CENTOM commander visits Israel, meets Holocaust survivor

By Emanuel Fabian

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14 April 2026, 7:14 pm

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Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir (left) and CENTCOM chief Adm. Brad Cooper (right) meet with Holocaust survivor Bella Haim, April 14, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)

Commander of US Central Command, Adm. Brad Cooper, is again in Israel for meetings with the Israeli military’s top brass.

Cooper and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir today held a meeting with Holocaust survivor Bella Haim for Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Haim, the grandmother of hostage Yotam Haim — who was mistakenly killed by Israeli troops in the Gaza Strip — was born in the Polish town of Stoczek and survived the Holocaust by fleeing with her family to Russia.

The IDF says the two military chiefs heard Haim’s “testimony and personal story.”

Cooper and Zamir are also expected to discuss the campaign in Iran and plans for if the war resumes.