Herzi Halevi, Great-Nephew Of Rabbi Avraham Yitzhak Kook, Takes Over As IDF Chief Of Staff

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Maj. Gen. Herzi Halevi took over Tuesday as the 23rd commander in chief of the Israel Defense Forces, replacing Aviv Kohavi, who completed a four-year tenure as the IDF chief of staff.

During a ceremony which took place at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem, the 54-year-old Halevi, who had been deputy chief of staff, took over office, rising to the rank of rank of lieutenant general.

Halevi takes command as the new government aims to restructure military authority in Judea and Samaria, with the Border Police coming under the jurisdiction of the National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and the Civil Administration being supervised by current finance minister Betzalel Smotrich.

Outgoing chief of staff Kochavi warned in media interviews given on Friday that the government plans to restructure the chain of command could weaken the IDF and place further burdens on reserves if the Border Police would be removed from their positions in Judea and Samaria. Kochavi refused to meet with Smotrich or Ben-Gvir and said that the IDF would not answer to the two ministers but rather to Defense Minister Gallant.

Halevi however has met with Smotrich, who will be responsible for maintaining IDF budgetary requirements.

Halevi, a father of four as well as an amateur sprinter, has a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and business administration from the Hebrew University and a master’s degree in national resource management from the National Defense University in the United States.

He lives in the settlement of Kfar HaOranim, which is close to the city of Modiin. Despite the town being under the purview of the Binyamin Regional Council, it is relatively left-leaning, with close to 80 percent of the votes in Israel’s November election going to parties now in Israel’s opposition.

Halevi, born in Jerusalem, was named after his uncle, also a paratrooper, who was killed on June 7, 1967, as Israeli forces recaptured the Western Wall during the Six Day War. His father was a great-nephew of Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Hakohen Kook, the first chief rabbi of the Israeli rabbinate.

Halevi was raised in a religious household and studied at religious schools during his childhood. He stopped wearing a kippah at some point during his military service, but once said that he is still observant. He is known as a “philosopher general” who once claimed that he used his philosophy training far more in regular life than his business administration background.