Colonel Shai Klapper
Colonel Shai KlapperIDF Spokesman

Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot decided this afternoon (Monday) that Colonel Shai Klapper will be appointed commander of the Golani Brigade and will replace Col. Shlomi Binder.

The appointment requires the approval of Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman.

Klapper, who served as commander of an IDF training center, served in the past as commander of the Samaria Brigade, commander of the Gefen Battalion, and commander of the 51st Battalion.

He was born in Kfar Saba, grew up in Sha'arey Tikva and studied at the Shavei Hevron Yeshiva.

He participated in many operations in Judea, Samaria, and the Gaza Strip and received a citation from the commander of the Ga'ash Formation and was disciplined following an incident in which forces under his command fired live ammunition at Arab and leftist demonstrators near the separation fence near Elkana.

In 2005 he was appointed commander of the Golani reconnaissance unit, a post he retained until the end of the Second Lebanon War.After that, he served as deputy commander of the Golani Brigade.

After the death of his successor, Dolev Kedar, during Operation Tzuk Eitan, he returned temporarily to command the Gefen Battalion.After the operation he was promoted to the rank of colonel and appointed commander of the Samaria Brigade. He lives in Eli Zahav, is married to Efrat, and is father to four.

Yeshiva Shavei Hevron has produced other top officers, such as David Zini and Mordechai Kahana, both of whom are today Brigadier Generals. Golani Brigade once had so many religious officers that it was informally referred to as "Yeshivat Golani".