Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
A handover ceremony for the commander of the IDF's Hasmonean Brigade for ultra-Orthodox troops in the northern city of Beit She'an, February 3, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)
The IDF’s Hasmonean Brigade for ultra-Orthodox troops gets a new commander, Col. Shemer Raviv.
A handover ceremony is held in Beit She’an.
Raviv, a former commander of the Paran Regional Brigade on the Egyptian border, is replacing Col. Avinoam Emunah.
“The IDF intends for this process to succeed, and the integration of the Haredi public is genuine, and we are committed to seeing it through. Not a melting pot, but integration while preserving the uniqueness of the Haredi community and its contribution to the people of Israel,” Raviv says at the ceremomy.
Col. Shemer Raviv, the commander of the Paran Regional Brigade, on the Israel-Egypt border, January 12, 2025. (Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel)
Emunah is set to be promoted to brigadier general and enter a new role as an adviser to the IDF chief of staff on ultra-Orthodox affairs. Emunah was the inaugural commander of the Hasmonean Brigade, beginning with the unit’s inception in late 2024.
The handover comes as the IDF prepares to issue a General Staff order formalizing arrangements that will make it easier for ultra-Orthodox troops to serve.
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, February 3, 2026
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
