Defense Minister Israel Katz intends to interview three candidates on Sunday to be the next IDF chief of staff, he said Wednesday.
After IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi announced he would step down on March 6, it was expected that Katz would move quickly to select his replacement. Nevertheless, he threw a wrench into the works by adding dark-horse candidate Maj.-Gen. Tamir Yadai.
The Jerusalem Post and the other media outlets expected Defense Ministry Director-General Maj.-Gen. Eyal Zamir, who is a former deputy IDF chief of staff, and outgoing IDF Deputy Chief of Staff Maj.-Gen. Amir Baram to be on the shortlist of candidates.
The Post and the other media outlets expected that the third candidate would be OC Northern Command Maj.-Gen. Uri Gordon. Yadai, who recently retired from the IDF after serving as OC Land Forces Command, appears to have made the shortlist instead.
Yadai previously served as OC Central Command, OC Home Front Command, and commanded several different divisions after spending most of his career in the Golani Brigade.
He is seen as a dark-horse candidate because, unlike Zamir and Baram, he has not been the deputy IDF chief of staff, nor has he commanded the Northern or Southern commands, which are considered to be the most important field command roles.
An unconventional pick
Having led Northern Command to a sensational victory over Hezbollah, Gordon was viewed as a top potential candidate. Nevertheless, Katz might have viewed him as being too close to Halevi.
Zamir and Baram are still considered to be the most likely choices, with Zamir being the lead candidate.
Being that Yadai is somewhat of an outsider with the fewest ties to Halevi, if he were chosen, it could signal a reshuffle of the top echelons of the IDF. That might facilitate Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s desire to water down opposition to some of his policies.