Chief of the General Staff

The Chief of the General Staff, also known as the Commander-in-Chief of the Israel Defense Forces (, abbreviated Ramatkal—), is the professional head of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The current Chief of the General Staff is Herzi Halevi. At any given time, the Chief of the General Staff is the only active officer holding the IDF's highest rank, rav aluf, which is usually translated into English as lieutenant general, a three-star rank. The only exception to this rule occurred during the Yom Kippur War, when former Chief of the General Staff Haim Bar-Lev, who was a cabinet member at the outbreak of and during the war, was brought out of retirement and installed as chief of Southern Command. For a brief period, he and Chief of the General Staff David Elazar were both in active service with the rank of rav aluf. History The role of the Chief of the General Staff began with the Haganah organization, where it was named after the head of the general staff of the Haganah. With the establishment of the IDF, the Chief of Defense and the Chief of Staff, headed by Yaakov Dori, were converted to head the IDF. The chief of the general staff is officially appointed for a three-year term, which can be extended for another year. An exception was Rafael Eitan, whose term was extended twice, and he served a total of five years. On the other hand, there were several chiefs of staff who did not complete their full term: Yigal Yadin resigned amid disagreements over the IDF budget, Mordechai Maklef served for only one year at his request, David Elazar was forced to resign following the recommendations of the Agranat Commission investigating the Yom Kippur War, and Dan Halutz resigned due to criticism of the Second Lebanon War. Also, two chiefs of staff have given up part of their tenure extension: Amnon Lipkin-Shahak wanted to end his term in the middle of the fourth year, due to his desire to move into politics and run for prime minister. Haim Laskov asked not to serve a fourth year due to his disagreements with Shimon Peres.