defense exports reaching a record of more than $9 billion per year. Good news is still coming in, this time from Finland. The northern European country and Russia's neighbor decided to acquire IAI's Gabriel-5 missile system for their navy. The value of this transaction will be more than $200 million. Finland is the first country, worldwide, buying this new Israeli development for the naval battlefield. The Gabriel-4 system and previous generations of the sea-to-sea missile system were very successful worldwide. Many other countries may follow Finland's example in the coming years.
The race for the IDF Chief of Staff's position seems to be progressing "by the book": The Minister of Defense has already interviewed the four candidates, and the Prime Minister will interview them very soon. But contrary to prevailing impressions, the race is not really wide open. Amir Rapaport’s weekly column
Israel's Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman with IDF Chief Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot (Photo: AP)
The affair involving Maj. Gen. Yair Golan and the support he received from the Minister of Defense (plus the public announcement of support on behalf of the IDF Spokesperson) will not really affect the race for the position of the next IDF Chief of Staff. Golan's chances of succeeding Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot were slim to begin with, even before the alleged "objection" to his appointment by a group of bereaved parents of fallen IDF soldiers.
The storm around the affair was disproportionate (as is the nature of headlines during the hot and dull days of August, especially after the level of violence opposite the Gaza Strip had dropped dramatically. After all, the story involving Maj. Gen. Golan is personal and more interesting than the negotiations for a settlement with Hamas through Egyptian mediation – a process no one volunteers to admit is taking place).
On the face of it, the "bereaved parents" object to Golan's candidacy owing to things he said on Holocaust Remembrance Day last year. Allegedly, Golan compared present-day Israel to Nazi Germany. In fact, those "bereaved parents" do not represent the position of actual bereaved families, as the Chairman of the Yad Labanim Organization, Eli Ben-Shem, hastened to clarify.
"By the Book"
All that remains is to view the race for the Chief of Staff's position objectively: apparently, it is progressing "by the book." The Minister of Defense has already interviewed the four candidates and the Prime Minister will interview them very soon. The media received information regarding the interviews in advance, based on the assumption that the information will leak anyway and there is no point trying to conceal it. However, contrary to impressions the public may form based on the reports regarding the process of selecting the next IDF Chief of Staff – the race is not really wide open.
As stated above, Maj. Gen. Golan's chances of becoming Chief of Staff were slim to begin with, and remained slim. Golan served in all of the positions required "by the book," including Commander of IDF Northern Command and Deputy Chief of Staff, but he is not the 'typecast' Minister of Defense Lieberman or Prime Minister Netanyahu prefer. The former commander of Sayeret Matkal and commander of IDF Central Command, Maj. Gen. Nitzan Alon, is not a leading candidate either. The person regarded as the natural candidate for the position of the next IDF Chief of Staff is Maj. Gen. Aviv Kochavi. His resume – from his term as commander of the IDF Paratrooper Brigade to his current position as Deputy Chief of Staff, through the positions of commander of the IDF Gaza Sector Division, Head of the IDF Intelligence Directorate and commander of IDF Northern Command – appears to have been written specifically for the interview cycle. It is simply perfect.
However, the "black horse" in this race may turn out to be the fourth candidate – the Armored Corps officer whose resume is less illustrious than those of the other candidates. Maj. Gen. Eyal Zamir served "only" in the position of commander of IDF Southern Command. His advantage – he is very popular with Lieberman and Netanyahu, especially as he had served as Military Secretary to the Prime Minister.
There is another option – at least theoretically: the decision-making regarding the appointment may run into trouble or delays, like many other important appointments in recent years. Unless the government makes a prompt decision regarding the appointment of the next Chief of Staff, the possible scheduling the general elections to early 2019 might reshuffle the cards. In this case, the Government will ask Chief of Staff Eizenkot to extend his term and the selection process will restart under the new government.
Important Exercise
Not everything is personal: a few days ago, under the scorching August sun, the IDF has concluded a major training exercise. This time, the exercise did not focus on the higher command echelons, but rather on the tactical warfighting on the ground, which is changing dramatically. During the exercise, the IDF tested the new Fire Weaver system for the first time. The entire project appears to originate from the world of computer games. It will enable warfighters at sea, in the air or on the ground to designate 'pop-up' type targets on their touchscreens, and the strike that will follow promptly could come from anywhere. The warfighters who had the honor of testing the Fire Weaver system for the first time were the troopers of the Golani Infantry Brigade.
Very few of those Golani troopers were aware of this fact, but the definition of the process they participated in is "a target bid." Regardless of the element identifying the target on the ground and positioning the crosshairs on it – any IDF element in the area (or even an element located remotely from the battlefield) may launch precision-guided munitions at the designated target within seconds. Destruction is almost certain. Incidentally, Brig. Gen. (res.) Gal Hirsch was responsible for presenting the initial concept that led to the development of the Fire Weaver system to Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. The public "lynching" Hirsch experienced is currently being unveiled with every day that passes since the launching of the investigation that prevented Hirsch's appointment as Israel Police Commissioner.
Back to the changing warfighting: the factor that revolutionizes the face of the battlefield is the dramatic improvement in the ability of computer and communication systems to receive massive amounts of data in near real time, to process the data and convert them into an icon on the display screen. A few years ago, warfighters could only dream about such capabilities.
That is not all: in recent exercises conducted on the Golan Heights, the IDF also tested unmanned ground systems serving as an "advance guard" of sorts and operating ahead of the combat elements on the ground. The next technological challenge is allowing such autonomous platforms to operate as a group alongside flesh-and-blood warfighters, who are still indispensable.
Winter & Finland
Back to personal matters: the recent appointment of Brig. Gen. Ofer Winter to the position of Military Secretary to the Minister of Defense is fascinating. The former Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. (res.) Benny Gantz, had actually put Winter, one of the top warfighters who rose from the ranks of the national-religious public, "on ice." Gantz did not like the way Winter had conducted the operations of the IDF Givati Brigade he commanded during Operation Protective Edge. Throughout his career, Winter acquired the image of a "galloping horse" – an active officer who needs no spurring to initiate moves on the ground, who does not always wait for a direct order from a superior echelon in order to take action. Every military needs at least a few such "galloping horses."
However, the current IDF Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot, was not too keen on Winter either, and kept him excluded from the mainstream of the IDF high command. Now, Winter returns to the thick of things, albeit not in a command position. Winter will replace Brig. Gen. Yair Coles, who will retire from IDF service. In a few months, Coles will be appointed as Head of SIBAT, IMOD's Defense Export & Defense Cooperation Division that promotes the Israeli defense industries worldwide (the more sales they generate, the more money Israel will have to develop new technologies for the IDF). The current head of SIBAT, Brig. Gen. (res.) Michel Ben-Baruch, will head IMOD's procurement delegation in the USA.
Ben-Baruch's term as head of SIBAT was a period of good news, with Israeli defense exports reaching a record of more than $9 billion per year. Good news is still coming in, this time from Finland. The northern European country and Russia's neighbor decided to acquire IAI's Gabriel-5 missile system for their navy. The value of this transaction will be more than $200 million. Finland is the first country, worldwide, buying this new Israeli development for the naval battlefield. The Gabriel-4 system and previous generations of the sea-to-sea missile system were very successful worldwide. Many other countries may follow Finland's example in the coming years.
