Chief of the General Staff (Israel)
head of the Israeli Defence Force
The Chief of the General Staff (Hebrew: רֹאשׁ הַמַּטֶּה הַכְּלָלִי, romanized: Rosh hamateh haklali), abbreviated Ramatkal (רמטכ"ל), is the professional head of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The current chief of the general staff is Eyal Zamir, having taken office on 5 March 2025.
The chief of the general staff is nominated by the government on advice of the Minister of Defense, and serves a three-year term, extendable by one year only.
At any given time, the chief of the general staff is the only active officer holding the IDF's highest rank, rav aluf (רַב־אַלּוּף), 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 hief 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.
The public source identifies “Chief of the General Staff (Israel)” as head of the Israeli Defence Force. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Chief, General and Staff.
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