Today (Tuesday), Lt. Gen. Aviv Kohavi was appointed the 22nd Chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces.

Earlier today he was awarded the rank of Lieutenant General in a ceremony led by Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, Binyamin Netanyahu.

The main ceremony that included an honor guard for the 21st and 22nd Chiefs of the General Staff, was held at Camp Rabin (the Kirya). In attendance were Prime Minister and Defense Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, ministers, Knesset Members, the General Staff forum, family members, and others.

Lt. Gen. Aviv Kohavi, who served previously as Deputy Chief of the General Staff, will succeed Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot as Chief of the General Staff. Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot served in this capacity for four years and is completing 40 years of service in the IDF.

Curriculum Vitae-Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot

Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot was born on May 16th, 1960 in Tiberias.

He joined the Golani Brigade in 1978 and served in several command and combat roles from Squad Commander, Platoon Commander and Company Commander through serving as an Operations Officer, Golani Anti-Tank Company Commander, Commander of the 13th Battalion and Deputy Commander of the Brigade.

1986-1987- Operations Officer of the Golani Brigade.

1989- Awarded the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

1992-1993- Commander of an Infantry Reserve Brigade.

1993- Awarded the rank of Colonel.

1994-1997- Commander of the Efraim Regional Brigade.

1997-1998- Commander of the Golani Brigade.

1999- Awarded the rank of Brigadier General.

1999-2001- Military secretary of the Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Minister of Defense Ehud Barak during the withdrawal of the IDF from Lebanon and the beginning of the Second Intifada.

2001-2003- Commander of "Amud HaEsh" formation. Prepared the formation for the challenges of the IDF after its withdrawal from Lebanon. Led the investigation into the intelligence work during Operation "Defensive Shield" which led to improvements to the cooperation between the IDF and the ISA.

2003-2005- Commander of Judea and Samaria Division during the height of the effort to combat suicide bombers in Judea and Samaria and brought about a change in the operational employment concept and a reduction in harm to civilians.

2005- Awarded the rank of Major General.

2005-2006- Head of the Operations Directorate during the Second Lebanon War.

2066-2011- Commander of the Northern Command for five years during which he improved the preparedness of the command for the challenges that followed the Second Lebanon War, the readiness of the regular and reserve units and the routine activities of the IDF.

2011-2012- Project manager for General Staff affairs. Led several staff projects such as the creation of the IDF Depth Corps and management of General Staff exercises. Simultaneously studied for his M.A.

2013-2014- Deputy Chief of the General Staff.

2015-2019- the 21st Chief of the General Staff.

Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot holds five honors; the Operational Service Badge, the "Peace for the Galilee" War Ribbon, the Second Lebanon War Ribbon, the Operation "Protective Edge" Ribbon and the USA Legion of Merit.

Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot holds a Bachelor's Degree in General History from Tel Aviv University, a Master's Degree in Political Science from Haifa University and a Graduate diploma from the United States Army War College (Pennsylvania). Additionally, he is a graduate of the Command and Staff College.

Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot lives in Herzeliya, is married to Hannah and is the father of five children; G', Yael, Rotem, Rosie and Guy.


Curriculum Vitae- Lt. Gen. Aviv Kohavi

Lt. Gen. Aviv Kohavi was born on April 23rd, 1964, in Kiryat Bialik.

In 1982, he joined the Paratroopers Brigade and served in several command and combat roles from Squad Commander, Platoon Commander and Company Commander through serving as a Battalion Operations Officer, Paratroopers Anti-Tank Company Commander, Brigade Operations Officer, Commander of the 101st Battalion, Commander of the Brigade Training Base, Deputy Commander of the Brigade and Commander of the Brigade.

1987-1988- Company Commander in the 890th Battalion of the Paratroopers Brigade.

1988-1989- Commander of the "Orev" Company of the Paratroopers Brigade.

1993- Awarded the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

1993- Operations Officer of the Paratroopers Brigade.

1993-1994- Commander of the 101st Battalion of the Paratroopers Brigade.

1994-1996- Commander of the Paratroopers Brigade Training Base.

1998- Awarded the rank of Colonel.

1998-1999- Commander of the Eastern Division in the Lebanon Liaison Unit.

1999-2001- Commander of the 5551st Brigade.

2001-2003- Commander of the Paratroopers Brigade. Led the Brigade during Operation "Defensive Shield", during the seizure of Balata refugee camp in Nablus in February 2002, as well as during other operations across Judea and Samaria against the Palestinian terror infrastructure including the seizure of Bethlehem and the siege on the Church of the Nativity.

2003- Awarded the rank of Brigadier General.

2003-2004- Commander of the 98th Division.

2004-2006- Commander of the Gaza Division. Commanded the division during the disengagement from Gaza and led several operation against the Palestinian terror infrastructure in the Gaza Strip, including Operation "Tsa'ad Mizrahi", with the purpose of ceasing the launching of rockets and firing of mortars on Israeli communities and Operation "Summer Rains" which included the first time IDF troops entered Gaza since the completion of the disengagement a year earlier.

2007-2010- Head of the Operations Division during Operation "Cast Lead" and was amongst its planners. During this time he led a fundamental shift in the IDF's concept of border defense, air defense and Home Front Command.

2010- Awarded the rank of Major General.

2010-2014- Head of the Military Intelligence Directorate. Led the directorate during Operation "Pillar of Defense", Operation "Full Disclosure" and Operation "Protective Edge". The Directorate, under his leadership, developed improved methods of intelligence gathering and research, while strengthening the Military Intelligence Directorate's offensive cyber-warfare unit. Additionally, in 2012, he expanded the Special Operations Array from a Platoon to a Brigade.

2014-2017- Commander of the Northern Command. Worked extensively on developing the defensive elements including the defensive barrier on the Syrian and Lebanese borders, the corridors and the intelligence gathering. Built a Fire Control Center which enabled the expansion of attacks on hostile targets. Initiated Operation "Good Neighbor" on the Syrian border- the Israeli humanitarian response to the civil war.

2017-2018- Deputy Chief of the General Staff. Worked extensively to realize multi-year plan "Gideon" and supervised General Staff projects.

Lt. Gen. Aviv Kohavi holds three honors; the Operational Service Badge, the Second Lebanon War Ribbon and the Operation "Protective Edge" Ribbon.

Lt. Gen. Aviv Kohavi, Graduate of Command and Staff Course, holds a Bachelor's Degree in Philosophy from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, a Master's Degree in International Relations from Harvard University and an additional Master's Degree in Public Administration from John Hopkins University.

Lt. Gen. Aviv Kohavi is married to Yael and a father of three daughters; Maya, Noam and Amit.