New Israeli army head must pacify warring generals

The process of finding a successor to the outgoing chief, Lieutenant General Gabi Ashkenazi, was marred by a “battle of the generals,” in which an allegedly forged document aimed at discrediting Galant was circulated. - AP Photo

JERUSALEM: One of the first battles for Major General Benny Gantz, tapped as the next chief of Israel’s armed forces, will be to calm a high command unsettled by months of messy infighting over the post.
Gantz, 51, a former deputy chief of staff, was only named to the position after the man designated for the job was disqualified on February 1 over allegations that he had illegally grabbed land around a luxury villa he built.
The discarded candidate, Major General Yoav Galant, who was nominated for the post last year, told local media he was the victim of a conspiracy by his rivals.
The process of finding a successor to the outgoing chief, Lieutenant General Gabi Ashkenazi, was marred by a “battle of the generals,” in which an allegedly forged document aimed at discrediting Galant was circulated.
At a February 6 cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the political turmoil in Egypt and elsewhere in the Middle East made it more vital than ever that the Israel Defence Forces had a steady hand at the helm.
“The stability of the IDF is always important, but it is much more important now given the deep shocks in our region,” he said.
“In the circumstances that have been created, my duty as prime minister is to make clear decisions in order to lift the cloud of uncertainty from the IDF senior command,” Netanyahu added, in a reference to the succession row.
Israeli newspapers describe Gantz as a decent and straightforward man, well-prepared for the complexities of overseeing the Israeli army, navy and air force.
“He definitely fits the immediate requirement of being able to restore the spirit of the army, which took a bad beating in the past few months,” Maariv daily wrote.
“He is honest, what you see is what you get. From talking to him and others who we interviewed about him I understand that Benny Gantz is someone who spreads an atmosphere of harmony wherever he goes,” said Gila Finkelstein, a member of a committee on senior public appointments which unanimously approved his candidacy on Thursday.
“One mustn’t underrate the quality of spreading harmony,” she told public radio.
“We know that when he goes back to his office in the defence ministry, he will have a hard job restoring a pleasant and harmonious atmosphere and that is very important.”
Born on June 9, 1959 in the southern village of Kfar Achim, Gantz joined the army as a conscript in 1977, completing the tough selection course for the paratroops.
In 1979, he graduated officers’ school, and went on to serve as a paratroop company commander and platoon commander.
In 1989, he became head of Shaldag, the air force’s special commando unit, and in 1994 he returned to the army to command a brigade and later a division in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
He has also served as the head of the army liaison unit dealing with UN forces in Lebanon and the Lebanese army, as commander of the northern Israel region, covering the Lebanon and Syria borders, and as head of ground forces.
In 2007, he became military attache to the United States, returning to Israel and in September 2009 becoming Ashkenazi’s deputy.
Gantz has a BA in history from Tel Aviv University, a masters degree in Political Science from Haifa University and a masters in national resource management from the National Defence University in the United States. He is married and a father of four.