Gabi Ashkenazi

Gabi Ashkenazi
Allegiance	Israel
Service/branch	Israel Defense Forces
Years of service	1972–2005, 2007–
Rank	Rav Aluf
Commands held	Golani Brigade (1987–1988), IDF Liaison Unit to Lebanon (1992–1994), Israeli Operations Directorate (1994–1996), Israeli Northern Command (1998–2002), Chief of the General Staff, Israel Defense Forces (2007–)
Battles/wars	Yom Kippur War, Operation Thunderbolt, Operation Litani, 1982 Lebanon War, 1982-2000 South Lebanon conflict, First Intifada, al-Aqsa Intifada, Operation Cast Lead
Awards	Legion of Merit

Rav Aluf Gabi (Gabriel) Ashkenazi (Hebrew: גבי אשכנזי), born 1954 in Hagor, Israel, is the 19th and the current Chief of General Staff (Hebrew: רמטכ"ל Ramatkal) of the Israel Defence Forces .

Life and career

Background and early life

Ashkenazi grew up in Hagor, a moshav, or cooperative agricultural community in the Sharon region of central Israel. Ashkenazi's father, a Bulgarian Jewish Holocaust survivor, and mother, a Syrian Jew, helped found the community. Ashkenazi completed high school at a military boarding school affiliated with the prestigious Gymnasia Herzliya in Tel Aviv. His roommates included Yigal Schwartz, a major figure in Israeli literature, and Yoav Toker, a Paris-based broadcast journalist.

Golani Brigade (1972–1988)

Drafted into Israel's Golani Brigade in 1972, Ashkenazi first saw action in the Sinai Peninsula during the 1973 Yom Kippur War. In July 1976 Ashkenazi was a platoon commander in the force that carried out Operation Thunderbolt, a mission to rescue hostages held in Uganda, but he did not participate in the battle at Entebbe Airport. Ashkenazi's first of many experiences in Lebanon came in 1978 during Operation Litani. Ashkenazi was wounded in the fighting and left the IDF before being asked to return as a battalion commander two years later. During the 1982 Lebanon War, Ashkenazi served as Deputy Commander of the Golani Brigade and commanded the forces which captured Beaufort Castle, and the towns of Nabatieh and Jabel Baruch. Promoted to Commander of the Golani in 1987, Ashkenazi was reportedly popular with his brigade's combat soldiers during his nearly two-year tenure in that post.

Northern Command (1988–2002)

In 1988, Ashkenazi was appointed head of Intelligence for Israeli Northern Command. He commanded a reserve armor division in the early 1990s and later worked as the chief of Israel's civil administration in Lebanon, and in 1994 was promoted to chief of the General Staff's Operations Directorate. In 1998, Ashkenazi was appointed head of the Israeli Northern Command, a position that would make him responsible for Israel's withdrawal from its Security Zone in Southern Lebanon, ending Israel's 18 year presence in the country. Ashkenazi criticized the withdrawal, believing that it should have been accompanied by negotiations with Syria.

Deputy Chief of the General Staff (2002–2005)

Appointed IDF Deputy Chief of Staff in 2002, Ashkenazi was considered the most moderate member of the Israeli General Staff during the Al-Aqsa Intifada, according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. When Israel began to construct a West Bank barrier in order to physically separate Israeli and Palestinian communities with the purpose of preventing terrorist attacks within Israel, Ashkenazi was placed in charge of the project. He advocated building the barrier as close to the Green Line as possible, a position which would minimize the effects of the barrier on Palestinians. The General also "objected to aggressive acts against the Palestinians" during the Intifada and once described his "greatest fear" for the IDF as "the loss of humanity [of Israeli soldiers] because of the ongoing warfare."

In early 2005, Ashkenazi became a leading candidate to replace outgoing Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon. Ultimately, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz decided to pick Israeli Air Force Commander Dan Halutz as Ya'alon's successor in February 2005. According to Haaretz, "Halutz was seen to have an advantage over Ashkenazi" given his personal ties with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. As a result of the decision, Ashkenazi officially retired from the IDF in May 2005, leaving in "enormous pain and disappointment." He then became a partner in a security consultancy company based in Tel Aviv.

Director-General of the Defense Ministry (2006)

One year later, Defense Minister Amir Peretz brought Ashkenazi back to the military to serve as the Ministry of Defense's Director-General. In this position, Ashkenazi became the relatively inexperienced Minister's "right hand man" during the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict and, according to Ynetnews, proved to be "much more proficient" than his boss. Ynetnews attributes Peretz's decision to promote Ashkenazi to Chief of Staff to the two men's successful working relationship during the Lebanon war.

Chief of the General Staff (CoGS) (2007)

Ashkenazi became the Chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces on 14 February 2007.

As a CoGS Ashkenazi had to deal with the events of the Second Lebanon War and to draw conclusions for improvements. Under his command, the IDF went through a process of fixing its faults and weaknesses which manifested in the Second Lebanon War. Ashkenazi emphasized many intensive military trainings and military exercises, ranging from reinserting basic skills forgotten, up to large multi-corps exercise (which sometimes included full brigades).

In December 2007 Ashkenazi met with Admiral Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States - this was the first time in ten years that an Israeli chief of staff met with his U.S. counterpart. While on visit in the United States in July 2008 Alan gave Ashkenazi the Legion of Merit military decoration with the Commander rank.

At the end of February 2008, Ashkenazi commanded Operation Hot Winter during which the IDF fought terrorist organizations in Gaza for two days. The fighting ended in an truce agreement between Israel and Hamas. At the end of 2008 and in early 2009 Ashkenazi commanded also Operation Cast Lead during which the IDF fought again against the terrorist organizations in Gaza, headed by the Hamas. In the eyes of many Israelis and military commentators, IDF conduct in the operation, which resulted in a hard blow to Hamas (including at least 700 Hamas operatives dead, but also a large number of civilian deaths) and a very low number of Israeli casualties, proved that the IDF has learned the lessons from the Second Lebanon War and regained its reputation and deterrence against Israel's enemies.

Ashkenazi enjoys very good reputation among Israeli public and his term is considered as successful.

Education and family life

Ashkenazi studied at the Tel Aviv Junior Command Preparatory School and the U.S. Marine Corps University's Command and Staff College. He also holds a B.A. in political science from the University of Haifa and is a graduate of a Harvard Business School program in management for senior executives. Ashkenazi, who lives in Kfar Sava, is married to Ronit and has two children, Gali and Itai.

Gabi Ashkenazi's brother, Brigadier General Avi Ashkenazi, was appointed head of the IDF's Staff and Command School in September, 2006.