Aviv Kochavi

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Aviv Kochavi
Avivcoch.jpeg
Born (1964-04-23) April 23, 1964 (age 57)
Kiryat Bialik, Israel
AllegianceIsrael
Service/branchIsrael Defense Forces
Years of service1982–present
RankIDF rav aluf rotated.svg Rav Aluf (Lieutenant general; highest rank)
Commands held
Battles/wars

Rav-Aluf (Lieutenant General) Aviv Kochavi (Hebrew: אביב כוכבי‎; born 1964) is the Chief of General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, having taken the oath of office on January 15, 2019. He was the commander of the Gaza Division, commander of the Northern Command, commander of the Paratroopers Brigade and Military Intelligence Director.

Early life and education[]

Kochavi was one of three children born to Shaul and Riva Kochavi.[1] His father was a shop owner and his mother was a physical education teacher.[1] His maternal grandfather and some of his brothers immigrated to Israel from Russia before World War II. His paternal grandfather's family lived in Krakow, Poland. His grandfather, Romek-Abraham, immigrated to Israel in the 1920s, and was one of the pioneers of Highway 75 and one of the founders of Kiryat Haim.[2]

He grew up in Kiryat Bialik in the Haifa District, and was a member of the HaMahanot HaOlim Labour Zionist youth movement. He studied at the Habonim school and ORT Kiryat Bialik school.

Kochavi has a bachelor's degree in philosophy from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, a master's degree in public administration from Harvard University and a master's degree in international relations from Johns Hopkins University.[3]

Military career[]

Kochavi was drafted into the IDF in 1982. He volunteered as a paratrooper in the Paratroopers Brigade and was placed in the 890th Battalion.[4] He served as a soldier and a squad leader. In 1985 he became an infantry officer after completing Officer Candidate School and returned to the Paratroopers Brigade as a platoon leader. During his career Kochavi led the Brigade's Anti-tank company.[5]

Between 1993 and 1994, he led the 101st "Peten" (Elapidae) paratroop battalion in counter-guerrilla operations in South Lebanon. Afterwards he commanded a Regional Brigade in South Lebanon and a reserve Paratrooper Brigade.[6] Later he commanded the training base of the brigade, was deputy commander of the brigade and commander of the reservist paratrooper 551 brigade.[7]

Commander of the Paratroopers Brigade[]

Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi with Supreme Allied Commander Europe Gen. Tod D. Wolters.

In 2001, he was appointed commander of the Paratroopers Brigade, a position he held until 2003. Together with a group of other commanders from the field units, including Moshe Tamir, Yair Golan, Gal Hirsch and , he was one of the pushers to act against the sources of Palestinian terror during the Second Intifada in the kasbahs and refugee camps, despite being crowded and complicated urban areas, and despite the hesitations of the IDF senior command. He successfully led the brigade in a takeover of the Balata refugee camp in Nablus in February 2002.[8][9]

He then led the brigade in Operation Defensive Shield,[10] and in other operations throughout the West Bank against Palestinian terrorist infrastructure, among them, the conquest of Bethlehem and the imposition of a siege on the Church of the Nativity, in which fifty armed wanted men fortified themselves, held about 200 hostages and waged gun battles against the IDF.[11]

In 2002 during the Second Intifada while on the battlefield, Kochavi developed the use of a 5 kg hammer to break down walls and cross through homes in refugee camps to prevent his soldiers from being shot by snipers. This tactic has been copied by other armies, including the United States military.[12]

Brigadier general roles[]

In 2003, he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general and appointed commander of the 98th Paratroopers Division, and served until November 2004. On November 30, 2004, he was appointed commander of the Gaza Division,[13] and led the division in operations against Qassam rocket launches and Palestinian terrorist infrastructure in the Gaza Strip,[8] including Operation Summer Rains.[14] During his service as division commander, two significant events occurred: the disengagement plan in September 2005 and the abduction of Gilad Shalit in June 2006.[11]

In 2007, he was appointed head of the Operations Division of the IDF's Operations Directorate, a position he held until January 2010, during which time he participated in the planning of Operation Cast Lead. After that, he served as a project manager in the Planning Directorate.

Major general roles[]

From right to left: Chief of Staff Benny Gantz, Commander of the Southern Command Tal Russo, and Chief of the Israeli Military Intelligence Directorate Aviv Kochavi

He received the role of the chief of the Israeli Military Intelligence Directorate in November 22, 2010.[15][16][17] During his tenure, he took part in the planning of Operation Pillar of Defense, Operation Full Disclosure, Operation Brother's Keeper and Operation Protective Edge.

In November 2014 he was appointed as the commander of the Northern Command.[7] During his tenure, the barrier against Hezbollah on the border with Lebanon was built, at the same time the command forces conducted activities to thwart terrorist infrastructure from Syrian territory, along with promoting a good neighborhood project called Operation Good Neighbor on the Syrian border.

On May 11, 2017 he was appointed as Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces.[7] He served in this position until December 13, 2018.

Chief of the General Staff[]

On October 26, 2018, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman recommended his appointment as the 22nd IDF Chief of Staff, with the consent of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. On November 25, the government approved his appointment. On January 15, 2019, he was promoted to the rank of Major General and began his service as Chief of Staff.[18]

In November 2019 Kochavi commanded the IDF in Operation Black Belt, when it fought against the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), following the targeted killing of senior PIJ commander Baha Abu al-Ata in Gaza.[19] He also led Israel's military during Operation Guardian of the Walls in May 2021.[20]

Later in May, Defense Minister Benny Gantz announced that he will request from the government to approve extending his tenure as IDF Chief of Staff by an additional year.[21] In July, the government approved the extension of term.[22]

Personal life[]

Kochavi is vegetarian,[23] is married and is the father of three daughters. He lives in Adi.

Awards and decorations[]

Aviv Kochavi was awarded three campaign ribbons for his service during three conflicts.

Lebanon2ribon.svg Security Zone in Lebanon Campaign Ribbon. X (cropped).jpg Protective Edge Opertion ribon.svg
Second Lebanon War South Lebanon Security Zone Operation Protective Edge

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Asa-El, Amotz (2018-11-24). "Unconventional warrior". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 2021-05-24.
  2. ^ Kochavi, Shaul (January 2019). "משפחת שטרנגסט והרמטכ"ל "הקרקובאי" הראשון" [The שטרנגסט family and the first "Krakow" chief of staff]. Nowiny Krakowskie: 2–3.
  3. ^ Judah Ari Gross, Liberman names pick for next IDF chief: Maj. Gen. Aviv Kochavi, The Times of Israel, October 26, 2018
  4. ^ "דרך כוכבו". nrg. 2005-04-24. Retrieved 2021-05-31.
  5. ^ Gal Perl Finkel, IDF promotes officers who think outside the box, but still follow the line, The Jerusalem Post, June 18, 2018.
  6. ^ "האביב הגיע מוקדם השנה". דבר העובדים בארץ ישראל (in Hebrew). 2018-06-26. Retrieved 2021-05-31.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b c "רא"ל אביב כוכבי - קורות חיים". www.idf.il. Retrieved 2021-05-31.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b Buchbot, Amir (2006-04-21). "משימת חייו של תת-אלוף אביב כוכבי". nrg. Retrieved 2021-05-31.
  9. ^ Wilkinson, Tracy (2002-03-01). "Israeli Forces Storm Into 2 Palestinian Refugee Camps". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2021-05-31.
  10. ^ "Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kochavi". Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 2021-05-31.
  11. ^ Jump up to: a b Buchbot, Amir (2010-09-24). "כוכבי עולה: ראש אמ"ן הבא – לוחם ופילוסוף". nrg. Retrieved 2021-05-31.
  12. ^ Arutz Sheva Staff (2018-10-26). "Who is Major General Aviv Kochavi?". Israel National News. Retrieved 2021-09-04.
  13. ^ Gal Perl Finkel, Changing the rules in the Gaza Strip comes with a cost, The Jerusalem Post, October 13, 2018.
  14. ^ "מלחמות לוקחות זמן שלישראל אין" (PDF). Maarachot. 487: 19. March 2020. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-04-06.
  15. ^ Gal Perl Finkel, Between fire and maneuver, or a combination of the two, The Jerusalem Post, September 06, 2018.
  16. ^ "New Leadership for Israeli Intelligence: Performance Indicators and Directions". Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research. 2010-12-09. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
  17. ^ Buchbot, Amir (2010-11-22). "אמ"ן בידיו: כוכבי יקבל היום פיקוד על המודיעין". nrg. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
  18. ^ Gal Perl Finkel, The IDF that Eisenkot leaves behind is ready, The Jerusalem Post, January 1, 2019.
  19. ^ Anna Ahronheim, IDF: Operation Black Belt achieved its goals, The Jerusalem Post, December 24, 2019.
  20. ^ Lahav Harkov, Netanyahu, defense chiefs call operation ‘game-changing’ defeat of Hamas, The Jerusalem Post, May 21, 2021.
  21. ^ Ben Kimon, Elisha (2021-05-27). "Gantz to extend Kochavi's tenure as IDF chief by an additional year". ynetnews. Retrieved 2021-05-28.
  22. ^ "Government Approves Extension of IDF Chief-of-Staff Kochavi's Term for a Fourth Year". Prime Minister's Office News. 2021-06-20. Retrieved 2021-07-23.
  23. ^ Jerusalem Post Staff (2019-01-15). "Kochavi is IDF's first vegetarian chief of staff". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2021-09-04.

External links[]

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