President and Chief of Staff decorate military secretary
President and Chief of Staff decorate military secretaryMark Neiman, GPO

In a festive ceremony at Beit HaNasi on Wednesday night, the new Military Secretary to the President, Col. Ala Abu Rokun, was promoted to Brigadier General and began his new role. The ceremony was attended by President Reuven (Ruvi) Rivlin, IDF Chief of Staff Maj Gen. Aviv Kochavi and members of the IDF General Staff forum. Brig. Gen. Ala Abu Rokun replaces Brig. Gen. Boaz Hershkowitz, who has served in the position for the past three years. Additional members of the IDF and security establishment ceremonies were also present along with the families of the incoming and outgoing military secretaries.

Brig. Gen. Abu Rokun’s previous position was IDF Military Attaché in China. Aged 47, he is from Usfiya and began his military service 25 years ago as a soldier and commander in the Paratroopers’ Brigade, and served in the Intelligence Branch for many years. He is married and has four children, and holds a PhD in Middle Eastern Studies from Bar Ilan University.

The Military Secretary to the President is the link between Beit HaNasi and the Israeli security establishment: IDF, ISA, Mossad, Israeli Police and the Prison Service. He is responsible for briefing the president on the security situation and for his security-related meetings at Beit Hanasi and his visits to the various units of the security agencies.

During the event outgoing military secretary Boaz Hershkowitz surprised the president by inviting Sergeant Yossi Shishman, a soldier in the Givati brigade who the president met during his visit to the Beit Assaf pre-military academy which was headed by the late Rona Ramon. Since that meeting, Boaz has mentored Yossi.

Yossi grew up in Lod and at the age of 12 became addicted to drugs. At the age of 16 he was sentence to jail, first at Ofek Prison and then in a rehab village. He came to the pre-military preparatory school without knowing how to read or write and did not leave it until he had completed his personal process of rehabilitation. After much effort, he was able to join the IDF and began his service at the Havat HaShomer base. He finished his basic training with honors, as he did the combat training course.

When the president first met Yossi at the pre-military academy, he spoke fluently and without reading from a prepared text. The president, who was very impressed, asked Yossi how he managed to do it and Yossi answered that was the only way for him speak, since he did not know how to read. Today, Yossi is an NCO in the Givati reconnaissance unit, and will soon be going to officers’ course.

The president was so excited to meet Yossi again and hugged him warmly. He told him that it was clear that he would achieve great things, and that he was extremely proud of him.

Another guest at the ceremony was Holocaust survivor Avigdor Neumann, who was part of a delegation of survivors who traveled with Brig. Gen. Hershkowitz to Poland last year. Boaz heard that Neumann's never celebrated his Bar Mitzvah because of the Holocaust and decided to correct the injustice on Polish soil. While they were there, the delegation organized a late Bar Mitzvah for Avidgor, orchestrated by Boaz.

"I want to talk a little bit about optimism," said Brig. Gen. Boaz Hershkowitz in his farewell speech. "I'm leaving here more optimistic than when I arrived. I have had the opportunity to see the big picture, the good and the bad. Not everything is perfect and we have a lot to do. But in my own personal reckoning I am more optimistic than I came in. When I came here three years ago, I only knew one type of fighter. But here in this place there is a special kind of fighter, who is also a commander in his soul. A man who fights for what brings us together and unites us, who sees the weak, who fights for the character, future and values of the state as a Jewish and democratic, democratic and Jewish state."

Brig. Gen. Ala Abu Rokun thanked the chief of staff and the president for placing their trust in him on his appointment, adding: "In the last few days I spent with my dear friend Boaz, I understood the breadth of influence and the power of influence this role involves. Despite doing my homework, I was surprised to find out how much the president in general, and how much our current president in particular, contributes to building the strength of the IDF and other security organizations. I promise to work hard and creatively to instill the Israeli Hope that you have developed over in recent years among IDF soldiers and commanders and all the security forces."

The president bade farewell to his military secretary for the past three years, Brig. Gen. Hershkowitz, who is retiring from the IDF, saying: "By getting to know you, I know that I have was privileged to have a military secretary who is more than just a brave warrior and commander. You are an Israeli hero, truly the best of us. You are a commander and an educator, a leader whose heart and soul are with the people of Israel and Israeli society. A man who is well acquainted with not only the military aspects of the IDF, but with all its strategic systems. Boaz, you have served your entire life in special units. You commanded three of the most distinctive units we have in the security forces of the State of Israel - 669, Shaldag and the police special anti-terrorism unit."

The president continued, saying, "Alongside the military work you have done with such distinction, you brought commanders here to Beit HaNasi to learn about Israeli society and gave us Israeli hope. You addressed the complex social questions around the IDF as a people's army. You strengthened the belief that, even today, the IDF is not just the army of all of us. The IDF is all of us. Despite your glorious operational past, they say your heart is in education. I believe there is no good commander who is not also a good educator, and I wish you much success."

At the end of his remarks, the president congratulated Abu Rokun on taking up his appointment and wished him great success in the post: "You have served in the best units. You have played significant roles. You have been a commander and an educator. You have represented the IDF and the State of Israel overseas. I know we have someone we can trust."

IDF Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Aviv Kochavi congratulated the incoming military secretary, thanked the outgoing military secretary and said, "this is only the end of your active duty as a career IDF officer. I am sure that you will continue to serve the IDF and the state in many significant ways. I wish you and your family much enjoyment of the new world you are about to discover."

Speaking to the incoming military secretary, the chief of staff said, "From now on, Ala, you are Military Secretary to the President. You know that this is not only the house of the people, it is also the house of the IDF and we feel very much at home here. This is an opportunity for me to thank you, Mr. President, undoubtedly the IDF’s president. "

At the end of his remarks, the chief of staff addressed Yossi, the Givati reconnaissance unit soldier, saying: "Know this, Yossi. I'm the one who awards the ranks at the end of officers’ course, and there will be trouble if I don’t see you there on the parade ground."