Vetting panel okays Eyal Zamir as next IDF chief
Cabinet still to vote on appointment; Zamir, former director of Defense Ministry, will take over for Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, who is resigning over Oct. 7 failures
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
A vetting committee approved the candidacy of Maj. Gen. (res.) Eyal Zamir for the position of chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces on Wednesday, paving the way for him to step into the role next month.
The cabinet still needs to hold a vote to approve Zamir — who until recently was the director general of the Defense Ministry — as the 24th commander of the IDF.
The Senior Appointments Advisory Committee, led by former Supreme Court president Asher Grunis, convened on Wednesday and approved Zamir to take over for outgoing Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, who announced his resignation over the military’s failure to prevent Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught.
Zamir is to take up the post on March 5, following the resignation of Halevi.
Defense Minister Israel Katz, who spoke before the panel, said in a statement that he would bring the appointment to the next government meeting for approval.
“I welcome the decision and am sure that the intended chief of staff Eyal Zamir will lead an offensive policy, navigate the IDF wisely and responsibly with the many security challenges facing the State of Israel at present, and work to implement the lessons from the events of October 7 to strengthen the IDF,” Katz said.
Zamir was tapped by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Katz earlier this month. It was not immediately known who would become Zamir’s deputy.
Halevi announced his departure last month after only two years in the role rather than the traditional four. He had long been expected to step down once the war in Gaza began winding down over the military failures that enabled the disaster of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack to occur.
Zamir, once he enters the role, will be responsible for appointing numerous commanders, both because appointments of senior officers have been on hold, and because several top generals are expected to resign over October 7, following in Halevi’s footsteps.
Zamir, 59, was considered twice to lead the IDF previously, in 2018 and 2022. Ultimately, however, Lt. Gen. (res.) Aviv Kohavi and Halevi were selected instead, respectively.
Born in Israel’s southernmost city of Eilat, Zamir will be the first military chief in Israel’s history to have started his service in the Armored Corps.
Zamir joined the military in 1984. After completing the tank officer’s training course, he rose through the ranks and went on to command the 7th Armored Brigade in 2003 and the 36th Armored Division in 2009.
Between 2012 and 2015, Zamir was Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s military secretary.
After leaving the premier’s service, he was appointed commander of the IDF Southern Command, overseeing the military response to violent protests organized by the Hamas terror group along the Gaza border.
Between 2018 and 2021, he served as deputy chief of staff, his final role in the army at the time, before heading to the United States to become a visiting research fellow at the Washington Institute think tank.
In 2023, he was appointed director general of the Defense Ministry, where he served until last week. Itamar Graf, the Defense Ministry deputy director and head of its planning division, was appointed by Katz as acting director-general.
