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Sunday, March 9, 2025
Former head of IDF’s foreign liaison unit named new army spokesman
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleEmanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin has been appointed by IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir as the next IDF spokesman, the military announces.
The appointment was approved by Defense Minister Israel Katz.
Defrin, 53, will be replacing Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, who served as IDF spokesman for the past two years. Hagari is retiring from the military after being passed over for a promotion.
Defrin began his service in the IDF as a tank commander, serving in the 7th Armored Brigade. During the 2006 Second Lebanon War, while he was the commander of the 401st Armored Brigade’s 9th Battalion, he was seriously wounded.
He later commanded the 27th Reserve Armored Brigade, before its closure in 2014, and after that he was the deputy commander of the 36th Division.
In 2016, he was appointed as Israel’s defense attaché to India.
In 2019, he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general and was appointed as the head of the IDF’s international cooperation unit, known as Tevel.
This was his last role in the military, before leaving last year. He will now return to command the IDF Spokespersons Unit.
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