IDF’s Arabic-language spokesperson to retire after 20 years

By Emanuel Fabian

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11 November 2025, 1:50 pm

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

Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF's Arabic-language spokesman, during a Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee meeting at the Knesset, March 2, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Col. Avichay Adraee, who has been the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesperson for the past 20 years, is set to soon retire from the military.

Adraee became a familiar face during the ongoing war, especially over the military’s use of his social media pages to issue evacuation warnings ahead of strikes in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, Yemen, and Iran.

With millions of followers across his social media accounts and hundreds of interviews on Arabic-language media channels, Adraee became the IDF’s face in the Arab world.

Adraee began his service in the Military Intelligence Directorate’s Unit 8200. In 2005, toward the end of his mandatory service, he was offered the chance to head the Arabic media department in the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, a position he has held since.

Adraee received numerous threats to his life over the years. Last year, a Palestinian terrorist who carried out a deadly car-ramming spree in the central city of Ra’anana initially sought to target Adraee, according to police.

IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin is set to select a new Arabic-language spokesperson soon.