Israel's new army chief Herzi Halevi forced to navigate multiple bosses, far-right whims
Israel's incoming IDF Chief of Staff Hezri Halevi will have to deal with the fallout from the whims of a new government run by Israel’s most right-wing, regressive and ultra-nationalist forces.
Lt. Gen. Herzl Halevi took over as Israel’s army new chief of staff Monday, replacing Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi, who had served in the position since 2019.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Galant placed the insignia on the the incoming IDF chief's shoulders together. But after the festive ceremony, Halevi will have to face a multitude of challenges in the coming months, not just on Israel’s frontiers but also within the country.
Israel has long prided itself on being the Middle East's only true democracy, but the new government has embarked on comprehensive judicial and legal reforms that critics warn will destroy it. The ideological leader of these deeply controversial measures is newly installed Justice Minister Yariv Levin, but the man who made them possible is Netanyahu, whose personal legal troubles they are intended to bury.
Netanyahu’s sixth government has tasked its most radical members with the most explosive issues and given their ministerial positions much expanded powers.
