IDF chief appoints new spokesperson in Tel Aviv ceremony

IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot appoints a new army spokesperson, Brig. Gen. Ronen Manelis, at a ceremony in military headquarters in Tel Aviv.

Manelis, who was promoted from the rank of colonel, will replace Maj. Gen. Moti Almoz, who has served as the army’s spokesperson since 2013.

Almoz will now function solely as the head of the army’s Manpower Directorate.

During the ceremony, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman stresses the importance of the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit.

“In the past, decisive victory was always on the battlefield; now it is also in the media,” he says.

Eisenkot also notes the importance of “the public’s trust in the IDF” as a “central element in the army’s ability to stand up to challenges.”

Manelis, who previously served as Eisenkot’s chief of staff, says he “will do everything in [his] power” to meet the challenges of the position.

— Judah Ari Gross